Rain drumming on our cabin this morning woke us up at 6 am. The effects of the heat wave continue to hit the French Riviera. Usually, thunderstorms happen further inland. Today we got some hail. Amazing! Whilst unusual, it was refreshing. Temperature dropped to 22 degrees Celsius. It was unclear when the sun would burn the clouds. But for today, this did not matter. We had alternative plans.
Road Sign in Grasse to the 3 main Perfume Makers
We had made arrangements yesterday to visit Grasse – the capital of scent I described in a previous blog. It was only 25 km from Antibes. Our boat would stay in the Marina. The story of how Grasse became the capital of perfume is amazing. In the Middle Ages, it was a truly smelly place where tanners made hides from animal skin. There are only few places in the world today where tanning is still done in the open - one is in Fez in Morocco. The odor is truly overwhelming. Always wonder how people could work in such a smelly place.
At the Entrance of Fragonard is this beautiful Table showing the Flowers used for Perfumes
People of Grasse had to cope with the smell though – there was no other way. Their customers however were reluctant of buying smelly leather. The tanners thus came up with the idea to bath the finished hides in water infused with flower essence. For medical purposes people in Provence had extracted lavender oil for centuries. Now the tanners applied the same principle and distilled essence from flowers like rose, oranges, mimosa or chamomile.
Fragonard kept some old Distillation Kettles - here with out Guide
The new approach worked. The buyers loved leather that smelled nicely. Customers also bought it because of their own superstition. Until the age of enlightenment, everybody believed that diseases were transmitted by foul smells. A good smelling piece of leather would protect your health.
Fragonard's Laboratories today are far more modern and efficient
In Paris, the rumour circulated that Grasse had a protection against diseases. It took very little time, then scented gloves were sold. Scented handkerchiefs followed soon. It was a short step from there to making perfumes and selling them as a liquid essence. The Court in Versailles became Grasses biggest customer. And paying for perfumes was its biggest expense. Not to improve their hygiene but to suppress the foul smells that “could” make the nobles sick.
Perfumes are composed by "Noses" who can distinguish 2'000 - 3'000 different smells
Perfume is quite expensive to make. It takes 1’000 – 2’000 kg of flowers to extract one liter of oily essence. The high concentration meant that people had to wear it as two or three drops directly on their skin. But concentrate was not suitable for spraying on clothes or bedlinen. The Sun King Louis XIV loved to have his shirt perfumed with “heavenly water”.
Fragonard holds an amazing Number of Smells in its bottles
The solution was imported from Hungary where herbal essences were diluted with a blend of water and alcohol since the 14th century. The people from Grasse did not hesitate to develop the concept further to three distinct products – to make it easier I rounded the ratios I found:
- Pure perfume – 100% perfume.
- Eau de perfume – 20% perfume; 70% alcohol, 10% water.
- Eau de toilette - 10% perfume, 75% alcohol, 15% water.
At 9 am, after a thirty minutes ride from Antibes, we arrived in Grasse. We first visited the Fragonard Factory to learn about perfume making and then walked around the old town to explore the small boutiques of independent perfume makers.
The small Town of Grasse is charmingly decorated
There are many small Boutiques which sell their own Creations
After a morning of sniffing, our noses became numb. We needed a break and went for lunch to a Lebanese Restaurant. Mezzo and Greek Salad did the trick. We were told that the smell of coffee also clears numb noses. Good to know for the future
Fort Carré in Antibes from the Air
Soon it was time to return to Antibes. The first sailors have to leave already to get home. We planed to continue to Fréjus today to meet team two for the handover. But the wind has freshened up to such a degree that we will make it to Cannes only. Never mind, we motor to Fréjus tomorrow morning.