« Si tu savais » If only you knew, why this is my name!
Written on 8 January 2024
The recent comeback of our emblematic fragrance « Si tu savais » provides the perfect occasion to reflect on the origin of it’s naughty little name, which translated means something like: If only you knew, or, wouldn’t you like to know!
But what comes first, the perfume or its name ? Our clients often ask, under the intrigue and charm of discovering a new fragrance.
Take a trip with us through history so we can shed some light on the provenance of some of these special names!
1747, Napoléon 1815 & Princesse Pauline
For some of our perfumes, the name was derived from the great books of history. 1747 is a reference to the founding date of our perfumery. Napoléon 1815 was created in 2015 for the bicentennial anniversary of the date the Emperor passed through Grasse, and Princesse Pauline to celebrate his lovely sister and the garden in Grasse which carries her name.
Solenzara & Quai des Brumes
When a perfume is inspired from a memory, of a place for example, a name can often come to the perfumer with great ease, as with « Solenzara ».
Our recent « Quai des Brumes » is a reference to a film of the same name – and the perfume was composed to honor this film. In this case, the name came first !
As you can see, history and memories are often a major inspiration for choosing a name. But sometimes, we look to the present and future to derive our greatest ideas!
Our perfumery is founded on family values. In December 2011, we welcomed a granddaughter named « Evie » to the Roux family. And so, a lovely new fragrance was created in her honor, as was done for her mother, « Delphine ».
The combination of soft vanilla and rosewood, paired with refined sandalwood and Calabrian bergamot… A fabulous composition evoking a serenade sung by the light of the moon in a romantic Italian town… This is the image that first came to mind when our perfumer finally perfected this special composition.
France is not only known for her perfumes, but for her textiles as well. With “Plumetis“, the perfumer found inspiration in the fabric of this name to create a light and feminine fragrance with powdered notes. Think sheer, white summer dresses moving with the breeze, bare ankles running through soft flower fields.
Many of our clients discover the City of Perfumes during the summer season, and traditionally autumn is the season when we present our new creations. The coming of winter is what inspired this masculine fragrance with powerful amber notes.
Do you already know this one ? A feminine fragrance, composed freely by our perfumer, associating notes like amber and tuberose with a gentle touch of orange blossom. As soon as the composition was finalized, it’s gentle yet impactful, elegant and understated fragrance was the inspiration for its name, which translated means “à demi-mot” something that is said without saying.
In 1973 we presented « Aigues Vives », a fragrance evoking the mineral freshness of a cascading mountain river. “Aigue » is an ancient french word meaning water. In 2021 our perfumer revisited this fragrance by adding tonka bean for depth and red berries for character, while keeping it’s fresh foundation. « Aigues Vives Intense » was born of this new version.
Vacation, sea, and sun… So much comes to mind when we think of Provence France and the Azur Coast. For our perfumer, this one came from the heart: solar inspiration, tiaré flower and ylang ylang to empower the exotic monoi flower, vanilla to warm it up.. And so the name of this 2015 fragrance was easily found !
In 2019 we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first man on the moon. This satellite of the earth has always been a source of inspiration. For this fragrance, our perfumer contemplated an image evoking branches of trees reaching towards the sky and its mysteries. And so the name « Bois de Lune » translated to Moon Forest, with its cedar and sandalwood notes giving it woody tones.
The path to find a name for a perfume sometimes takes surprising detours… after the creation of a new « juice » marrying fruity notes of grapefruit and mango with flowers like iris, our perfumer needed to find a name to fit this bubbly fragrance. One morning on the way to work, one of our collaborators was listening to the radio when the song « Entre Nous » by Chimène Badi came on, it was a revelation !
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