Historiae is a niche brand that is under the radar in the U.S. Founder Pascale Oger wanted to preserve French history and its cultural heritage through her line of beautiful pefumes and home fragrances composed by French perfumers, using fair trade ingredients and natural alcohol without phtalates . All ingredients, packaging, and bottles are of French origin. Recently Mark Behnke reviewed the inaugral line of five Eau de Toilettes which are olfactive stories that take us back in time in French history from the Middle Ages to the Napoleanic Empire. Each scent in the Historiae line (Rose de France,Orangerie du Roy, Hameau de la Reine, and Violette Impériale chronicles the lives of such historical figures such as Marie Antoinette, Empress Josephine, Louix XIV and King Francois the First. With the exception of Violette Imperiale (Constant Michaux) all were composed by Bertrand Duchaufour, one of the most esteemed French perfumers in the world. M.Duchaufour returns with a pefume composed around OUD, one of the most sacred and spiritually significant perfume ingredients used throughout many cultures long before it found its way into contemporary perfumery.
" Used in the Oriental traditions, the oud is a rare wood also called aloeswood or agarwood. Its perfume is incredibly refined as it is animal, raw, and sophisticated at the same time. It results from the aquilaria tree which produces a resin to protect itself. Surrounded with mysticism, oud appears repeatedly in our History.
In the Song of Songs, it is the original tree of the garden of Eden.
In the New Testament, it is one of the perfumes Nicodème uses to embalm the body of the Christ.
In the Koran, the prophet Mahomet places oud as the scent of paradise.
In Japan, oud bought at a high price; is used for the Kôdô ceremony stemming from Buddhist rites.
Many religions have adopted it as an olfactive sign of the divine, lending it the power to cleanse the body and the spirit.
Eau de parfum – Création Bertrand DUCHAUFOUR
Leathery, animalic, woody oud, spicy, rose, chypre accord
TOP: Rose, Aldéhyde, Orange, Bergamot, Davana,
HEART: Saffron, Peony, Rose, Géranium, Clove, Oud
BASE: Vanilla, Benzoin, Vetiver, Castoreum, Amber, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Myrrh, Oak Moss
Approximately $125 for 100 ml and a much stronger concentration than the Eau de Toilettes.
Historiae is currently sold throughout France in musuems, niche parfumeries, department stores such as Galleries Lafeyette, select European boutiques such as Fragrance and Arts and will be available in the US in the Fall. The EDTs are very affordable (approximately $75 USD for 30 ml) and available in a number of sizes including a new 15ml travel spray, 50ml and 100 ml.
–Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief
Source: Historiae and Pasquale Oger