Guerlain
Jicky (1889)Founded in 1828 by Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain, who opened his perfume store at 42 rue de Rivoli in Paris, Guerlain is a French perfume house, among the oldest in the world. Pierre-François composed and manufactured custom fragrances with the help of his two sons, Aimé and Gabriel. The success peaked in 1853 with the creation of the scent ‘Impériale’ for French Emperor Napoleon III and his wife Empress Eugénie.
Jicky was created in 1889 by Aimé Guerlain, and is still in production today. The legend says that Aimé Guerlain, while studying in England as a young man, fell in love with a British girl who he nicknamed ‘Jicky’. More likely, this perfume is named after his uncle Jacques Guerlain’s nickname. Jicky was the first abstract perfume in history, i.e. it is not based on a single note. For the first time ever, a perfume did not imitate a natural scent, but created a coherent synthetic smell. The bottle is designed in a shape of 19th century medicine bottle with champagne cork shaped stopper. For decades, it was favored by men before being adopted by (and marketed to) women. Even Sir Sean Connery proudly declared that Jicky was his signature perfume.
In 1994 Guerlian was acquired by the LVMH group, a multinational investment corporation specializing in luxury brands.
Care has been taken to trace the ownership of any copyright material and to contact the owner. The author does not intend to infringe on anyone’s copyright for text, photos or otherwise. Anyone who feels that any item in these pages may have inadvertently breached their copyright should advise the author via the contact sheet, including a link to the page, so that appropriate remedial action can be taken.
