Tucked away in the corner of Bergdorf’s Beauty & Fragrance Department lies the chic and elegant Goodman’s Cafe. This past weekend, close to 50 fragrance enthusiasts from around the world gathered there for a very special breakfast and Sniffapalooza Master Class with the esteemed perfume house of Houbigant. Founded in 1775, Houbigant was the perfumer to Napoleon, Marie Antoinette and Queen Victoria. Now owned by the Perris family, siblings Gian Luca and Elisabetta presented the history of company and took us on a scented journey through each of their iconic fragrances. Fougere Royale (1882) was the first fragrance created from an idea – to recreate the scent of forest ferns. Notes of Bergamot, Lavender, Rose, Geranium, Oak Moss, and Coumarin (isolated from the Tonka Bean – a revolutionary accomplishment!) combined to establish Fougere Royale as the first fragrance in modern perfumery.
