goutal and the emotional art of perfumery

We are thrilled to be working with Maison Goutal for the February 2019 La Parisienne box. Learn more about Annick’s fascinating story below!

If you’re a fan of French perfumes, then the name Annick Goutal is no stranger to you. The perfume house of Maison Goutal was founded in 1980 and became a household name the following year with the release of Eau d’Hadrien, the brand’s classic citrus-based fragrance.

But who was Annick Goutal, the creative mind behind this eminently chic brand? Born in Aix-en-Provence, she grew up helping out in her father’s chocolate shop and practicing the piano. Her career began as a pianist, before moving to London to be an au pair where she was noticed by photographer David Bailey, who helped her get her start in modeling. Looking at photos of her, it’s easy to see why- her beauty was at once striking and classic.

After meeting a perfumer in Grasse and spending time there to learn the art of perfume making, she opened the first Annick Goutal perfume shop on the rue de Bellechasse in Paris’s 7th arrondissement. The success of Eau d’Hadrien was followed by numerous others, such as Rose Absolue. Annick believed that luxury was in the details, and made sure the packaging was reflective of that as well.

It’s interesting to note how much her love for music and her passion for fragrances had in common: works of both are called compositions, and use notes and the harmonies between them to tell a story and evoke an emotion- one experience olfactory, the other auditary.

While sadly Annick passed away in 1999, her legacy is carried on in her longterm business partner Isabelle Doyen and her daughter Camille Goutal. The latter, a photographer by trade, joined the company full time a few years later after Isabelle taught her how to make fragrances. Together they work to ensure each customer finds their perfect scent, one that evokes an emotional response in the wearer according to their own personal interpretation of the scent.