RANCE 1795 & NAPOLEON

By 1795, with the French Revolution in full swing, the rise of Napoleonic Empire was at it's peak.

Napoleon as supreme ruler and emperor was pompous and proud and the high expectation of his court aristocrats and devotees was that they not only looked lavish but smelled exotic.

Both he and his then wife, Josephine we enamoured by scent and exotic flora and fauna.It has been documented that rare wattle and native plants, as well as native fauna such as kangaroos and black swans were shipped back to France for Josephine's garden from expeditions to Australia.

Malmaison. Josephine's garden

 Napoleon was passionate about perfume and wanted to learn more about this art. He appointed Francois Rance who was then a famed scented glove maker and creator of perfumed potions and cream  from Grasse France for the aristocracy of the time, as his court perfumer.

In 1795 Francois Rance dedicated his career solely to the fine art of scent, thanks to Napoleon's love for perfumery. 

Napoleon

In honour of Napoleon he created Le Vainqueur a zesty nutmeg spiced lavender with a hint of masculine leather to celebrate Napoleons conquests in battle . This was so well received that Francois then went on to create Triomphe and L'eau de Austerliz for his illustrious leader









Josephine was so captivated by Napoleon's scent that she asked Francois to create one for her. He presented Josephine with L'Imperatrice (later named Josephine ). A delicious scent of Iris, blackcurrant violet leaf, peach ,hyacinth, jasmine, ylang ylang spiced with clove softened with  seductive amber, musk, sandalwood and vanilla all encased in a precious carved porcelain bottle.

So dedicated was Francois Rance to the Napoleon family that he then created Laetitia Millisime for Napoleon's loving and headstrong mother. This scent reflects the grandeur of this Lady with Bulgarian Rose, orange blossom, mandarin,bergamot. wisteria with a hint of nutmeg to support the amberiness of patchouli and vanilla. A symbol for the true Matriarch of the Napoleon family.






By the end of the 19th century the House of Rance was moved to Italy by the successor Alexandre Rance and official became Italian. Today Rance is run by Jeanne Sandre Rance and her son Maurice.In honour of his legendary ancestry Jeanne Sandre Rance has meticulously recreated the traditional original scents and their bottles  using new technologies and the purest natural ingredients.

There are 24 perfumes in the Rance collections to explore as did Napoleon with undiscovered  Australia.




Each scent has a story to tell and a historical connection to one of the most powerful Empires and imperial families of the time.

Written by Lily



Rance1795 available @ Galerie de Parfum Myer Melbourne