In late Spring, we enjoyed quite the trip across France. We selected four regions to experience and learn from. We were on a mission to understand the French peoples' relationship with fragrance, how it has shaped their culture, what makes French fragrance so special, and how can we incorporate that into Chez Lapin's experience.
It's safe to say that now, fragrance making has entirely changed for us.
Simply put, it started as a fun way to play with lovely smelling things. Truly, just whatever oils I could get my hands on that 'worked' together in my parent's kitchen. However since our business has evolved, our take on fragrance making has certainly evolved too.
From our trek around France, we've learned so much from the world's leaders in fragrance blending and absorbed century old knowledge and techniques to create the best blends that we can- blends perfect for our brand and customers.
Here is a bit more about where we visited and what we took away;
Paris, Île-de-France region
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We visited several boutique home fragrance stores and parfumeries, admired the urban gardens abound, the inspiring architecture, and the magnificent food.
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Valensole, Provence region
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We resided in a centuries old chateau with a sprawling aromatic garden. We learned about the harvest and distillation process of many botanicals used in our products from local family farms that have been tending to the fields since the 1800s.
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Grasse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region
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Also known as the perfume capital of the world, we visited the three most significant perfume houses and got to see their manufacturing processes, how they source raw materials, and how they dream up blends for their unique fragrances. We even got to work with their essences directly and create several fragrances on the spot, using their blending techniques.
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Nice, sitting right on the Mediterranean, has always served as a source of inspiration for Chez Lapin's fragrances since I used to study in the South of France. Here we gathered visual concepts and aesthetic inspiration from the dreamy storefronts that make Vieux-Ville so charming. The presentation of artisanal soaps, baskets, dried flowers, and food is practical yet aesthetically interesting and pleasing.
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The intricacies of blending botanicals can be complicated, puzzling at a times, and wildly satisfying. Layering and balancing, over and over, until the perfect blend is achieved. That's our goal. We believe that we learned exactly what we sought out for and have an entirely new lens to operate with when creating fragrances in the future.
We are so excited to bring the best from our trip back to you, our friends and followers, as we begin testing new fragrance blends and concocting skin care products inspired by these beautiful regions.
Stay tuned for our newest release this September. We cannot wait to share it with you!
- Claire
Owner/ Operator of Chez Lapin
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