GLORIOUS GRASSE // what to see & do in the perfume capital of the world

The tannoy crackled, and a voice began to speak quickly in French.

Suddenly, the passengers around me began to gather up their belongings. Erm… what was happening? Seeing my confusion, the woman sitting next to me kindly translated: ‘This train is stopping,’ she explained, in her melodic French lilt. ‘We will all have to change.’

As we hurried to the right platform it became clear the woman and I were both heading to the historic town of Grasse, most famous for being the perfume capital of the world. 

Luckily for me, the woman’s English was a lot better than my French and we chatted for the rest of our journey. She told me her name was Sabine, and that she travelled to Grasse every weekend to visit her boyfriend. ‘You will love it there,’ she assured me, ‘it’s a very relaxed and friendly place.’

When we arrived at the station she commandeered her boyfriend to drive me to my charming bed & breakfast, farewelling me with two kisses and a loud ‘Au revoir!’ out of the window.

A wonderfully warm and welcoming start to my weekend in the perfume capital of the world.

Grasse is set in the hills of the Provence region, nestled between the lower French Alps and the Cote d’Azur (or the French Riviera, as it is known in the UK). The views are absolute stunning – pastel-painted buildings dotted against blue-hued hills, sloping down towards the sparkling Mediterranean Sea.

I’d dreamed of travelling here since I was a little girl growing up in New Zealand: walking through the parfumeries, watching as master ‘noses’ (a nickname for master parfumers) created exotic scents with glass pipettes and the finest essential oils.

And now, here I was, standing at the gate of the revered Molinard Parfumeries, where some of the world’s most famous figures – including Queen Victoria – have travelled to have bespoke fragrances blended just for them.

Walking through the doors is like stepping back in time – apart from the modern technology, the salon and factory stands exactly as it did in 1849, when the store was opened by Hyacinthe Molinard and began distilling roses, jasmine and local flowers.

Since then the perfumery has been passed down through five generations, and to this day is a family-owned business, still using traditional techniques from last century in perfume stills designed by Gustave Eiffel (yes, the same man who created the Eiffel Tower).

But I wasn’t just going to admire the history, I was also at Parfums Molinard to join their perfume workshop and create my very own unique signature scent in their laboratory, in the perfume capital of the world (dream-come-true-level amazing!). I opted for the L’Atelier des Parfums – a €69 one-hour course allowing me access to 90 essences, under the professional guidance of one of their master parfumers.

I was in heaven. 

My first task was to smell every one of the essences, which are grouped by base, middle and top notes, and put aside the ones that appealed to me. Next, I had to find the scents that blended well together, which I did by dipping a strip of cardboard into each essence, then mix and matching them until I found my perfect complement of scents.

After running it past the master parfumer and getting her nod of approval, it was time to capture my bespoke scent. Her finely tuned nose knew exactly what ratios I needed to create my perfectly balanced mix (majority base notes, slight less middle notes and the smallest amount of top notes).

Next I used the pipette to decant exactly the right amounts into my  bottle, while the parfumer jotted down my formula. ‘We keep this on file,’ she explained, ‘so when you run out we can prepare another bottle of your personalised perfume for you.’

Proudly clutching my bespoke bottle, I spent another hour touring the salon, picking up some gifts to take home and drinking in the beauty and history of Maison Molinard.

A truly unique experience in the perfume capital of the world, and one I’ll remember forever.

READ: The Underground City of Bones – exploring the Paris Catacombes