Our history

A FAMILY AFFAIR

PERFUMES & EMOTIONS SINCE 1895!

By creating olfactory universes, Valentine Pozzo di Borgo and Sandrine Givaudan continue an age-old family tradition while adding a touch of  femininity and modernity. Just like the families of painters or musicians, their production secrets are passed on from generation to generation through complex processes of alchemy...

1885

Xavier Givaudan, Valentine's great-great-grandfather, was a chemist from Lyon living in Switzerland. With his brother Léon, he made his mark on the international perfume industry by founding the company GIVAUDAN. 

The first revolutionary base notes are created by Léon, such as Lila 7 or Muguet 16, reproductions of the aromas of these mysterious flowers whose extraction is impossible.

1963

Givaudan is taken over by the Swiss laboratory Roche. The grandson of Xavier, whose first name is also Léon, is now 39 years old. After starting his career in the family business, for which he opened an office in Brazil, he launches his own perfume brand, which he names Aromatic Creations. 

1976

Sandrine Givaudan, Léon's daughter, joins ISIPCA, the perfumery school created six years earlier by Jean-Jacques Guerlain. She left the industry for a short while to follow a career in event management before returning to her love for olfactory creation.

She later establishes the Georges V Perfumery on the famous Parisian avenue of the same name.

2008

Valentine Pozzo di Borgo, Xavier Givaudan's great-great-granddaughter, founds Quintessence Paris at the age of 24 with her mother Sandrine Givaudan. 

2010

Quintessence Paris opens its boutique at 38 rue de l'Université. For 12 years, individuals could explore the brand’s very own collections, as well as a selection of fashion and decorative objects selected by its partners. Year after year, the 12-candle olfactory calendar has been an unwavering success. 

2011

Quintessence Paris begins its first artistic collaborations. Eric Schmitt, followed by Claude Lalannne, Hubert Legall and Manuela Paul Cavallier, have all designed exceptional candles, whose containers become delightful accessories once the wax has burned down. 

2014

Quintessence Paris gets its first rebranding and builds its brand image around the unique atmosphere of a private mansion on rue de l'Université, where each room is scented differently depending on the time of day...

2022

Twelve years after the opening of the boutique on rue de l'Université, Valentine Pozzo di Borgo decides to stop selling to the public and devotes herself exclusively to the creation of bespoke scented products for professionals...

Scented candles | Perfumes | Eaux de parfum | Eaux de toilette | Soaps | Shower gels | Hydroalcoholic gels | Shampoos | Body lotions | Hand creams | Bath salts and oils | Bath bombs |Home fragrances | Scented sachets | Linen fragrances | Scented jewellery | Scented ceramics |
Scented paper, etc... 

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