Ernest Beaux
Encyclopedia
Perfumer
A perfumer is a term used for an expert on creating perfume compositions, sometimes referred to affectionately as a Nose due to their fine sense of smell and skill in producing olfactory compositions...
best known for creating Chanel No. 5
Chanel No. 5
Chanel No. 5 is the first perfume launched by Parisian couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. The French government reports that a bottle of Chanel No. 5 is sold every thirty seconds and generates sales of $100 million a year. It was developed by Russian-French chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux...
, perhaps the world's most famous perfume.
Family background
Ernest Beaux's grandfather, Jean-Joseph Beaux, was a soldier in Napoleon's army. Taken prisoner near Moscow, he remained in Russia after his release. During the 1830s he was a member of a theater troupe associated with the Imperial Theater in Saint Petersburg.Jean-Joseph Beaux had two sons, Edouard and Hippolyte, both of whom went into commerce rather than follow their father in the theater.
Edouard Beaux had two sons, Edouard and Ernest. Beginning as a clerk with the Scotch-Russian Moscow trading house of Muir & Merrilees, Edouard (Edouardovich), Ernest's older brother, joined A. Rallet & Co.
Rallet
Rallet, founded 1843 in Moscow by Alphonse Rallet , had become, by 1900, Russia's preeminent manufacturer of fine perfume, soap, and cosmetics and was an official supplier to the royal courts of Russia, Persia, and Montenegro. In 1896 Rallet was purchased by Chiris of Grasse, France...
, ultimately becoming a member of the board and Deputy Administrator.
Career
Ernest Beaux was born in MoscowMoscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the second son of the French perfumer Edouard Beaux, who worked for Alphonse Rallet & Co.
Rallet
Rallet, founded 1843 in Moscow by Alphonse Rallet , had become, by 1900, Russia's preeminent manufacturer of fine perfume, soap, and cosmetics and was an official supplier to the royal courts of Russia, Persia, and Montenegro. In 1896 Rallet was purchased by Chiris of Grasse, France...
of Moscow, at the time the most important Russian perfume house and purveyor of the courts of Imperial Russia. In 1898, A. Rallet and Company
Rallet
Rallet, founded 1843 in Moscow by Alphonse Rallet , had become, by 1900, Russia's preeminent manufacturer of fine perfume, soap, and cosmetics and was an official supplier to the royal courts of Russia, Persia, and Montenegro. In 1896 Rallet was purchased by Chiris of Grasse, France...
was sold with about 1500 employees and 675 products to the French perfume house Chiris of La Bocca, France. That year, Beaux finished his primary education, and from 1898–1900 made an apprenticeship as laboratory technician in the soap works of Rallet. After his obligatory 2 years military service in France, he returned to Moscow in 1902, where he started his perfumery training at Rallet under the guidance of their technical director A. Lemercier. He finished perfumery education in 1907 with his promotion to senior perfumer, and was elected member of the board of directors.
In 1912 Russia celebrated the centennial of the Battle of Borodino
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
, the turning point in Napoleon's Russian ambitions. For this celebration Beaux created the fragrance "Bouquet de Napoleon," a floral Eau de Cologne
Eau de Cologne
Eau de Cologne or simply Cologne is a toiletry, a perfume in a style that originated from Cologne, Germany. It is nowadays a generic term for scented formulations in typical concentration of 2-5% essential oils. However as of today cologne is a blend of extracts, alcohol, and water...
, for Rallet. It proved to be a major commercial success, his first.
The following year, 1913, marked the tercentenary of the founding of the Romanov
Romanov
The House of Romanov was the second and last imperial dynasty to rule over Russia, reigning from 1613 until the February Revolution abolished the crown in 1917...
dynasty. To follow up on his "Bouquet de Napoleon" success, Beaux created a now lost fragrance, the "Bouquet de Catherine" honoring Catherine the Great. This fragrance is not to be confused with a fragrance from Brocard, Rallet's chief competitor in Russia, called "The Empress's Favorite Bouquet" and which later evolved into the Soviet version, "Red Moscow."
"Bouquet de Catherine" was inspired by Robert Bienaime's 1912 "Quelques Fleurs" for Houbigant
Houbigant
Houbigant may refer to:* Charles François Houbigant, Biblical scholar* Houbigant , perfume manufacturer...
. "Quelques Fleurs" made use of a newly synthesized and somewhat unstable aldehyde
Aldehyde
An aldehyde is an organic compound containing a formyl group. This functional group, with the structure R-CHO, consists of a carbonyl center bonded to hydrogen and an R group....
(C-12 MNA) for its top note and it is considered by some to be one of the first "modern" perfumes. "Bouquet de Catherine" was created out of Beaux's fascination with Bienaime's use of this aldehyde and his own desire to conquer this new and difficult aroma molecule.
"Bouquet de Catherine" was not a marketing success, perhaps due to Catherine the Great's German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
heritage at a time of rising tensions between Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Germany which would lead, in 1914, to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. While born and raised in Russia, Beaux's French heritage brought him into the French army and, while it was generally expected that this war would last no more than a few months, Beaux was not released from military service until 1919, having by this time seen service in the infantry fighting against Germany and then as an intelligence officer and interrogator at an Allied prison camp at the Kola Peninsula
Kola Peninsula
The Kola Peninsula is a peninsula in the far northwest of Russia. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely to the north of the Arctic Circle and is washed by the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the east and southeast...
at the Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
Oblast during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
.
While serving in the French military, Beaux's perfumer colleagues at Rallet
Rallet
Rallet, founded 1843 in Moscow by Alphonse Rallet , had become, by 1900, Russia's preeminent manufacturer of fine perfume, soap, and cosmetics and was an official supplier to the royal courts of Russia, Persia, and Montenegro. In 1896 Rallet was purchased by Chiris of Grasse, France...
fled during Russia's october revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
to La Bocca, France, to continue working with Chiris. In 1919 Beaux, released now from the army, settled in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
but continued to have a relationship with the former Rallet
Rallet
Rallet, founded 1843 in Moscow by Alphonse Rallet , had become, by 1900, Russia's preeminent manufacturer of fine perfume, soap, and cosmetics and was an official supplier to the royal courts of Russia, Persia, and Montenegro. In 1896 Rallet was purchased by Chiris of Grasse, France...
employees at La Boca.
In 1913 Beaux's wife had given birth to their son, Edouard. Beaux had converted to the Orthodox faith in order to marry Iraïde de Schoenaich. During the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, Iraïde, with the couple's infant son, escaped from Russia via Finland and after suffering two months of dangers and hardships arrived by boat in France. During her wartime separation from Beaux, Iraïde had become involved with another man with whom she was now deeply in love. Beaux divorced her taking custody of their son. Iraïde, moving to Nice to work with her lover, remained faithful to him until his death. Beaux later remarried and had a daughter, Madeleine, by his second wife.
During these years of disruption between 1914 and 1919 it is believed that the "Bouquet de Catherine" was reworked into Rallet No.1 In France now in 1919, Beaux continued working on »Rallet N°1« to adapt the formula to the perfumery raw materials available at Chiris and to reduce the price of the formula. The series from which Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
later selected her famous "No.5" was most probably these adaptation trials of »Rallet N°1«.
Coco Chanel and the N°5
At that time, Joseph Robert was the chief perfumer at Chiris and since there were little prospects of promotion for Beaux, he tried to use his contacts to the emigrated Russian nobility to get new projects. With the help of the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of RussiaGrand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia
Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia was a Russian imperial dynast. He is known for being involved in the murder of the mystic peasant faith healer Grigori Rasputin, who he felt held undue sway over Tsar Nicholas II.-Early life:Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich was born at Ilinskoe near Moscow, the...
(1891–1941), the lover of the rising couturier
Couturier
A couturier is an establishment or person involved in the clothing fashion industry who makes original garments to order for private clients. A couturier may make what is known as haute couture. Such a person usually hires patternmakers and machinists for garment production, and is either employed...
Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
(1883–1971), he could in the late summer of 1920 arrange a meeting in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
where he presented his current and former works. Intended as a Christmas present for he best clients Chanel chose the bottle No. 5 from the adaptation trials on »Rallet N°1«.When Beaux asked her how she wanted to name that scent, she replied: „I always launch my collection on the 5th day of the 5th months, so the number 5 seems to bring me luck – therefore, I will name it Nº 5". Initially only 100 flacons of »Chanel Nº 5
Chanel No. 5
Chanel No. 5 is the first perfume launched by Parisian couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. The French government reports that a bottle of Chanel No. 5 is sold every thirty seconds and generates sales of $100 million a year. It was developed by Russian-French chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux...
« were produced, which she gave away on Christmas 1921 for free to her best clients. However, soon the demand for further supply was such that she decided to launch the perfume officially for sale in her shops in 1922. In 1922, she also launched a second fragrance from the two numbered series of bottles that Beaux had presented her, and which were numbered one through five, and twenty through twenty-four: »Chanel Nº 22
Chanel No. 22
Chanel No. 22 is one of several well-known fragrances from Parisian couturier, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel.-History:Coco Chanel had worked with Ernest Beaux on her original perfume, Chanel No. 5, which debuted in 1921. The following year, they released Chanel No. 22...
«, the bottle no. 22 from the second series. But as this did worse than »Nº 5
Chanel No. 5
Chanel No. 5 is the first perfume launched by Parisian couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. The French government reports that a bottle of Chanel No. 5 is sold every thirty seconds and generates sales of $100 million a year. It was developed by Russian-French chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux...
« it was withdrawn and only relaunched in 1926.
Beaux left Chiris in 1922 to head a sales agency for his friend Eugene Charabot in Paris. However, »Chanel Nº 5« did so well that Bader and Wertheimer, owners of Galeries Lafayette
Galeries Lafayette
- History :In 1893 Théophile Bader and his cousin Alphonse Kahn opened a fashion store in a small haberdasher's shop at the corner of rue La Fayette and the Chaussée d'Antin, Paris. In 1896, the company purchased the entire building at n°1 rue La Fayette and in 1905 the buildings at n°38, 40 et...
, bought the rights to if from Coco Chanel on April 4, 1924, and founded Parfums Chanel for which they hired Ernest Beaux as chief perfumer. In his new functiom Beaux created many famous perfumes until he retired in 1954. His successor as chief perfumer of Perfumes Chanel was Henri Robert. Beaux died in his Paris apartment in 1961, and the church in which his funeral was held was completely decorated in roses.
Controversies
Since Coco Chanel's breakthrough as couturier only took place in 1925 with her design of the Little black dressLittle black dress
A little black dress is an evening or cocktail dress, cut simply and often quite short. Fashion historians ascribe the origins of the little black dress to the 1920s designs of Coco Chanel, intended to be long-lasting, versatile, affordable, accessible to the widest market possible and in a neutral...
, she felt taken advantage of by Wertheimer, and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
fought with Beaux against her own perfumes in creating competitive fragrances under her own name, for instance »Mademoiselle Chanel Nº 1« (1946), sold exclusively in her own shops. In France this was prohibited by judicial action for counterfeiting, but Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
in New York and Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus, formerly Neiman-Marcus, is a luxury specialty retail department store operated by the Neiman Marcus Group in the United States. The company is headquartered in the One Marcus Square building in Downtown Dallas, Texas, and competes with other department stores such as Saks Fifth...
in Texas kept distributing, and when customers reacted puzzled, Wertheimer gave in and raised Coco Chanels share in the company. In 1947, Wertheimer and Chanel made peace, and when Chanel wanted to resurrect her couture house, he even backed her up financially. "Although she made a fortune on the perfume, throughout her lifetime she was convinced that the deal had been heavily weighted in favor of the perfumer and that she had been cheated out of a huge sum of money,"
His former employer Chiris was not happy to Beaux leave with the formula to Perfumes Chanel, and thus asked Vincent Roubert, who had replaced Beaux at Chiris, to make in 1926 and own adaptation of the »Bouquet de Catherine«, which actually was going back even to Rallet Perfumes. The result was »L' Aimant« (Coty, 1926), which initially indeed threatened the success of »Chanel Nº 5«. »L' Aimant« (Coty, 1926) was a near copy of »Chanel Nº 5
Chanel No. 5
Chanel No. 5 is the first perfume launched by Parisian couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. The French government reports that a bottle of Chanel No. 5 is sold every thirty seconds and generates sales of $100 million a year. It was developed by Russian-French chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux...
«, but Perfumes Chanel revenched in hiring Jean Helleau , the designer of the first »L' Aimant« bottle, and in copying his design for the flacon of »Chanel Nº 5
Chanel No. 5
Chanel No. 5 is the first perfume launched by Parisian couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. The French government reports that a bottle of Chanel No. 5 is sold every thirty seconds and generates sales of $100 million a year. It was developed by Russian-French chemist and perfumer Ernest Beaux...
«.
"Pepper and salt don't taste pleasantly when taken alone, but they enhance the taste of a dish," Beaux said in an 1953 interview with Time. The article continued: "Beaux gives each essence the nose test because some scents will last after a week of exposure, while others, for some unknown reason, will last only a few hours. When he is creating a new perfume he does no sniffing, simply jots down a formula, claims he knows exactly what the final result will smell like. Says Beaux: “It is like writing music. Each component has a definite tonal value ... I can compose a waltz or a funeral march.” At the time of the interview, Beaux was not working on any new perfumes, according to the head of the Chanel fragrance house, Pierre Wertheimer
Pierre Wertheimer
Pierre Wertheimer was a French businessman.In October 1910, Pierre Wertheimer married Germaine Revel, a daughter of a stockbroker and a member of the Lazard family of investment bankers....
.
Another famous quote from Ernest Beaux highlights the importance of synthetic perfumery raw materials: “The future of perfumery is in the hands of chemists,” he said. "We'll have to rely on the chemists to find new chemicals if we are to make new and original accords.”
Creations
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Bois des Îles Bois des Îles is a fragrance from Parisian couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. The name is French for "Island Wood" or, more literally, "Wood of the Islands".--History:... « (1926) |