Quick answers
History of the house
Galimard runs out of 73 Route de Cannes in Grasse, France, the inland Provencal town that has held the title of perfumery capital for three centuries. The house was founded in 1747 by Jean de Galimard, a glove-maker and perfumer who held the seigneury of Séranon. The house presents itself as one of the first French perfume houses.
The Grasse glove-makers of the eighteenth century scented their leather to mask the tannery odor. Jean de Galimard was a member of that corporation. He supplied King Louis XV’s court with jasmine pomade and tuberose pomade, the high-end skincare and fragrance of the period.
The revival came in 1950, when Joseph Roux brought the Galimard name back to life with a perfumery in the Comte de Thorenc’s town house in the old center of Grasse; the Roux family has owned the house ever since. His son Jean-Pierre Roux opened the factory museum on Route de Cannes to the public in 1980. In 1996, Galimard launched the Studio des Fragrances, a perfume-creation workshop where visitors compose their own 100 ml eau de parfum under the direction of a Galimard perfumer. The format was one of the first of its kind in France and now draws around 100,000 visitors a year.
The house remains family-owned. It is not part of LVMH, Estée Lauder Companies, Coty Inc., Puig or Interparfums. The catalog spans perfumes in several concentrations, plus soaps, candles and skincare, all manufactured on site in Grasse.
Notable perfumes
The list below shows the catalog pillars most likely to be encountered by visitors to the house.
| Perfume | Accord | Signature notes |
|---|---|---|
| Solenzara | Fruity floral | Orange blossom and jasmine, a Corsican summer evening |
| Féminissime | Amber chypre | Tonka bean, oakmoss and patchouli, orange blossom at the heart |
| Un Hiver à Grasse | Spicy amber | A spiced rather than citrus opening, warm intense labdanum |
| Mezzanotte | Fresh fruity | Apple on top, elegant freshness |
| Collection Privée Musc Royal | Musky oriental | Cardamom in a green spiced opening, rare essences and musk |
| Collection Privée Sensuel Safran | Spicy woody | Saffron at the center, iris, sandalwood and amber |
Olfactory signature
The Galimard olfactory identity rests on Grasse raw materials sourced directly from local growers. The house holds long-term agreements with the families farming May rose (Rosa centifolia), Grasse jasmine (Jasminum grandiflorum), tuberose, mimosa and lavender across the Pays de Grasse hinterland.
The catalog is organized by audience rather than by register. A women’s line built on orange blossom, jasmine and tonka bean (Solenzara, Féminissime). A men’s line that opens on spice and resin rather than citrus (Un Hiver à Grasse), with a fresh fruity side led by apple (Mezzanotte). And a Collection Privée that carries the costliest materials, musk and saffron foremost (Musc Royal, Sensuel Safran).
Three positioning traits stand out:
- Integrated manufacturing, with composition, maceration, filtration and filling all done on the Grasse site rather than out-sourced to industrial compounders.
- Open-to-the-public museum-house format, with a free guided factory tour roughly forty-five minutes long and no reservation required.
- Public perfume-creation workshop, the Studio des Fragrances, the original example of the public perfume-creation workshop model.