BOTTLES

"At a time when most perfumers did not think of bottles as anything but a simple container, my ancestors quickly understood the subtle relationship that linked the bottle and its precious contents," Jean-Paul Guerlain wrote in the foreword to the colossal reference book, "Guerlain Bottles Since 1828". The French always knew that it's not only what's inside that counts, and when Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain presented his Eau de Cologne Impériale in a gilded bottle covered with imperial bees to Napoléon's wife Eugénie, he started a whole art of Guerlain flaconnage. Since then, the bottles and cases of Guerlain have become oeuvres as beautiful, detailed and important as the scents themselves, and now it's impossible to think of L'Heure Bleue without its romantic heart-shaped stopper bottle, Shalimar without the Art Deco fountain, or Chamade without its Venus seashell.

Guerlain's bee bottle was inaugurated in 1853 when Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain won the title as the French empress' official perfumer. Eau de Cologne Impériale was the celebrity fragrance of the day. Royals and nobles lent their names to perfumers' work and were supplied with all manner of toiletries in return. Having a queen, emperor or princess associated with a product helped sales, and Guerlain received credentials from the Queen of Belgium, Queen of England and Prince of Wales. But the arrangement with France's own imperial ruler was Guerlain's most important and grand achievement, and very worthy of showcasing. Since then, for more than 150 years, the Napoleonic bee symbol has constantly embellished Guerlain's bottle and box design. Most emblematic is the bee bottle itself. Many people look at it as shaped like a beehive, and it's often referred to as the "beehive bottle". Yet the real inspiration was the Vendôme Column, erected by Napoléon I at the centre of Place Vendôme in Paris to commemorate the battle of Austerlitz, Napoléon's greatest victory. The column was torn down in 1871, by decree of the Paris Commune, but it was subsequently re-erected and remains a prominent feature on the square today.

The bee bottle. Made in 1853 for Eau de Cologne Impériale. It has contained most Guerlain fragrances. Unknown designer.

The quadrilobe bottle. Made in 1908 for Rue de la Paix. Today mainly known as the bottle for Jicky, but it has contained most Guerlain fragrances. Unknown designer.

The heart-shaped stopper bottle. Made in 1912 for L'Heure Bleue but later also contained Mitsouko. Designed by Baccarat glassworks.

The fan-shaped bottle. Made in 1925 for Shalimar. Designed by Raymond Guerlain. It's one of the few classic Guerlain bottles that has contained just one fragrance, as Guerlain had a habit of reusing its bottles for different perfumes until Jean-Paul Guerlain took over as nose.

The bottle with radiating design. Also called the propeller bottle. Made in 1933 for Vol de Nuit but later also contained Sous le Vent. Designed by Raymond Guerlain.

The Chamade bottle. Made in 1969 for Chamade. By this time, Guerlain had stopped reusing bottles for different fragrances in order to give each perfume an absolutely unique identity. Designed by Raymond Guerlain and Robert Granai.

The Nahéma bottle. Made in 1979 for Nahéma. Designed by Robert Granai.

The Samsara bottle. Made in 1989 for Samsara. Designed by Robert Granai.

These artful presentations are only issued for Parfum concentrations (except for the bee bottle that can be ordered for the entire Guerlain catalogue). The Eaux de Toilette were traditionally sold in a simple standard bottle that was used for all fragrances. It wasn't until sculptor Robert Granai took over from Raymond Guerlain and became Guerlain's part-time in-house bottle designer that the Eau de Toilette bottles were individualized as we know them today.

The flat bottle. This very early bottle was used for various fragrances in both Parfum and Eau de Toilette concentration. Unknown designer.

The teardrop bottle. Replaced the flat bottle in 1923 and became a standard Eau de Toilette bottle until the late 1990s. Only its front label design was changed twice. Unknown designer.

The Delft atomizer bottle. Introduced in 1965 as Guerlain's first commercial atomizer bottle, made as a refillable system. Subsequent to the initial Delftware decoration, it came with different outer case motifs and contained all Eaux de Toilette until 1982. It was then replaced by standard gold toned metal canisters that are still sold today with a modernized furrow-and-hole look called "Habit de Fête" (meaning "holiday dress"). Actually, Guerlain's refillable atomizers were, and still are, made for EdT, Parfum as well as EdP. Unknown designer.

Individualized bottles. Robert Granai made his first Guerlain bottle in 1974 for Eau de Guerlain. Each and every Guerlain fragrance has since then been given an individual bottle design regardless of concentration (with the sole exception of Parure EdT which only came in the standard bottles).