SAMPLE .. Houbigant, Essence Rare, 'Rare Essence', DECANTED SAMPLE from Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1928, 1970, Paris, France ..

Houbigant is a French perfume house established in in 1775. Jean-François Houbigant (1752-1807) launched his perfume business at 19, Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris. Operating since 1775, the House of Houbigant is the only fragrance house that has existed through four centuries of history. Through these centuries, the perfumers of the House of Houbigant have made groundbreaking discoveries in the formulation of perfumes that have revolutionized forever the way perfumes are constructed.

It is not an exaggeration to say that, without the House of Houbigant, modern perfumery as we know it today would not exist. It all began with just a basket of flowers. One day in Paris in 1775, a young man, Jean-Francois Houbigant, hung a hand painted sign of a basket of flowers over his little shop in rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. From the start his fragrances found favour with royalty and the nobility. Houbigant taught the titled women at the Court of Versailles how to perfume their fans so that just a fragrant flutter would send out a romantic message. When in 1793 Marie-Antoinette was executed by guillotine, she carried 3 vials of Houbigant perfume in her corsage to give her strength.

Essence Rare by Houbigant is a floral aldehyde fragrance for women which was launched in 1928. The nose behind this fragrance is Robert Bienaime who was the master perfumer for Houbigant at the time, and who created the exquisite perfume 'Quelques Fleurs'. Essence Rare was to be the masterpiece of all of Houbigant's perfumes, and features aldehydes, rose, civet, spicy notes and musk.

It is said that Houbigant wanted a big time aldehyde perfume to compete with Chanel’s no. 5. He wanted to make an impression, one of luxury and elegance, so he commissioned Baccarat to create a faceted gem like crystal flacon to house the sophisticated perfume.

Top notes are Aldehydes, Bergamot, and Lily of the Valley
Heart notes are Geranium, Rose, and Iris
Base notes are Sandalwood, Ambergris, Vanilla, Oak Moss, Tonka Bean, and Vetiver

"A crystal prism of liquid amber, fragrant as the enchanting memory of a dream - the finest of all Houbigant's perfumes - bottled and boxed with unprecedented sumptuousness." "One of the most beautiful evocative scents ever. Paradise would smell like this. If heaven existed this would be its scent."

The 1970's relaunch of Essence Rare is every bit as beautiful as the original, using the same fragrance notes. "Essence Rare opens with what seems to be fading aldehydes that are quickly met by a spiced geranium. The perfume deepens quickly as the perfume moves to a civet and amber making it very mature almost from the start as there’s nothing light nor fluffy about it. As it continues to develop, the oakmoss pushes itself to the forefront and it’s here the perfume puts out a strong forcefield as it’s all powdered and dry oakmoss, spice and civet. After quite some time, the perfume begins to retreat a bit and thankfully a beautiful sandalwood laced with warm florals begins to take the perfume from the overt to the almost sublime. In the end, Essence Rare is still mature, but it’s much more approachable, albeit with a strong personality." The Scented Hound

Offered here is an opportunity to try a sample of this beautiful perfume. It wears close to the skin and is absolutely divine !