Houbigant

Houbigant began in Paris in 1775, when Jean-François Houbigant hung a hand-painted sign of a basket of flowers over his small shop on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Wikipedia gives the shop's name as À la Corbeille de Fleurs, at number 19. The house went on to serve royal courts: Napoleon shopped there in 1815, Queen Victoria granted it a licence as her perfumer in 1838, and Tsar Alexander III named it perfumer to the Russian court in 1890.

Two perfumers shaped its classic scents. Paul Parquet, joint owner from 1880, created Fougère Royale in 1882, and Robert Bienaimé introduced Quelques Fleurs in 1912 and Mon Boudoir in 1919. In 2005 the Perris family took control of the Houbigant name for fragrance and cosmetics. Today's range reworks those old formulas next to newer scents, and Wikipedia says the perfumes are now produced in Monaco.

Houbigant has its own boutique in Paris at 62 rue François 1er, 75008, open every day from 11:00 to 20:00, and a second one on the Croisette in Cannes. Quelques Fleurs L'Original eau de parfum costs €85 for 30 ml and €200 for 100 ml. Start with Quelques Fleurs L'Original: the 1912 bouquet that the house calls the first multi-floral perfume is the plainest way into its history.