Don't go to Paris, the best perfume is here!（1）

"The smell penetrates into the people, and reaches the heart, where it distinguishes love and contempt, disgust and interest, love and hate. Whoever masters the smell will master the people's heart."-Fragrance does so. magic. When it comes to French perfume, people naturally think of Paris. But for those who love perfume and collect perfume bottles, Paris is just a shadow of clothes, and Grasse is the place of dreams. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world come to this small town known as the "Perfume Capital of the World" for a romantic journey of fragrant fragrance.

"The most charming perfume comes from Grasse", this small town known as the world's perfume capital is still an important producer and raw material supplier of French perfumes. Only by experiencing it in person can you feel its unique charm.

Grasse is located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. It is a medieval town with a beautiful and quiet environment, a mild and humid climate, and narrow streets. However, this small town famous for its perfume has not always been scented in history.

In the Middle Ages, the nobles were very well-dressed, and leather gloves were a must-have item to wear. At that time, Grasse was well-known for its leather manufacturing industry and was an important producer of leather gloves. Local craftsmen processed the leather into individual leather products, which flowed to the markets of Genoa and Pisa via the nearby port of Cannes. The prosperity of this industry has also made Glass "notorious"-the air is filled with the burning smell of leather, the smell of blood, and the smell of beef and sheep fat.

Sometimes things only need an opportunity to change. Once, a local leather manufacturer named Jean de Galima received an important order to make a pair of leather gloves for Catherine de Medici, Queen of France. This is not difficult for him, but no matter how exquisite the craftsmanship is, the smell of leather is too strong, and people can't help but frown. Galima had a whim and tried to cover up the smell with the fragrance of local flowers such as roses, jasmine and mimosa, which really won the queen's favor. As a result, craftsmen followed his approach and used floral scents to cover up the smell of leather. Scented gloves soon became fashionable goods of that era, and the smell of Glass was gradually changing.

However, this fashion was quickly suppressed by religious forces. At that time, the French bishop was very disdainful, calling Grasse a "scented slut," and even planned to put the "initiator" Galima to death. Fortunately, the government came forward to stop it in time, and Galima escaped, but the leather manufacturing industry was not spared. Due to the substantial increase in taxes, the tanning industry declined, and only the perfumery was accidentally retained. Galima had an idea and turned perfume manufacturing into the main business. In 1747, he founded Galima Perfume Factory (Galimard) named after him, and sent the perfumes and pomades it produced to the royal family. Hands of perfume lovers. With the help of these nobles, Grasse's perfume industry flourished. History is full of surprises like this. The head cobbler who dealt with unpleasant leather in the shady and simple workshop turned out to be the inventor of perfume and the maker of personal charm who would conquer the world's fashion circle in the future. In the perfume factories of Galima and Molinar, professionals lead tourists to visit the perfume manufacturing process, tools and perfumer's workshop. In the fragrance studio of the Garima Perfume Factory, visitors can make a personal perfume under the professional guidance of a perfumer.

Today, the perfume industry has become the pillar industry of Grasse, and the religious forces that hindered its development are no longer what it used to be. Only Grasse Cathedral is left, as one of the main attractions in Grasse, welcoming tourists from all directions. This church was originally built in the 12th century. The brick and stone facade is simple and low-key, but the interior design is gorgeous and magnificent. The vault and decorative elements are quite the style of Lombardy and Ligurian architecture in northwestern Italy. The exquisite stained glass windows and 4 lifelike statues of evangelists designed by Bayeux are unforgettable. Some of the art works in the church also have a lot of origins, including Jean-Honoré Fragonard's rare religious painting "Lavement des Pieds" (Lavement des Pieds).

Sea of flowers

From an ordinary small town to a recognized perfume capital, Grasse relies on not only luck, but also unique natural conditions.

This quaint medieval town faces the sea and is built next to the mountains. The steep stone steps are like winding belts connecting scattered traditional houses and stone roads. The breeze from the Mediterranean is warm and pleasant, the streams under the Alps are clear and flowing, coupled with plenty of warm sunshine, provide good natural conditions for the growth of flowers and plants. April and May are the seasons for roses to bloom, July and August are purple lavender and white jasmine. In autumn and winter, yellow velvet flowers dye Grasse into golden yellow, as well as hyacinths and violets...the flowers that bloom for the first time throughout the year become Grass's inexhaustible source of fragrance.

In order to maintain the fragrance of the flowers to the utmost extent, Glass has always retained the method of hand picking, and the picking time is also very particular. Grass jasmine is an extremely delicate flower species that usually blooms only at night. In order to preserve the fragrance essence of the flowers in good condition, flower farmers often go out at four or five o'clock and rush to remove the dewy flowers from the branches carefully before the sun rises. Take off the head and put it in the flower basket. They are in a sea of flowers, and sometimes they even faint because the fragrance of the flowers is too strong. This is probably what people often say "to be fainted with happiness". It is said that about 600 kg of fresh Grass jasmine can extract 1 kg of pure fragrance, and it takes about 300,000 flowers to extract 1 kg of pure rose fragrance, which shows the preciousness of perfume.

It is the huge economic benefits brought by these fragrances that promoted the development of Grasse. Nowadays, the town has a population of more than 50,000 and more than 30 perfume factories, and it receives many fragrance lovers and tourists from all over the world every year. The high-quality and inexpensive perfume is dazzling

Summer is the best tourist season in Grasse, and it can catch up with the two most important annual events here-the Expo Rose in May and the Jasmine Festival in August.

The International Rose Festival is usually held on the second weekend of May, when roses from France, Italy, Tunisia, the Netherlands, Morocco, Kenya and other countries gather in small towns, full of fragrance. Enjoying the flowers and smelling the fragrance, enjoying the wonderful singing and dancing performances, tasting the local specialties, and enjoying a relaxing and pleasant weekend, what a joy! During the International Rose Festival, roses of different varieties from many countries gathered in the small town of Grasse, full of fragrance. During the International Rose Festival, there are exciting activities such as singing and dancing performances and costume parades

The residents of Grasse began to grow jasmine on a large scale in the mid-19th century. To celebrate the harvest of jasmine, since 1946, the town will hold a grand jasmine festival on the first weekend of August every year. Growers, perfume designers and jasmine lovers from all over the world gathered together to share the joy of harvest. Even when the new crown pneumonia epidemic is raging around the world in 2020, Grasse still retains this traditional festival, expressing his love for jasmine on the one hand, and providing support to jasmine growers and florists affected by the epidemic on the other. During the event, there will be street band performances, gorgeous float parades and fireworks displays. People sing and dance and are immersed in the white sea of joy.