For a perfume lover, Grasse is Mecca. For a lover of Rochas Femme and the classic Diors, Art et Parfum in nearby Cabris is its Kaaba. Earlier this week, Denyse from Grain de Musc and I spent an idyllic day at Sainte Blanche, home of Art et Parfum and the estate of the late Edmond Roudnitska and now his son, nose Michel Roudnitska.
Before visiting Cabris, my visions of the hills rising off the Côte d’Azur came from To Catch a Thief. I didn’t see roadsters with gloved Grace Kellys and neckerchief-sporting Cary Grants, but the Grassois hillside was almost Disney-perfect. The view from our hotel encompassed clipped olive trees, cypresses, and red tile roofs rolling down to the Mediterranean miles in the distance. Flirtatious cats lounged everywhere. At night, frogs sang.
Sainte Blanche occupies a stretch of steep hillside just off one of the small, winding roads leading from Cabris. After Denyse leapt from the car and said something into an intercom, and the gates to the estate slowly swung open. I eased the rented Twingo down a narrow driveway and around to the rear of one of the two large, white stucco houses. One of the houses is Art et Parfum’s offices and laboratories, and the other is Michel Roudnitska’s private residence…
