Grossmith will launch Betrothal in April. Like the brand’s three 2009 releases (Phul-Nana, Shel-el-Nessim, and Hasu-no-Hana), Betrothal is a reworked fragrance from the back catalog; it was reportedly created in 1893 to mark the engagement of Queen Mary (see: Mary of Teck) and is brought back now to mark the engagement of Kate Middleton…
Have you ever seen the episode of I Love Lucy where Lucy gets a job in a candy factory? The candy rolls off the assembly line so fast she can’t package it. She ends up covered in chocolate and out of a job. These days, trying to stay on top of perfume launches is like working at Lucy’s candy factory. As is also true at the factory, so many of the fragrances are the same. This candy tester is happy to report the new Grossmith line stands apart. They’re different not so much because they’re wildly compelling, but because they smell of a different time.
Grossmith, an English perfume house, first opened its doors in 1835 and closed sometime in the early 20th century. The great grandson of its founder revived the house this year with the help of Roja Dove from Harrod’s Roja Dove Haute Parfumerie. Grossmith has released three of its original fragrances. Despite the perfume house’s name, which sounds like it could front canned peas, each fragrance’s name is exotic: Phul-Nana, Shel-el-Nessim, and Hasu-no-Hana…
Grossmith, an English perfume house originally established in 1835, has been relaunched by the great-grandson of the original founder working in collaboration with Roja Dove of the Haute Parfumerie at Harrods. Three of the original fragrances are now available:
Phul-Nana ~ “Hindi for ‘lovely flower’. A fresh, sweet Floral composition with Aromatic Fougère overtones on a soft, warm, woody base…”
But after tracking down the name of an ancestor inscribed on a childhood storybook, he found he was related to the perfume empire founded by John Grossmith in 1835. Now he is relaunching the company with the original scents, selling them through Harrods, Fortnum & Mason and Les Senteurs.
— From Revived: perfume range worn by Queen Victoria at the London Evening Standard.