Focus on: Le Bon Parfumeur Paris

February 07 2023 – Mercantile London

Bon Parfumeur was born from the desire to revive the beautiful perfumery of yesteryear, in a resolutely contemporary, genderless and creative way.

"I've always loved perfumes. The real artistic perfumery…. I like an authentic and creative perfume and that my perfume of the day matches my desire of the moment. It is from this idea that Bon Parfumeur was born. Since then, renowned French perfumers have joined me in this adventure to bring to life the fragrances of this beautiful house where everyone is free to be and create." - Ludovic Bonneton, Founder Le Bon Parfumeur

Ludovic has a colourful olfactory path, he successively wore Jicky by Guerlain or Vetiver by Carven as a teenager (and almost all vetivers afterwards), along with Habit Rouge or Pour un Homme by Caron. Then, he enthusiastically discovered the more secret houses. Houses that practice a real return to the roots of perfumery, by putting the fragrance back at the centre of their products. He moved to Cali, Colombia and began to create a brand that reflected his own vision of fragrances. A personal, innovative and unique brand, supported by a creative team, and so in 2016, Bon Parfumeur was born.

Bon Parfumeur is a traditional perfumery, but with an arty and chaotic approach to creation, where everyone is free to test, and mix their fragrances. Today, Bon Parfumeur offers a range of 28 eau de parfums created by eleven talented French perfumers and divided into ten olfactory categories. Bon Parfumeur believe their creations should be for everyone, regardless of gender so therefore adopt a genderfree position when formulating and naming the perfumes.

The brand are committed to constantly improve the manufacturing processes with an ongoing commitment to create ethical products, products of which they can be proud because they know exactly where, when and how they are designed and produced.

The Bon Parfumeur range is entirely made in France: the bottles come from the Pochet de Courval glassworks - the Rolls Royce of French glassmakers - nestled in the Bresle valley. The packaging is made in Grignan (sometimes also in Brioude near Ludovic’s house in Auvergne). The labels come from Cognac and the caps from Macon. All the perfumes are made between Paris and Grasse. The final packaging is carried out in Chartres in the heart of the Cosmetic Valley.

The perfumes are made with 100% recyclable glass bottles. The outer packaging is made from virgin and recycled pulp with the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) label and any additional paper and cardboard come from sustainably managed forests.

Each ingredient has been carefully examined to meet the highest health and safety standards. Rather than synthetics, they strive to use the best ingredients of natural origin (if there is no equivalent, then a 'safe' synthetic). Their perfumes have therefore up to 97% of natural ingredients. In any case no controversial ingredients such as BHA, EDTA, phenoxyethanol, formaldehydes, Lyral, BHT, Palm-oil will be found at Bon Parfumeur. They do not add coloring or UV filters. Each fragrance is beautifully natural, where the perfume can have a colour that varies a bit like a good wine depending on the light and aging, which is completely normal.

At Bon Parfumeur the perfumes are classified by olfactory families: Colognes are found in the zero's which often have a lively citrus note, Florals the 100's, perfect for those who have a strong affinity for a delicate blend, Ambers the 300's, sensual and intense, Woods the 600's, strong, warm and vibrant, Aromatics the 700's, enigmatic and chic and which combine the freshness of herbs with woody notes, Aquatic the 800's, which are fresh and transport you instantly to summer, and the Special blends which are showcased in the 900's and are spoken of as 'un-classable' favourites.

Each bottle is numbered according to its order of appearance in a fragrance family and clearly defined by its color. The 3 main notes are written on the front label: Top notes (the freshest notes that you can smell during the first few minutes) Heart notes (notes that create the identity of the perfume because they last several hours, they are often flowers and spices) and the base notes (persistent notes that give the trail of the perfume that can be smelled for hours, even days on clothes, woods, and musks are also used to fix, and "retain" the heart and top notes)
The perfumes can be used alone but are made to be mixed and layered, to ensure a bespoke fragrance. try the following combinations below, or buy one for yourself and one for your partner so you can mix and match when the mood takes you.

Woody Botanical 003 + 602