Perfumery is both an art and a science mastered by the perfumer who has at his disposal n "organ" with a palette of 5.000 to 6.000 different scents, each with its own note and personality.

The "nose" must bring them together and "marry" them into subtle harmonies until he finds the perfect blend to appeal to our sense of smell.

It is a complex art. Do you know, for example, that the perfume Molinard de Molinard contains nearly 600 different components? As for the more scientific aspect, the perfumer must take into consideration not only the smell and its persistence but also the degree of volatility of the different essential oils, which compose it, and how, the skin reacts to them. Quality control must therefore be applied at every stage of production.

A sample is taken from each batch to ensure the constant quality of the products. Perfumes, eau de toilette and eau de Cologne macerate in 2000-litre vats for four to eight months ; like Cognac they improve with maturity.

Quantities Obtained
The production of oils differs greatly: 100 lbs. of orange, lemon or bergamot fruit peel yield about 10 ounces of fragrant oil: 100 lbs. of cedar wood give about 15 ounces of oil of cedar: 100 lbs. of nutmeg yield about 60 ounces of oil of nutmeg: 100 lbs. of geranium yield about 2 ounces of oil. As a rule, however, the average is less than 5 per cent, and in many cases only traces of essential oil are obtained.

One kilo of Jasmine is equivalent to about 10.000 to 20.000 small flowers, and one ton of these petals (in other words, one million flowers) are needed to obtain three kilos of concrete, which in turn will yield one to one-and-a-half kilos of an incomparable quality of absolute used, for example, in Habanita and Molinard de Molinard.

Olive oil
"The great lady of Grasse" - This raw material was frequently used in the region, first as food product, then by tanners to soften skips and gloves, and finally to manufacture Iris and Rose soaps. Today, this softening oil in used in the fabrication of soaps.