Bouquet de Laurier Camphrier c1847

In 1847, Petit Courrier des Dames: Journal des Modes published an elegant notice on Guerlain’s latest olfactory innovation—Bouquet de Laurier Camphrier, a fragrance that drew upon a botanical marvel newly appreciated in Europe. The article begins by tracing the perfume’s exotic origins to the Laurus camphora, or camphor laurel, a tree native to Japan and first introduced to the West by the naturalist Engelbert Kaempfer. Belonging to the Lauraceae family, the camphor laurel was celebrated not only for its majestic growth and glossy evergreen leaves but also for the aromatic substances concealed within its wood and flowers. The writer carefully distinguishes it from the Dryobalanops camphora of Sumatra—a towering forest tree that also yields crystalline camphor, but in plate-like tears resembling mica. Though both share certain olfactory and botanical affinities, the Japanese laurel’s perfume was said to be far more refined, its scent luminous and pure rather than resinous and medicinal.

Unlike the traditional camphor distilled from the wood, Bouquet de Laurier Camphrier derived from an essence newly obtained by distilling the flowers alone—a novel technique in the mid-19th century. This floral distillation produced an ethereal and volatile essence, faintly tinged with the characteristic sharpness of camphor, yet distinguished by a liveliness and delicacy unknown to European perfumers. The discovery was credited to Madame de Lagrenée, who first presented the substance to Parisian society, and to M. Renard, a French envoy to China, who provided assurance of its authenticity and recent production in the Far East. Such international collaboration reflected the era’s growing fascination with exotic botanicals and the cross-cultural exchange of luxury materials that defined mid-19th-century perfumery.

The journal praised Guerlain for transforming this rare oriental extract into a fragrance of great distinction. His creative vision and technical mastery elevated the raw material beyond its novelty, shaping it into a perfume that was at once vivid, penetrating, and suavely sweet. The scent was described as unlike any known perfume—a refined tension between brisk clarity and soft sensuality. This contrast likely arose from the interplay of natural compounds such as borneol, cineole, and safrole, responsible for the camphoraceous coolness, balanced by floral terpenes that imparted sweetness and warmth. Guerlain’s art lay in tempering the volatile freshness with a harmonious roundness, crafting a perfume that captured both exotic vigor and Parisian sophistication.

The notice predicted that Bouquet de Laurier Camphrier would surpass in popularity the celebrated botanical perfumes then fashionable in European salons—Vétiver, Ayapana, Géranium, Patchouli, and Verveine de l’Inde—all of which Guerlain had already helped bring to prominence. Within this lineage, the Bouquet de Laurier Camphrier represented both innovation and continuity: a fresh expression of nature’s aromatic power filtered through the cultivated artistry of the perfumer’s hand. To the fashionable women of 1847, it offered not merely fragrance, but an emblem of modern curiosity and global refinement—an olfactory bridge between the mysteries of the Orient and the elegance of Paris.