T–HÉRITAGE by Galimard

Grasse is world-famous for its fragrant flowers, which have been cultivated for centuries to supply the perfume houses, because the region’s climate and soil nurture iconic blooms like jasmine, May rose, orange blossom and tuberose. Still harvested with great care, these flowers are prized for their complex scents. Jasmine adds sensual warmth, May rose brings soft elegance, and orange blossom offers luminous freshness. Together they form the heart of many classic fragrances. Among these flowers, tuberose stands out for its creamy, intoxicating depth, and the latest perfume to capture this is T-Héritage from Galimard.

Founded in 1747 by Jean de Galimard, a glove maker from Burgundy, the company began in Grasse, then the heart of leather craftsmanship. Galimard was among the first to scent leather, helping establish the Corporation of Glove Makers and Perfumers. His fragrant creations soon extended beyond leather and cloth to supply King Louis XV and his court with oils, pomades, powders, and perfumes. Although the business unfortunately closed after Galimard had no male heir, its reputation endured. In 1946, his descendants, the Fontmichels, thankfully revived the house with chemist Joseph Roux, restoring Parfumerie Galimard to Grasse.

The renewed company operated from the historic family-owned premises on rue Amiral de Grasse, and launched with fragrances such as Galimar, Yvana, and Aigues Vives. These perfumes may be long gone now, but there is so much more to discover. In the 1960s, ownership passed fully to the Roux family, and Joseph Roux’s children took over in 1965, guiding a new era of growth. During the 1970s, they relocated to Route de Cannes, creating a combined production site, laboratory, and visitor experience, and then also expanded into the historic village of Eze, However, heritage was about to come full circle.

Alongside the regular additions to the Galimard range, they also wanted to create a separate collection that honoured their Grasse legacy. So, they decided to take three of the iconic flowers and turn them into expanded soliflors. Each would have the star ingredient at its heart, but various facets would be explored in the top and base notes. The flowers chosen were jasmine, May rose and tuberose. Japanese perfumer Yusuke Masuda was tasked with creating the fragrances, which form the Héritage Collection, and this Provençal trio beautiful captures its floral subjects. All three are worth hunting out, but T(uberose) really is something special.

The fragrance opens with incredible notes of green cardamom and blood orange, representing the sunlight hitting the blooms, but there’s also the first hints of the star ingredient. The decadent and heady tuberose starts to appear, but it’s given a welcome fanfare with a clever hit of clove. This stops the floral blooming too soon, and also helps to add a strong unisex edge to the scent. As the tuberose comes to the fore you have the intoxicating creaminess so associated with the physical flower, but the development of the fragrance is wonderfully unexpected. Warm ginger and a resinous amber push through, which almost hints at the absolute that is extracted from the flower, before a final blend of sandalwood, guiacwood and lavender take you back to the treasured Provençal terrain. T-Héritage is an exceptional unisex realisation of the tuberose flower, and the perfect scent for spring.

The three fragrances that form the Héritage Collection are available from the Galimard website at galimard.com, and are priced at £65 for 50ml. [Sample provided by Galimard]