Rémy Cointreau enters fragrance with Maison Psyché

By Julia Wray | Published: 20-Oct-2022

New ‘fragrance house’ is the result of a collaboration between Maison Rémy Martin’s Cellar Master and Sophie Labbé, Principal Perfumer at Firmenich

French spirits manufacturer Rémy Cointreau Group is poised to make its mark on the fragrance world via the launch of Maison Psyché.

The new fragrance house aims to bring the expertise of the perfumery and spirits worlds together to ‘explore uncharted horizons’. 

Leading Maison Psyché’s direction are Baptiste Loiseau, Cellar Master of Maison Rémy Martin, and Sophie Labbé, Principal Perfumer at Firmenich.

“Maison Psyché was born from our shared love for the terroirs and age-old expertise, both in Cognac and further afield where perfumery’s finest raw materials blossom,” Loiseau and Labbé said.

“These carefully selected raw materials form the foundations of five exceptional olfactory creations making up the first Maison Psyché collection.

“We left them to age in the Maison Rémy Martin cellars in Cognac to allow them to expand their range of expression in our tonnelets [small oak casks]. Time has done its work and the result is striking, just like for our eaux de vie.”

The Maison Psyché perfume bottles are made from Baccarat crystal and adorned in gold, with some limited-quantity versions decorated using diamonds for exclusive clientele.

“The creation of Maison Psyché is the fulfilment of a wonderful dream,” said Francesco Riosa, CEO of Maison Psyché. “The dream of reinventing ‘la grande parfumerie’ in the 21st century and restoring its prestige by connecting it to the traditional and time-honored expertise of exceptional spirits.”

Eric Vallat, CEO of Rémy Cointreau Group, added: “The Maison Psyché range is a natural extension of our activities.

“It is based on the special blending and ageing expertise specific to the world of spirits to elevate the finest raw materials from perfumery and create innovative fragrances.

“Maison Psyché is a bridge between two worlds, that of luxury fragrance and that of spirits, and a bold venture with terroirs, people and time at its very heart.” 

 

Brands raising a toast to beauty

Rémy Cointreau’s move into the beauty space is not without precedent.

Kilian Hennessy, fifth-generation descendent of the renowned cognac-making family and founder of luxury fragrance brand Kilian, was apparently inspired to enter perfumery by childhood memories of the ‘angel’s share’, the House of Hennessy’s name for the percentage that, inexplicably, evaporates from cognac.

Meanwhile, Hollywood star Brad Pitt’s new Le Domaine skin care brand was inspired by the vineyard of his Château Miraval property in France.

Key active anti-ageing ingredients used in the range have been sourced from the vineyard.

GSM10 is made from a combination of marc (the refuse of grapes) from grenache seeds, syrah seeds and skins associated with a postbiotic microorganism.

While ProGR3 features a combination of three natural molecules present in plant extracts, vine sarments (year-old woody vine canes), camomile and green tea.

Maison Psyché parfums spend time in oak casks, which are specially designed by 200-year-old cooperage Seguin Moreau.

This combination of wood and time is said to contribute to the creation of new fragrances whose longevity on the skin and olfactory richness “have no equal”, according to Rémy Cointreau.

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