French Alps

Biot Glassblowers

Today I drove up into the Alps to visit some of the villages.  The scenery is absolutely stunning.  I drove through a few villages - I have no idea what, as it involved unplanned scenic routes as a result of some arguments with my GPS - and stopped in Biot, then Grasse.

Making the Horse

Biot is known for its glassblowers, so after a quick visit into the village square, I went to the major glassblowers factory, where you can see them in action.  They make it look so incredibly easy!  One of the glassblowers was making horses, about as big as your hand, and it took all of five minutes per horse.  It was all amazing to watch.  There were a lot of things in the boutique I wanted to buy, but it was too risky packing in my suitcase, and postage would be exhorbitant. 

A small version of a nose's workstation -
usually there would be hundeds more scents!

Then it was off to Grasse, namely for the Fragonard Perfume Factory.  You can take a free tour of the factoy - unfortunately no workers there today, being Saturday - and the guides explain the process behind the perfume.  You can also purchase directly from them, and straight perfumes are sold at about the price you'd get an eaux de toilette in a normal shop - according to our guide, this is due to the fact in stores, what you are mostly paying for is the packaging and brand.  They also bottle all of their perfumes and eaux de toilettes in metal, which keeps better - up to four years, rather than the two of a glass bottle.  The factory smelled wonderful, and they had a lot of amazing scents to choose from. 

Original way of extracting scent from flowers that can't stand heat (ie steaming it out) - sit the flowers on animal fat for a few months...

To become a top perfumeur, or "noses" as they are called, you have to study for several years, then complete an apprenticeship - the main school is at the University of Versailles, and to get into the course, you have to be able to identify at least 350 difference scents.  There are only 50 top noses in the world.  The whole place was fascinating. 

... then the fat that is left once the scent has been extracted is turned into scented soap!

The scent itself, once extracted from flowers and fruits, etc, is the consistency of oil.  Typically, 80% of any type of perfume is alcohol.  In the case of parfum, it's then usually 20% perfume oil, although the percentages change slightly.  For eau de parfum, it's down to about 10% perfume oil, with water added to make up the rest, and eau de toilette only about 5% perfume oil, so about 15% is just water. 

Also as part of the Fragonard factory, is a costume museum, which is a private collection of 18th and 19th century Provencal gowns.  You weren't allowed to take photos, so they are a little dodgy in quality as I had to sneak them, and it was quite dark in there too.  There was a definite theme of flowers in the outfits the women wore, influenced by the abundance of flowers in the area, which then led to the opening of the perfume factory. 

All very droolworthy!  The work on the dresses and accessories is just amazing. 

Everything was in French, but I could read the part that said "Marie Antoinette" - not sure if it's one of her actual gowns, or was an imitation made at the time, of the fashions she wore.