
Annick Goutal discovered her gift for fragrance later in life, after a career as a prize-winning pianist and fashion model. While researching for a skincare venture at the fragrance firm Robertet, Goutal was first introduced to the seductive world of scent. It was love at first sight and Goutal quickly began her studies under the tutelage of a renowned “nose.” With a vernacular that included words like “note” and “harmony,” Goutal recognized the familiar language of music composition. Goutal was often quoted as saying her fragrances were “like precious bouquets, gathering the rarest and most noble of natural essences, they are composed as a symphony, note by note, in an eternal quest for balance, quality and perfect harmony.”
Her first three fragrances, Folavril, Passion (Goutal’s personal scent) and Eau d’ Hadrien quickly gained notoriety and she soon opened her first boutique in an old bookstore on Rue de Bellechasse in Paris. Goutal went on to create seventeen more scents including Eau de Camille, Eau du Sud, Gardenia Passion, Grand Amour and Petite Cherie, each one a small piece of her personal history, a reminder of someone , an emotion. Every one of her perfumes embodies a moment of happiness.
Goutal’s discriminating nose was celebrated in 1985 when she was honored with the prestigious distinction of receiving the “Prix de l’Excellence Europeenne,” an award previously bestowed upon such luminaries as Christian Dior, Tiffany and Rolls Royce. To this day, Goutal’s personal sophistication and romanticism remains present in everything from the manufacturing of the perfumes to the baroque décor of the Annick Goutal Parfums boutiques throughout the world.
Representing refinement and artisanship over pretension or mass production, Goutal’s spirit lives on in the company’s eternal pursuit of high quality, authenticity and harmony. With a unique boutique brand status and devoted cult following, Camille Goutal carries on the traditions of her mother, while infusing a new life into the brand. Today, Annick Goutal Parfums’ fragrances, bath and body products, as well as home scents remain both timeless classics and au courante favorites, continuing to be recognized and appreciated throughout the world. Praised as a “perfumer to the stars,” Goutal’s original creations are favored by celebrities such as Madonna, Oprah Winfrey, Drew Barrymore, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise.