Best Cologne in the World? Inside A 300 Year Old British Perfumery | Floris London
Is this is like the throne room this is The secret Secret group it's our inner sanctum Really seventh generation uh ninth Generation now actually Unbelievable bit like music really You've got the language of perfumery and Music talking in in notes and you know Crescendo And And uh and it's like a sort of piece of Music the way a fragrance will open out And take you on a bit of a journey [Music] I love this shop that's great yeah After you no no no thank you [Music] Kirby edward welcome so nice to see you Thank you for having us pleasure and It's so great to be back on monday of Course You're not bad at all how are things Getting along yeah picking up well Actually which is really nice yeah it's So good to see yeah well so nice to be Back people out and about yeah well Finally all this time yeah and the Weather has turned uh turned quite nice Compared to this morning Yeah people didn't see it on film but it Really was a damage this morning yeah It's just quite pleasant yeah it's one Of those mornings it's very dark yeah Yeah miserable so now it's brightening
Up now which is good to see well it's so Great to be back on german street lovely To have you back one of my favorite Things whenever i'm in london of course Is to pop into the places that you can Only find here in london and of course Floris is one of those and edward one of The things i've always appreciated are Your hand poured kind of seasonal Fragrances Kind of collecting them over the years Thank you very much i thought we'd drop In and just kind of see you know what You have this new of course well we have Um spiced bergamot which is our hand Poured one for for this season which is Quite a nice warm fragrance got some Ginger notes Resinous notes and sandalwood as well so It's quite a rich but it's also got the Sort of the freshness of the bergamot as Well um if you like i can show you where We uh where we handball our fragrances And where all the magic happens Yeah thank you come on [Music] Come on through Thank you wow beautiful i think this is The first time i've ever been back here Edward It is i think it's the first time i Realized it existed it's hard to believe This is this is like the throne room This is the secret it's the secret room
It's our inner sanctum room yeah this is Sort of like you All the wonderful bits that you could Show off but you're such a classy brand That you just don't and you keep it all Back here for kirby and nice yeah i mean Princess diana i mean this is a bit of a Museum as well as being our perfumery so This is where all the magic happens gosh This is beautiful i mean how long have You guys been in this location since 1730 really here in like the same In the same location that's right yes The building is from the late 1600s And we've been here since 1730 and all The all the cabinets in the shop are From the great exhibition and all these Ones were replicated um in 1900 to To replicate the shop really Unbelievable And you're what the seventh generation Uh ninth generation now actually Generation unbelievable i mean it has to Put you among the most or the oldest Family held businesses in all of All of england One of the oldest i think um The oldest perfumery certainly in in England and um i'm one of the the oldest In the world definitely wow and believe Yeah that's still independent since your Family runs yeah that's great but yeah This is our sort of in the sanctum where We create all of our new fragrances that
We Launch um into the range um and it's a Lovely quiet area to work from yeah away From the sort of hustle and bustle German Well you know Well one of the things i love about Flores is i mean you guys have Just i think one of the most significant Archives or collections of fragrances I mean i've got so many of my own i mean It's like i'm probably up to eight or Nine different bottles i know yes that's The thing i do guys with i know from Being president that i know that you are A man of richard and scent play such an Important part in your morning routine Well it's funny i mean i feel like you Know i'm not ready for the day But i don't know if it's psychological Or whatever i mean but i mean i'm not Ready for the day until i spray my scent And it just it's the last thing i do Before i leave you know in the morning And it just yeah you know Without it it's as important as my shave Or tying my tie yeah is is the fragrance And whenever i spray that and you know I've got my line up there and so you Kind of have you know you know use Different fragrances for different Occasions or different purposes and so You know you kind of reflect take a Moment of reflect of what you're going
To do that day and then you make your Selection and then you're ready to go Out yeah oh i agree something very Reassuring about having your [Laughter] Well and then one of the other things i Love is that you know i mean again you Guys could easily rest on You know your Several hundred year history but you Know with your hair hand poured seasonal Fragrances you guys are still constantly Inventing new fragrances and then we're In the room that you do your bespoke Fragrances in where someone can still Come And you know have a consultation and Create something that's totally unique In one-of-a-kind Absolutely yes we have all our bases and Blends here and we um we we still use Our antique glassware that's from the Early days and and everything is Measured out in fluid ounces and fluid Drams which is the way we've we've Always done it really and um yes so this Is where where customers can come and Sit with our perfumer for a couple of Hours or longer depending on the Consultation yeah and create their own Fragrance and then They can name their fragrance and we'll We'll keep a handwritten Um record of it so it goes down in our
In our books uh but also it's kept on Our computer system and then whenever They want to reorder they they've got Their unique fragrances we'll make it up Here especially for them whenever they They need to one of these days i have to Do that yeah it's just like yeah yeah It's like having my son's name in the Book of charvet yeah he goes back and Pulls his pattern you know one day you Know you you want your your um your son Or your daughter to be you know here in Uh london at flores i think my father Used to always have a fragrance yeah to Reorder it you know and then the Nostalgia there yeah You know right there with the king you Know Yeah exactly Great we've had some people that um they Want to have the fragrance that their Their friend has created and so we say Well no we can't give it to you but if You want to you know if you can ask them If they give permission then we can Gladly make it up for you yeah so we Have that a few times where somebody's Given a permission for their friends What a great gift is to kind of have Your signature fragrance that you've had Made bespoke and to give it to certain Family members i mean You know it's one of those experiences i Feel like that is so unique to london
Heritage brands like this really don't Exist In very many other places no no no you Know we were support for choice here but The um uh outside of london were you Know it's sort of dwindling fast yeah Um but hopefully like uh the the sort of The the kind of the reputation of london As a place where These sorts of brands are Help sort of bolster its kind of yeah Its relevance going forward But what What have you brought out what's the I've just brought out really our Glassware here and some of our um Some of our Bases and blends so here we've got um This is a A base which is a citrus Base we have basically a few different Um Faces from each fragrance family say Floral family citrus family woody an Oriental family as well or amber And then we have the individual areas so If you wanted to add bergamot or you Wanted to add sandalwood or cedarwood or Cassis or whatever the ingredient is Then we can work with those to to to Customize the the fragrance and this is Cypress neroli i've got the neroli Voyage oh Similar
Um similar in the same family but um In fact let's have a Let's have a smell while we're here Um Feel these Salads they're quite That does make me nervous isn't that Because that's It does it makes us nervous as well Actually this is very incredible i would Sort of would suggest is a very Traditional english gentleman scent i Think it reminds me of Sort of Like when i went to Like my father's club or his uh he used To have a health club in the city Which he designed as a sort of Gentleman's club come officer's mess Come gin yeah and it worked very well But the but the idea was that there were Lots of You know the sort of things you'd find In white bathrooms you'd find the Bottoms up and the smell you know Very funny something like this so it's Just sort of something that like a Gentleman it's very refreshing yeah Exactly Um it's it's similar to it's probably Closest to our jf fragrance that we have In the range but it's just slightly oh Brilliant But it's it's different but very sort of
Close close to that one there yeah Interesting and then talk to us about i Mean the the hand pours i mean the Golden amber i think was Earlier This year late last Um when was that yes it was late late Last year Um was it no actually it was earlier This year sorry yeah um and um And then yes the spiced burgundy that we Have now i know irrelevant during Coasters people have we've lost track of Everything it's become very uh yes It's very strange it does seem like a Time warp flexible yeah So this is the Golden amber which you'll be familiar With then Which is fresh so distinct a little bit I mean this is a really great kind of Spring Day fragrance it is it's it and then We've got the The like you say more sort of seasonal Winter Style fragrance spice bergamot which is Um Spicy it's it has the bergamot um Opening to it to give it the freshness But then it's got uh lovely notes of Ginger and Frankincense [Music]
And so these are eau de parfums yes Oh that's very different that's very Nice And it has a marine note as well which Is one of the top notes but it's a Little bit like the smell of of the sea Like the The sort of sea breeze How does the um i mean i know that with Whenever you create a fragrance you're Layering the different notes Uh how does it vary with like You know a de toilette and an eau de Parfum right i mean this is a higher Concentration i mean for the hand poured Fragrances and then it is Yes yeah the the eau de parfums tend to Be a higher concentration of fragrance Than an eau de toilette but does it Allow i guess greater kind of Delineation or development of these Notes kind of as they linger It depends on the type of fragrance and And And the notes so sometimes you can have A An eau de toilette that could be Stronger than an eau de parfum just Because of the sort of nature of the Fragrance so if you have A load of cologne that's perhaps very Rich and woody um that would probably Last longer than an odor perfam that was A sort of light citrus fragrance or a
Light floral fragrance so it does depend On on the sort of the nature of the Fragrance because the Sort of lighter citrus notes and lighter Floral notes they they tend to be the Very volatile molecules that just lift Off the skin quite quickly Whereas the um The sort of richer woodier notes and Spice notes and vanilla things like that They're the very heavy dense molecules That stay on the skin Right until the end of the day or the Next morning so yeah sort of how it Works so it's a little bit like um a bit Like music really you've got the Language of perfumery and music talking In in notes and you know crescendo And and it's like a sort of piece of Music the way a fragrance will open out And take you on a bit of a journey yeah I like that yeah really it's a beautiful Analogy A symphony yeah a symphony of symphony And i think that just like with music There's several different genres And notes And i think that um you know a proper Uh wardrobe has several different Fragrances I agree which i guess is a little uh Non-traditional because traditionally Correct me if i'm wrong i mean uh part Of coming of age was
Having your own fragrance made and then You would that am i wrong and that that Would kind of be your fragrance Quite often yeah that that was so Traditionally the way things tended to Be you'd have just have your fragrance That would be your signature so your Signature and a bit of an extension to Your personality and to your character Which lots of our from chatting to lots Of our customers some people do you know They've found their fragrance that's the One and that's the one they always will Wear and their friends know them by that So you know Whereas um i think Um more recently it's become more Popular to have a wardrobe of fragrances Yeah you have for different occasions Different times of year uh even Different times of day so you know have An evening fragrance compared to it Because some sense have the capacity to Warm you up yeah you know just when it Kind of gives it a sense of warming up Yeah vanilla tobacco those sorts of Things absolutely and they tend to be Quite comforting in the in the winter Yep Um yeah and a bit stifling in the summer Even sometimes yeah it can do that yeah Well there's certain uh you know like The leather ode i mean that's a Fragrance that to me is an evening time
Yep fragrance and i wouldn't necessarily Put it on in the morning no exactly then You've got the german street or the jf Or Um you know some of the other ones that Um Like centaur that are you know great Kind of daytime Fragrances and day fragrances Definitely yeah i do wear the uh german Street quite a lot because that's that Seems it's got the freshness to you can Wear it in the summer And the winter but it's it's also got That lovely better there note that runs Through it and gives it a real sort of Warmth and depth so it's a good sort of All-rounder Yeah now a question Referring to our left If somebody were to come in and say i'd Like what the king had Could that be replicated to today Because you have these amazing ledges Over here That Detail what was ordered by Great sort of Individuals of the past Could somebody say What king george six had um We wouldn't be able to say what they They wouldn't be able to dis uh disclose That to the customer you know even you
Know even you know a king of a hundred Years ago Still would We still would guard that privacy yeah We would could you make it up without Saying what's in it Uh yes we could i suppose yeah So they just just arrived saying this This is what it was Yeah this is this is what it was We'll keep it unlabeled unmarked I think that may be do you say that That's probably the best way of doing it The perfect that's something yeah ideal I like something i know make sure i get A bottle in the mail whenever you know Yeah king uh you know You know king george's Fragrances and go and and and Another audience of the queen later yes Yes she maybe could smell us and Get a great membership yeah i think it's A great idea all right let's do it too I've got all sorts of well-known names In there They're great winston churchill no Coward as well we've just um there's an Uh exhibition actually it's just opened In Uh guild hall in this yeah They um They borrowed one of our antique bottles Of the fragrance that he used to wear so That was part of the exercise so yeah
It's a great great exhibition actually i Was able to have a look the other day So Lots of um a bit of a who's who of the Of the time in in Well in history i mean yeah i mean again I mean one of the things that's not lost On me is you know here we are sitting at This desk in this room And flores has so much heritage and Continuity to it having been here since The beginning that you know just think Of the countless other people that you Know preceded us that have sat at this Desk with a member of the bodenham Family you know to you know discover Fragrance yeah It's really i mean again Reminds me of lob with the striking Anvil that you know kind of marks the Bottom of all uh their outsoles i mean That hammer has struck the bottom of Kings Princesses titans of industry You know criminal i mean it's like you Name it You know polite and that single thread The two of the same yeah You know but that single thread you know Really i feel like if you're here in London and you have the privilege of Transacting with these businesses really Kind of connect you to that thread of History yeah and the culture it's
Cultural because whether people like it Or not this Places like this feed into the culture Of who we are as englishmen yes Or as brits very important um and that's Why you come over here that's right well Edward such a pleasure thank you thank You so much [Music]
