FOR THE LAST 40 YEARS, NATURE HAS BEEN OUR GREATEST SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
Since it was founded in 1981, the Maison has developed a true art of perfumery, creating elegant and unique fragrances to accompany all life’s special moments. Springing from the love of flowers and plants, our vision for Haute Parfumerie is one that cares about the environment and about taking care of the planet’s precious resources.
It has always been important to us to protect both nature and our consumers, as we seek to pass on stories from one person to another and to future generations. Our commitments to protecting the environment are founded on our love of nature, our passion for exceptional ingredients and on know-how.
It has always been important to us to protect both nature and our consumers, as we seek to pass on stories from one person to another and to future generations. Our commitments to protecting the environment are founded on our love of nature, our passion for exceptional ingredients and on know-how.
THE 3 PILLARS AT THE HEART OF OUR DNA
Pillar 1
As a Maison based in Paris, we need nature to create new stories.
Pillar 2
Goutal does not follow trends and has always maintained a vision for Haute Parfumerie that is based on creative freedom and natural elements.
Pillar 3
Goutal is passionate about perpetuating the legacy of outstanding skill and craftsmanship that epitomises French Haute-Parfumerie.
PILLAR 1. OUR LOVE OF NATURE
As a Maison based in Paris, we need nature to create new stories.
THE BUTTERFLY, SYMBOL OF THE MAISON
This icon that incarnates the Maison Goutal was inspired by an antique piece discovered by our founder and has become a true symbol of unity. Symbolising love and faithfulness, it perfectly embodies the values of our Maison. It seems to face us as one, but actually represents two butterflies embracing, as an invitation to take a fresh look at the world around us.
The butterfly is a precious guardian of biodiversity. Through its many journeys, it helps to pollinate the flowers that are so treasured by our Maison. During its life and as it nourishes itself, it enhances plant photosynthesis by nibbling on leaves, which allows light to reach lower levels of foliage. It is a key element in the food chain. Butterflies are however under threat due to human activity.
The butterfly is a precious guardian of biodiversity. Through its many journeys, it helps to pollinate the flowers that are so treasured by our Maison. During its life and as it nourishes itself, it enhances plant photosynthesis by nibbling on leaves, which allows light to reach lower levels of foliage. It is a key element in the food chain. Butterflies are however under threat due to human activity.
PILLAR 2. OUR CAREFULLY CHOSEN INGREDIENTS
Goutal does not follow trends and has always maintained a vision for Haute Parfumerie that is based on creative freedom and natural elements.
We use natural-origin ingredients wherever possible, and have done so for over 40 years.
Out of love for nature and without compromising on quality and quantity, our founder favoured natural ingredients – a personal choice, but also an olfactive one. Remaining faithful to our founder's values, more than half of our creations are formulated with at least 90% natural-origin ingredients. This is neither due to a need nor a desire to follow a trend, but a matter of preference and conviction.
We favour natural ingredients wherever possible, but proudly use synthetic ingredients to complete our perfumer's palette
Synthetic ingredients represent an alternative to natural resources and rare essences. They enable us to reduce the over-use of natural ingredients such as sandalwood. When the perfumer’s palette is limited to the notes that only nature can deliver, the perfumer recreates them. It’s a way of paying tribute to the olfactory diversity of these elements of nature that cannot speak for themselves, and whose scents cannot be captured, such as honeysuckle or fruity notes. It is almost impossible to capture these scents without using synthetic notes. Petite Chérie is the perfect example. Thanks to synthetic ingredients, we have been able to accomplish the incredible achievement of recreating the scent of a crisp pear, which does not exist in nature. These synthetic materials are true technical and creative masterpieces, that bring both stability and depth to our fragrances. You often need both natural and synthetic ingredients in order to produce the most beautiful creations.
Since the beginning, we have chosen not to use colourants
Our Maison has never used colourants in its compositions. This was very much a choice of our founder, who wished to let the fragrances evolve naturally, in the same way that nature can evolve. This explains why the formula gradually changes in colour or fades over time. Depending on the harvest, weather conditions (temperature and rainfall, for example) and the year, the colour of the essences drawn from our raw materials will vary. The colour of our fragrances reflects the natural colour of the ingredients used.
PILLAR 3. OUR FRENCH SAVOIR-FAIRE AND SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES
Goutal is passionate about perpetuating the legacy of outstanding skill and craftsmanship that epitomises French Haute-Parfumerie. To this day, the Maison still composes and produces all its fragrances and candles in France, using French noses and experts.
We promote craftsmanship and local production
The labels and ribbons are applied by hand to our iconic feminine bottle in French workshops. Our iconic bottles are made in Italy, and our prestige 450 ml bottle is hand-blown by French craftspeople.
We offer recyclable and rechargeable fragrances, and always have done so
For the last 40 years, we pioneered sustainable packaging with our glass fragrance bottles, which come with a screw cap and are refillable. We opted for glass fragrance bottles for their recyclable quality. Whenever possible, we also choose glass packaging for our other products, such as our body creams. This reflects how Annick Goutal sought to create products that are both beautiful and sustainable. This is something that we also support through our fragrance refills. Since their launch in 1981, our refills range has evolved over time, according to the needs of our consumers. We are keen to introduce this practice to our Maison’s devotees by raising awareness around refillable bottle, so that we can extend our range together with our consumers.
FRAGRANCES OF EMOTION
Memories of holidays, or from childhood; declarations of love from a mother to her daughter, or a wife to her husband... Behind each Goutal fragrance is a story as personal as it is universal. All that it asks is to be heard and passed on. Discover their stories and write yours.
