Gerald Ghislain is the founder and creative director of the niche brands Histoires de Parfums and The Scent of Departure. He was born in 1964 in the south of France in Orleans, and spent his childhood in Morocco. He studied hotel management, and at the age of 22 he opened his own restaurant in Paris. Having once visited the Grasse Perfume Museum, Ghislain became fascinated with the world of fragrances and in 1997 entered the ISIPCA perfume school. In 2000, he released two debut fragrances under the Histoires de Parfums brand: Blanc Violette and Noir Patchouli. Ghislain dedicates his fragrances to outstanding figures in world history and culture, and often uses numbers in the names – years of birth: 1725 Casanova, 1804 George Sand, 1826 Eugénie de Montijo, 1828 Jules Verne, 1873 Colette, 1876 Mata Hari, 1740 Marquis de Sade, 1899 Hemingway. The main collection Histoires De Parfums refers not only to historical dates and figures, but also to key perfume components – patchouli, amber, peony, violet and tuberose (Ambre 114, Vert Pivoine). In addition to biographical fragrances, Ghislain releases lines under his brand inspired by iconic places (L'Olympia Music Hall, 1889 Moulin Rouge), historical events (1969) and operas (1890 Dame de Pique, 1926 Princess Turandot, 1875 Carmen Bizet). Today, the brand's portfolio includes about five dozen fragrances. In 2011, Ghislain presented his second perfume project, The Scent of Departure, which he launched with designer Magali Senequier. The brand's fragrances are inspired by travel: each composition is designed to convey the smell of a certain city, the design of the bottle labels repeats a luggage tag and includes airport letter codes. Ghislain has released two dozen fragrances under the brand, the last of which were released in 2013.