PENHALIGON'S

The British perfume house Penhaligon's was founded by Cornish-born, London-based William Henry Penhaligon. He later became the Royal Barber and Perfumer to Queen Victoria, opening his business in Penzance, Cornwall, in 1861. In 1869, Penhaligon moved to London, where he continued to work as a barber and produce related products and perfumes. William Henry Penhaligon's first fragrance, Hammam Bouquet (no doubt a reference to his first place of work in London, the Turkish hammam on Jermyn Street), was released in 1872. The Penhaligon & Jeavons brand was registered by Penhaligon and his business partner in 1880. In 1887, William's son Walter joined the business, becoming responsible for fragrance development. He will head the company in 1904, after the death of Mr. Jeavons (William Penhaligon died two years earlier - in 1902). At the same time, the company will be called simply Penhaligon's. Penhaligon's received its first patent for supplying goods to the royal court in 1903 from Queen Alexandra. At the beginning of the 20th century, Penhaligon's is a successful brand, whose name is almost synonymous with the words "English" and "aristocracy". One of the most iconic (to this day) fragrances of the brand - Blenheim Bouquet was created especially for the 9th Duke of Marlborough, Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill (by the way, famous descendants of this family - Winston Churchill and Diana Spencer - preferred the fragrances Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet and Bluebell respectively) and was inspired by the family residence of the Dukes of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace. In addition to the famous Blenheim Bouquet, by 1911 the Penhaligon's collection included the fragrances Esprit du Lavande, Lily of the Valley, English Fern, Douro Eau de Portugal and Zizonia (which was reformulated in the 1930s and early 21st century). Also under Walter, a second Penhaligon's boutique was opened in the neighboring building at 33 St. James's Street. In 1918, due to deteriorating health, Walter Penhaligon handed over the management of the company to his son Leonard. Under Leonard, Penhaligon's became a limited liability company, named Penhaligon's Ltd Perfumers and Hairdressers. By 1928, the company moved to a new building at 25 Bury Street (again, this was the building next door to the old boutique). Leonard soon handed over the management of the company to Eileen Smart, who focused on the development of the perfume line. During her tenure, the Ellenisia fragrance was released. By 1949, the word Hairdresser had disappeared from the company name and Penhaligon's became a pure perfume manufacturer. In this status, the company received its second Royal Warrant, granted by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1956. By 1963, Penhaligon's production had moved to Curzon Street in Mayfair, when, apparently, the company was bought by Geo. F. Trumper, another famous British brand that produced shaving products and perfumes (the Geo.F. Trumper boutique still operates on Curzon Street). The Bury Street store was closed. By the early 1970s, the company was experiencing something of a crisis, from which it was rescued by Sheila Pickles, a British woman who had worked as an assistant to Franco Zeffirelli in Italy for several years. Mrs. Pickles acquired Penhaligon's in 1975. Under her leadership, in 1988, the third royal patent was received - from Prince Charles of Wales. Sheila also opened a Penhaligon's boutique in the Covent Garden area, which is still the flagship store of the brand. All production and packaging of products took place in the same building. In 1976, the classic fragrances of the brand, created by William and Walter Penhaligon, were re-released. Interesting fact: at that time, the fragrance bottles were equipped with flat stoppers; the historical, round shape was returned when William Penhaligon's great-great-granddaughter Renee pointed it out. By the end of the 70s, a collection of Floral Toilet Water fragrances was released, within which, in addition to the reformulated Lily of the Valley, Violetta, Night Scented Stock, Orange Blossom, Gardenia and Bluebell appeared. Subsequently, Sheila Pickles left both the UK and the company in order to return to Italy again. In 2015, the Penhaligon's brand was bought by the Spanish company Puig, which to this day (as of January 2020) is engaged in the production and distribution of Penhaligon's products.