Houbigant was the world's oldest perfume house — a licensing deal killed its prestige

Houbigant was founded in Paris in 1775 by Jean-François Houbigant, opening a shop on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré that sold gloves, perfumes, and bridal bouquets. It became one of the most prestigious perfume houses in the world — appointed perfumer to Napoleon and Empress Josephine in 1807, and awarded the license as 'Perfumer to Her Majesty, Queen Victoria' in 1838.

In 1882 Houbigant launched Fougère Royale, the first fougère perfume, creating an entirely new fragrance family. In 1912 it introduced Quelques Fleurs, the first multi-floral bouquet perfume. The house was a landmark of French perfumery for more than two centuries — until the early 1990s, when competition and rising costs pushed it toward collapse.

In 1993 Houbigant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York with $52.5 million in liabilities against $23 million in assets. To salvage the brand, the company licensed twelve perfumes and the Houbigant name to Renaissance Cosmetics, Inc. — a deal that let Renaissance market the fragrances through drug stores and discount retailers.

Renaissance reformulated the perfumes to cut costs, watering down the compositions and destroying the quality that had defined the house. Houbigant sued; Renaissance filed for bankruptcy in 1999 and ceased to exist. The Houbigant name passed to New Dana Perfumes, which manufactured its own cheap versions with no relation to the original formulas. The original house's 218-year legacy was gone — the name survived on bottles that smelled nothing like the perfumes that had once been sold to Napoleon's court.