Gellé Frères

In the words of a great perfumer, every success needs a story. At the perfume and cosmetics house Gellé Frères, founded in 1826, that story is found in Versailles in the person of Marie-Antoinette and her court perfumer: Jean-Louis Fargeon belonged to a family of master pharmacists and perfumers and was the revered royal perfumer to the court of Versailles and Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1774. He succeeded in filling "the Garden of Trianon" into a bottle for the Queen. Numerous recipes for "perfumes to beautify" had been in the Fargeon family for generations. After the death of Jean-Louis Fargeon the Younger, some recipes were sold by a descendant from the "Fargeon jeune" stock. The brothers Jean-Baptiste Augustin and Nicolas Willeborde Gellé are said to have acquired perfume recipes from the master perfumer.

In 1826, the Gellé brothers jointly opened their first perfumery in Paris under the name "Parfumerie Savonnerie Gellé Frères" and made their perfume Trianon the flagship of their brand. Trianon was marketed in contemporary bottles in various versions with floral notes. In 1827, the brothers' production facilities were located in La Chapelle, where Gellé Frères owned a warehouse for Eaux de Cologne.

As a distiller of flowers and aromatic plants, Gellé Frères' product range included perfumes, Eaux de Cologne, toilet and dental soaps, powders, glycerine toothpastes, mouthwashes and shaving foam as well as essences of clove, sandalwood, patchouli, vetiver and rosewood. In 1876, their Eau de Cologne "Eau d'Albion" was known as far as Brazil. According to a perfume review from 1866, its gentle fragrance was said to be reminiscent of both lavender water and Portuguese water. A slight trace of acetic acid was said to be present, but was barely detectable thanks to a mixture of skillfully combined aromas, including tolu balsam and bergamot.

An address book from 1850 states the following about the company: "Gellé Ainé et Cie, formerly Gellé Frères, inventor of a regenerator to stop hair loss, inventor of the Zouave cream for the instant coloring of beards, moustaches and sideburns." At that time, the company was located at 35 Rue des Vieux-Augustins near Place des Victoires. There are no known reasons for the change in company name. An advertisement for "Maison Gellé Frères, Gelle Ainé et Co." (House of Gellé Frères, Gellé Senior and Co) from 1861 shows that "Gellé Frères" did not disappear as a brand name.

Gellé Frères inaugurated one of the first steam-powered factories in Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine and took part in various exhibitions in London and Paris. In 1851, the company received its first award at the Universal Exhibition in London. In 1860, Gellé Frères published its first treatise on cosmetics. In 1867, the renowned perfumers, chemists, soap makers and exporters were honored with a silver medal at an exhibition. In 1870, the factory moved to Levallois-Perret. The company then opened a prestigious store on the Avenue de l'Opéra.

In 1885, Paul Lecaron of Lecaron & Fils, grandson of Jean-Baptiste Augustin Gellé, became director and owner of the company. He succeeded his father Emil. Paul Lecaron later became president of the Syndicat de la Parfumerie Française. He was supported by his brother Maurice Lecaron. In 1887, the businessmen opened an office on Fifth Avenue in New York. After his brother's death, Paul Lecaron's nephews André and Robert joined the company. Together, they won numerous awards at world fairs and international exhibitions in Barcelona, Paris, Moscow, Hanoi and Brussels. Gellé Frères' products became popular even in Bolivia.

Forgeries by Gellé Frères Colognes are documented for 1892. In a trade report by French diplomatic and consular representatives from 1892, the following can be read about early fakes in perfume history: "Perfumery. We are in the lead in this article, but I should be very surprised if we held this position much longer. In recent years, the Germans and Austrians have flooded the market with French counterfeits. I am holding in my hands a label for a double-distilled Eau de Cologne that is very reminiscent of the Gellé Frères label, but with the name of this very honorable house replaced by the words "Parfumerie aux Fleurs". The eye shadows from Dorin, Paris, are also imitated; they simply replace the words Dorin with Dotin. [...] Apart from the counterfeits that come directly from abroad, there is a house in Constantinople whose specialty is to collect all the bottles that contained French perfume and then sell them on to small local counterfeiters for a handsome profit."

In 1900, the house turned attractive actresses and dancers such as Mistinguett and Belle Otéro into muses of their brand through advertising. They employed the renowned French advertising and poster designer Jean Carlu to design the posters. In 1913, the perfume Seduction was advertised in the New York Times. In 1916, during the First World War, Gellé Frères, as the "oldest major French brand", advertised oral hygiene products such as tooth soap and glycerine toothpaste in tubes "for the front" and "for soldiers in the trenches": "Very practical - protects your teeth victoriously" was the slogan.

In 1969, production was moved from Levallois to Palaiseau. Between 1970 and 1980, the company developed a line of beauty care products under the management of the Pointet pharmacist couple. Mr. and Mrs. Pointet took over the brand and positioned it on the herbal remedies market. In 1981, Gellé Frères offered innovative skin care products with individualized floral rituals in an institute on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris.

In 1993, Gellé Frères belonged to the beauty salon specialist Ipsocos. The last institute of the old house of Gellé Frères is said to have been located on Avenue Daumesnil in Paris and stopped selling its products in April 2014. Around 2014, Gellé Frères was sold by Ipsocos to the Frenchman Simon Ménard and to a Chinese family consortium with main business areas in tea and jewelry. The brand was relaunched in 2015. Gellé Frères returned in 2016 with five revamped lines in the form of oils, soaps, masks and lotions, particularly for the Chinese skincare market, and made its debut in North America in 2022. In 2017, they launched the new perfume collection "Queen next Door". The doors of a boutique on Avenue de l'Opéra in Paris, which opened in 2017, have since closed like other French boutiques of the new company and the European website is also currently (as of 2025) without function. Non-European websites are active and market care products.