Fragrance house

Rigaud

Rigaud traces its history to 1852, when Jean-Baptiste Rigaud moved from Auvergne to Paris and entered the fragrance business. In the 1860s, he operated Parfumerie Victoria and developed Bouquet Victoria, Jockey Club, and Kiss Me Quick; the house also pursued botanical materials, dating an Ylang-Ylang extract to 1866 and Eau de Kananga to 1869, which achieved success in Europe and the United States. After Rigaud’s death in 1898, the business passed to his widow and son Henri, who created Camia, Chypres de Rigaud, Un Rêve, and Vers la Joie. His 1914 fragrance Un Air Embaumé is identified as his principal masterpiece and achieved major success in France and abroad. In the twentieth century, Rigaud shifted from fine personal fragrance toward scented home products: its Cyprès candle dates to 1959, and home fragrances were added in the 1970s. Today, the brand’s public identity centers on French candles, combining composed fragrance with wax through a patented soft-wax formulation. Cyprès is the home-fragrance milestone most consistently associated with Rigaud, and the candle achieved international success.