CitrusJean d'Albret
Jean d’Albret is a French perfume house founded in the aftermath of the war by the d’Ornano family, who borrowed its name from a 15th-century lord. Écusson, its aldehydic chypre, built its reputation. The house gave rise to Orlane, its skincare brand, before fading behind it and leaving the market.
Jean d'Albret perfumes
CitrusA house of Ornano
Count Guillaume d’Ornano founded Jean d’Albret in 1946 with his two sons, Hubert and Michel, fresh out of their studies. The father knew the business well: he had been a founding partner and sales director of Lancôme, a house created in 1935.
The descendants made their mark elsewhere. Hubert d’Ornano founded the cosmetics house Sisley in 1976; Michel d’Ornano would become Minister of Industry under Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. The name of the house was borrowed from a 15th-century lord, governor of Champagne and Brie.
Écusson, and a handful of perfumes
Écusson opened the catalog in the late 1940s, in 1947 or 1948 depending on the account, and the discrepancy is not settled. It is an aldehydic chypre that Barbara Herman, in Scent and Subversion, describes through a sensual base built on civet and nitro musks.
The house never produced much. Casaque, whose date ranges between 1951 and 1957 depending on the account, Messire in 1961, Princesse d’Albret in 1966, plus a feminine lavender. Advertisements from the 1950s marketed the first three as the greatest French perfumes, and also the most expensive.
Faded behind Orlane
Very early after its founding, the house created Orlane for its skincare and cosmetics. The two names coexisted for some thirty years, Jean d’Albret on the perfumes and Orlane on skincare, and the period advertisements clearly marked the distinction.
In the mid-1970s, Orlane took over: the perfumes were renamed under its name and the Jean d’Albret brand faded away. The fragrances eventually left the market, placing the house among the vanished names of French perfumery.