A Whiff of Perfume Trivia Quiz

Answer: Acqua di Parma

Acqua di Parma was founded in 1916 in Italy, in the historic hart of Parma. The very first fragrance of this brand (incorporated in the group LVMH since 2001) was "Colonia", still available on line. There are at least five styles of Acqua di Parma fragrances: the original "Colonia" products, the more modern "Note di Colonia", the florals "Le Nobili" for women, the "Signatures of the Sun" and the "Blu Mediterraneo" - a line of fragrances named after typical Italian plants.

This last line includes the "Fico d'Amalfi" (Amalfi fig), the "Cipresso di Toscana" (Tuscan cypress) and the "Mandorlo di Sicilia" (Sicilian almond). "Mandorlo di Sicilia", a perfume for women, smells (as the name indicates) of almonds, but also of vanilla and musk. 

Answer: Balenciaga

The Spanish Cristobal Balenciaga founded his eponymous French couture company in 1917 in Paris. The company was incorporated in the Gucci/Pinault-Printemps-Redoute group in 2001.
Balenciaga launched his perfume line in 1947 with fragrances that have since disappeared, such as "Le Dix" ("The Ten") and "La Fuite des Heures" ("Flight of the Hours"). When I wrote this quiz, "Florabotanica" was the main perfume created by the Balenciaga company. It combines scents such as amber and caladium (tropical plants) with mint and rose.

Answer: Chanel

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971) started her eponymous fashion company in 1910. In 1921 she launched her first (and best known) perfume: "N° 5". "Coco Mademoiselle" was created in 2001, combining Turkish rose and orange fragrances with patchouli (a small Asian shrub related to mint).

A third brand in the perfume line is "Chance", which is also available in pencils - a quite unique way to apply a fragrance.

Answer: Dolce & Gabbana

The Italian couturiers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana created their fashion company in 1985 in Milan. Some of the advertisements for their perfumes were a collaboration with the director Giuseppe Tornatore, the actress Monica Bellucci and the composer Ennio Morricone.
Dolce & Gabbana also collaborated on more than twenty books, on the themes of fashion or soccer.
"Light Blue" is a fresh citrus and fruit fragrance, with notes of apple and citrus (but also of bamboo).

Answer: Estee Lauder

Josephine Esther Mentzer (1908-2004) adopted the nom de plume Estée Lauder and started working in the family's company - in the branch of metallurgy. But in 1953 she turned to the cosmetics industry, launching a perfumed bath oil. Some of the renowned perfumes are "Modern Muse", "Bronze Goddess" and "Sensuous Nude". The "Sensuous Nude" is a quite complex perfume, combining key notes such as lily of the valley and bergamot with sandalwood, pink pepper and musk.
The Estée Lauder group also houses the brands Tom Ford, Donna Karan and Ermenegildo Zegna, among others.

Answer: Floral Street

Jerome Epinette started his career in perfume making in 2006. He worked for various brands, including Floral Street (a company named after the London location near Covent Garden). Floral Street specialises in vegan perfumes that are friendly to the environment. Packaging has to be reusable or compostable.
"Neon Rose" is the highlight of the Floral Street perfume line. It combines fruity elements as pear, peach nectar or apple blossom with floral notes as jasmine and cyclamen, with a whiff of Sichuan pepper.

Answer: Givenchy

Givenchy was founded by Hubert de Givenchy in 1952. The actress Audrey Hepburn would have inspired Hubert to create his first perfume, "L'Interdit" ("The forbidden") in 1957. The company was incorporated into the LVMH group in 1988.
Out of the many perfumes created by Givenchy, I chose the brand "Pi" (sporting the eponymous Greek letter on the package): a men's cologne with key notes as mandarin, pine needles and rosemary.

Answer: Hermes

Thierry Hermès founded his fashion company already in 1837 - the oldest company mentioned in this quiz. Hermès started with making saddles and other leather products for equestrian use, and ventured into clothing and handbags in the 1920s. The company diversified into perfume in 1961. The Hermès perfumes come in several lines: "Twilly" for young women, "Un jardin" ("A garden") with several eau de toilettes and body lotions. "Un jardin sur le Nil" ("A Nile Garden") evokes oriental scents such as lotus flowers, sycamore wood and green mango.

Other garden fragrances are "Un jardin sur la lagune" ("A Lagoon Garden"), "Un jardin après la mousson" ("A Garden After the Monsoon") and "Un jardin sur le toit" (A Roof Garden").

Answer: Jo Malone London

Joanne Lesley Malone was born in Kent in 1963. She founded the company Jo Malone London in 1983 and sold it to the group Estée Lauder in 1999. In 2011 (after the expiration of a non-compete clause) Jo started a new company, named "Jo Loves".
Jo Malone London created over 25 different perfumes, all named simply after the key notes. Some fragrances include "Poppy and Barley", "English Oak and Redcurrant", "Earl Grey and Cucumber". The "Wisteria and Lavender" combines the aforesaid classic floral scents with white musk.

Answer: Kilian

Kilian Hennessy (born 1972) was born into the family that owned the eponymous cognac brand. He chose however to launch a perfume line in 2007. Since 2016 the brand name Kilian is part of the Estée Lauder group, while the cognac division has merged into the LVMH group. Kilian has a wide range of fragrances with tempting brand names, such as "Love Don't Be Shy" and "Good Girl Gone Bad".

The latter is a fragrance which (according to the publicity) a girl has to apply "wherever she wants to be kissed".

It is described as a fruity floral, with notes of rose, jasmine and tuberose (a certain Mexican plant).