Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Travel has long inspired scents, whether to wear as perfumes or to fragrance our homes. One spritz of Sol de Janeiro ’s Brazil Crush Cheirosa 59 Mist, for example, will transport you to Copacabana Beach with its tropical peach, mango and coconut notes. At the same time, Acqua di Parma ’s Arancia di Capri candle, with its mandarin and lemon scent, will whisk you off to the blue seas of Capri, no matter how cold it is at home.
No.04 Bois de Balincourt, inspired toy Marie's family home. (Credit: Maison Louis Marie) When clean fragrance brand, Maison Louis Marie , launched in 2012, its founder, Marie Du Petit Thouars, revealed how it was her own family history, rooted in botanical history and exploration, that inspired the brand.
Her ancestor Louis Marie Aubert du Petit Thouars was a pioneer in French botanical history and, during the French Revolution, Louis Marie was exiled to Madagascar, La Reunion and the Mauritius islands. There, he discovered a vast array of plant specimens, collecting over 2,000 to bring back to France ten years later. Home again at last, he was elected as a member of the prestigious Académie des Sciences.
Some 200 years later, and inspired to build upon the botanical roots of her family, Marie Du Petit Thouars founded fragrance and lifestyle brand Maison Louis Marie with six initial scents. Marie Du Petit Thouars, founder & creative director of Maison Louis Marie. (Credit: Lee Matthews) Speaking exclusively to Forbes, Marie reveals how travel remains the backbone of the brand.
“Louis Marie Aubert du Petit Thouars’s legacy resonates deeply with me on a personal level,” she reveals. “Growing up, I often heard stories about his adventures and discoveries. His passion for exploring the unknown and his meticulous attention to detail in documenting the wonders of the natural world have always fascinated me.
” “What inspires me most about him is his relentless curiosity and his ability to see beauty in the intricate details of nature. This personal connection to his work instilled in me a profound appreciation for the natural world and a desire to continue his legacy of exploration and discovery. When creating my brand, I aimed to embody his spirit of curiosity and respect for nature.
I wanted to create something that not only pays homage to his contributions but also inspires others to see the beauty and importance of the natural world. It’s a way to keep his memory alive and to share the values he stood for with a wider audience.” MORE FOR YOU Musk-Trump X Interview: Trump Takes Friendly Questions From Musk After Glitch-Plagued Start Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Tuesday, August 13 WWE Raw Results, Winners And Grades On August 12, 2024 No.
04 Bois de Balincourt. (Credit: Marie Louis Marie) Having grown up in Belgium, making candles and experimenting with scents in her grandfather’s green house, Marie launched Maison Louis Marie offering luxury candles and perfumes that focus on natural scents. function loadConnatixScript(document) { if (!window.
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“I grew up in the countryside, surrounded by the beauty of the natural world. My father ran a nursery, where I spent countless hours learning about different plants and how to care for them. My grandfather, following in the footsteps of our ancestor Louis Marie Aubert du Petit Thouars, had a particular passion for orchids.
He grew a stunning variety of them, sharing stories of their unique characteristics These experiences ingrained in me a deep appreciation for flora and the natural world, which has greatly influenced my brand and its core values.” Historic papers detail the findings of Marie's ancestor. (Credit: Maison Louise Marie) Inspired by her family’s archive of historical botanical drawings, Marie has used an original drawing of an orchid as part of the brand’s logo, featured on all of the packaging.
“When I was young, creating candles and scents became a way for me to bottle the essence of the greenhouse, turning those beautiful, fleeting moments into something lasting. The process was both scientific and artistic, a perfect blend of the meticulous care and the creative inspiration I found in the greenhouse. It was also a beautiful way to make homemade Christmas gifts and these early experiments laid the foundation for my passion for scents and candle-making and into creating Maison Louis Marie.
” Louis Marie Aubert du Petit Thouars: a pioneer in French botanical history. (Credit: Maison Louis Marie) Marie began her company journey with 200 candles of each scent, and within just four months she had sold out her entire inventory. Four years after such a successful business launch, her husband and company CEO Matthew Berkson joined Marie in 2016, and the two have since worked together to the scale the business further.
“As well as our logo, inspired by the botanical illustrations from my ancestor’s era, we also name many of our scents after the exotic places he explored and the unique plant species he documented. This not only honours his legacy, but also evokes a sense of adventure and discovery in our customers, much like the journeys he undertook. In addition, our packaging often feature excerpts from his writings and drawings, connecting our products to the rich history of botanical exploration.
By doing this, we aim to share the story of his life’s work and passion, allowing our customers to feel a part of this legacy. In every aspect, our brand strives to embody the spirit of curiosity, respect for nature, and dedication to beauty that Louis Marie Aubert du Petit Thouars exemplified.” Candles are inspired by historic botanical discoveries and places of importance to the founder.
(Credit: Maison Louis Marie) Founded with a mission to create accessible and clean luxury fragrances, Maison Louis Marie produces environmentally mindful products: from perfume and home fragrance to hand and body care. These products are free of toxic ingredients—formulations are clean, natural and sustainable, and packaging is always recyclable where possible. “The overall ethos of our brand centres around a deep respect for nature, a commitment to quality and a sense of timeless elegance,” says Marie.
“Inspired by the botanical heritage of Louis Marie Aubert du Petit Thouars, we strive to create products that celebrate the beauty and diversity of the natural world.” Historic botanical illustrations are behind the inspiration of the brand. (Credit: Maison Louis Marie) From No.
02 Le Long Fond—inspired by a botanical nursery in Belgium of the same name (with notes of Hinoki wood and cedarwood) to No.09 Vallee de Farney—inspired by a nature reserve in Mauritius (with notes of grapefruit, orange and black pepper), each fragrance in the brand’s collection has a travel story behind it. The latter, for instance, is based on a forest that is home to over 100 plant varieties and numerous animals and is where Louis Marie himself discovered many new plant specimens.
No.05 Kandilli, on the other hand, gives a nod to Kandilli, a small village set on the banks of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, where Marie’s mother experienced her first scent of a Tuberose flower at the age of 16. “Each scent is inspired by childhood memories and old family discoveries,” Marie says.
“My family and connection to botany has stuck with me. With nature, exploration, and creativity in my DNA, I had the idea to create something luxurious out of nature while maintaining its preservation.”.
