Parfum d’Empire is a French perfume shop founded by Marc Antoine Corticchiato in 2003.  The inspiration and theme of all of the perfumes are to create the fragrance of a specific historical empire – hence the name, d’Empire. The fragrances are unisex.  The founder is Corsican, though he was born and spent much of his time growing up in Morocco.  He is a trained chemist and received his perfumery training from ISIPCA in Versailles, France.

Each perfume in parfum d’Empire draws upon the raw materials of the empire they represent – what would have been used predominantly, and then they set out to find the finest raw materials available today to compose the perfume.  About the company’s perfumes, Corticchiato says “From time immemorial and in every culture, perfume has been about seduction and spirituality.  With Parfum d’Empire, I wanted to bring it back to its original meaning, its erotic and sacred origins.  Amorous conquest, spiritual conquest, self-conquest; perfume is a conquest, perfume is an exploration.

When the company launched, they had a small number of fragrances, but the one that got the most attention was Parfum d’Empire Ambre Russe.  Russian empire symbolized by ambergris, spices, Russian tea and incense. It is dark and smoky, and you can almost feel yourself standing in the corner drinking vodka while watching the Tsars hold court.  Notes of tea, incense, vodka, champagne, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ambergris, vanilla and leather.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Osmanthus Interdite takes us to the Chinese empire, surrounded by tea, the osmanthus flower, nesting on a rose-jasmine heart.  Parfum d’Empire Equistrius is a tribute to the Roman Empire and the horse that helped them conquer a world.  Orris was one of the materials for perfumery in that time, as well as a calming agent.

If you ever wanted to stroll back through time through scent, Parfum d’Empire does a beautiful, artistic job of creating perfumes that are beautiful and fully represent those historical time periods.