Penhaligon's is a British perfume house. It was founded in the late 1860s by William Henry Penhaligon, a Cornish barber who moved to London and who became Court Barber and Perfumer to Queen Victoria.
History
Penhaligon's started life as a barber within the Jermyn StreetHammam. As was typical of barbers at the time, Penhaligon created his own products to sell to his clients, many of whom were politicians of the age. The first standalone shop was situated in Jermyn Street next to the street's Hammam, where William Penhaligon had been a barber. The second shop opened at 33 St James' Street, and was attached to the Jermyn Street store at the rear. In the late 1920s, the business moved to Bury Street. The original buildings were destroyed in The Blitz in 1941, however the store on Bury Street remained untouched. The Bury Street premises operated until the mid 1950s, when Penhaligon's was purchased by Geo F Trumper, continuing to be manufactured from the basement of Trumper's Curzon Street premises, and slowly fell into obscurity. Penhaligon's is wholly owned by Spanish fashion and fragrance company Puig International SA. It made a loss of £2.5M on sales of £19.7M in the year ended 31 December 2016.
Stores
Besides the flagship store in Covent Garden, other locations in London include the Burlington Arcade, Canary Wharf, Regent Street, Mayfair, Kings Road, Islington, the Royal Exchange and a second Covent Garden store has opened. Other shops have also been established outside of the capital in Edinburgh, Cambridge, and Chester, as well as internationally in Paris, New York City, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Singapore, Taiwan and Macau.
Products
Hammam Bouquet - 1872; the company's first scent
Blenheim Bouquet - 1902; the company's longest surviving bespoke fragrance, created for the Duke of Marlborough and named for Blenheim Palace
English Fern - 1910
Douro Eau de Portugal- 1911; name changed to Lords, reverted to Douro
In September 2014 Penhaligon's launched the Trade Routes collection, comprising four fragrances inspired by the explosion of trade in London at the end of the 19th Century:
Empressa - 2014; Inspired by the silks and extravagant goods traded through London
Lothair - 2014; Inspired by and named for the last and biggest Tea Clipper ship
Levantium - 2014; Inspired by the goods stacked high on the wharves, described in a John Masefield poem
As Sawira - 2015; Inspired by Essaouira, the first Sea Port in Morocco
In 2015 Penhaligon's launched two new fragrances inspired by the wilds of the British Coastline.
Blasted Heath - 2015; Inspired by the power of the sea.
Blasted Bloom - 2015; Inspired by the wild flora of the British Coastline.
Equinox Bloom - 2016; The first 2016 launch from Penhaligon's, Equinox Bloom is inspired by the loved British tradition of Afternoon Tea
