A Hundred Billion Bottles
Ernest Beaux is known for Chanel No5, the most famous perfume in the world. But the man himself remains in the shadows, a name less well known than some of the other personalities in Chanel’s circle: Stravinsky, Diaghilev & Nijinsky of the Ballets Russes, and Winston Churchill, to name a few.
Beaux was born in Moscow on the seventh of December 1881, one of eight children by two marriages. His parents were French expatriates and the children grew up to speak French and Russian fluently.
At that time, perfumers often came from Grasse – where their family had contacts in the industry. Beaux was not a Grassois but he was almost as lucky. His brother Édouard, who was eighteen years older than him, worked at Rallet – a large perfume and soap maker in Moscow. Rallet was a prestigious company that supplied toiletries to the Tsar and other European royals, and so was an ideal springboard for a young perfumer.
Édouard had already become managing director by the time Ernest joined the company so young Beaux’ path to the top was assured. Rallet was then owned by Chiris, the perfume supplier from Grasse, so, unlike François Coty, who had to travel to Grasse to learn his trade, Grasse came to Beaux. Ernest started at Rallet in the soap division, and he finished as director of perfumery.
