Henry Jacques is taking its world of haute parfumerie into one of Paris’ most storied retail landmarks.
From June to August 2026, the family-owned perfume house will open its first Maison Éphémère at Samaritaine, pairing an immersive salon-style installation with a limited edition fragrance created for the occasion.
It’s a fitting meeting of two French names shaped by craft, architecture, personal vision and the slower pleasures of Parisian life.
At a glance
- Henry Jacques will open its first Maison Éphémère at Samaritaine in Paris from June to August 2026.
- The pop-up will present the house’s perfumes, travel objects and olfactive rituals in a space inspired by its Avenue Montaigne flagship.
- A limited edition fragrance, Les Yeux Rivés, will be sold exclusively during the residency, with prices starting at €1,480.
A temporary maison with a Paris address
Maison Éphémère has been conceived less as a conventional boutique and more as a temporary living space for perfume.
The setting draws on Henry Jacques’ flagship at 2 Avenue Montaigne, where fragrance, interior detail, art objects and craftsmanship are treated as part of the same language.
Visitors will be able to explore the breadth of the maison’s universe, from Les Classiques to Les Toupies and the Collection de l’Atelier.
The experience also places emphasis on how perfume moves through daily life, with objects such as HJ Voyage and Clic-Clac allowing scents to be carried, changed and worn with a more personal rhythm.
Anne-Lise Cremona, CEO of Henry Jacques, has often framed time as one of the truest luxuries in perfumery, whether that means waiting for exceptional raw materials, working with skilled craftspeople or giving clients space for a genuine conversation.
That idea sits at the centre of this Paris residency, where discovery is meant to unfold slowly rather than feel transactional.
Two houses built on creative partnership
The collaboration has an unusually neat symmetry.
Samaritaine was founded by Marie-Louise and Ernest Cognacq-Jaÿ, while Henry Jacques traces its story to Yvette and Henry Cremona, later carried forward by Anne-Lise Cremona and artistic director Christophe Tollemer.
Both names are tied to couples whose creative partnerships became lasting French institutions.
Henry Jacques began in the 1970s in the South of France and built its reputation around bespoke perfume before developing into a broader maison de création.
Its independence remains central to the way it works, with its own laboratory, atelier and rose harvest giving the house an unusual degree of control over composition and craft.
Samaritaine brings a different but complementary heritage to the encounter.
The department store’s Art Nouveau and Art Deco architecture, luxury retail spaces, restaurants and spa make it one of the clearest expressions of French art-de-vivre on the Right Bank.
Les Yeux Rivés captures a Paris mood
The residency will also introduce Les Yeux Rivés, a limited edition perfume created in dialogue with Samaritaine.
The name translates as “a captivated gaze,” and the scent is presented as a Parisian composition built around movement, light and lingering pleasure.
It opens with bergamot and ginger, bringing a bright, energetic impression that recalls a morning walk along the Seine.
Orange blossom softens the opening before the heart moves into rose and powdery iris, a pairing that gives the fragrance its more classically French register.
The base turns warmer and more indulgent, with tonka, vanilla and patchouli suggesting the quiet pause of a café terrace or teatime beneath Parisian arcades.
The bottle is housed in a case inspired by Samaritaine’s Art Deco patterns, giving the edition a visual link to the building as well as an olfactive one.
How visitors can experience it
Maison Éphémère will run at Samaritaine from June through August 2026.
During that period, Les Yeux Rivés will be available to purchase exclusively through the residency, with prices starting at €1,480.
The experience will also include a perfumed postcard bar, allowing guests to share a scented memory with someone else.
Each weekend, special ice cream pairings will add another sensory layer to the fragrance, revealing Les Yeux Rivés through taste as well as scent.
For collectors of Henry Jacques, the draw will be the exclusive perfume and its Samaritaine-linked presentation.
For visitors to Paris, it offers a more intimate way to engage with a department store already known for turning shopping into a cultural experience.
At its best, the project feels less like a seasonal retail installation and more like a small Parisian ritual, one built around perfume, architecture, conversation and the pleasure of taking one’s time.
