The founder of Floris, Juan Famenias Floris, arrived in England from his native island of Menorca to seek his fortune. Shortly after his arrival, in 1730, he secured premises in Jermyn Street in the elegant quarter of London`s St.James. Juan Famenias Floris initially set up business as a barber and comb-maker, however, he soon missed the aromas and sensations of his Mediterranean youth.

In an attempt to put form to these memories he began blending oils, essences and fixatives, transported from Europe, into the first Floris fragrances.  He used the skills he had acquired during his stay in Montpellier, which at the time vied with Grasse as the capital of French perfumery. These fragrances were blended for customers on an individual basis, their formulae carefully recorded so further supplies could be made. Fragrance quickly became Juan Floris's true vocation and has led to Floris as it thrives today.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, where the Court shopped, the gentry followed and the Floris ledgers of this period detail accounts held by an incredible array of public figures, including practically every European Royal. Beau Brummell, the dandy of his day in the early 19th century, would discuss his current fragrances at length with Mr.Floris. Floris is even a fictional character's choice! Ian Fleming's James Bond always wore Floris No.89, while Al Pacino's character in Scent of a Woman famously declared he knew the woman in his 'sights' (sic) was wearing Floris fragrance.

Today, Floris customers are those with an individual nature who have the same desire for quality and luxury.

Floris is so steeped in history that staff continue to use many unique practices without a second thought. One of the most endearing of these stems back to the late 19th century when Floris began to accept cash payments as well as account customers. It was considered extremely ill-form to give customers dirty or crumpled change, so all coins were taken downstairs and scrubbed clean and notes were pressed flat.

The customer`s change would then be produced clean and sparkling on a velvet covered mahogany change-pad - thus ensuring that neither staff nor customer would suffer the embarrassment of their hands touching or that ladies dirty their gloves. Today, the velvet mahogany change-pads remain and customers are still handed their change in this manner although rather necessarily the practice of `laundering` money has disappeared!

In todays fragrance industry, increasingly donminated by heavily advertised brands, it is refreshing to know there are still companies such as Floris, the oldest family owned perfumery in the world, dedicated to the creation of original fragrances of the highest quality.

Floris have been granted no fewer than seventeen Royal Warrants.

All Floris fragrances sold at The Gentleman's Groom Room are uniquely created and their scent evolves after contact with the skin through three main stages. These stages are:

Top Notes - These are the initial notes that you are introduced to and give you the first impression of the scent. They tend to be light, crisp or citrusy and usually last only a short while before leading the fragrance through the journey to the middle notes.

Middle Notes - The middle, or heart notes as they are also referred to are warmer and richer than the top notes and usually last on the skin for relatively long time. The heart of the fragrance is usually composed of floral, spicy or herbal notes.

Base Notes - These warm musky, woody notes, are the last impression of the fragrance and tend to last on the skin the longest.. The Coda of the aromatic symphony, base notes are usually created from tones of warm woods, ambers, musks or vanilla.