Le Geste d'Edmond

“Le Geste d'Edmond” by Eight & Bob is a heartfelt tribute that embodies the passion and creativity of Edmond Albius. This fragrance from the Les Extraits collection personifies understated luxury and effortlessly transports its wearers to unforgettable moments.

“Le Geste d'Edmond” immortalises Edmond Albius's path in perfumery, reflecting his botanical genius. It is a testament to the impact one person's creativity can have on the history of a coveted botanical treasure.

This fragrance honours the unconquered spirit of Edmond Albius and the rich heritage of vanilla cultivation, forever written into the history of perfumery. With every spray, wearers set off on a sensual journey, paying tribute to the immortal legacy of the young visionary.

In the sixteenth century vanilla, one of the most precious plants, arrived in Europe, causing a sensation in high society and becoming an object of desire for Anne of Austria, Queen Elizabeth I of England and Henry IV. Because of its special pollination process, vanilla could only be grown in Mexico. For the next 300 years English and French scientists tried in vain to reproduce its cultivation in various European colonies.

On the exotic island of Bourbon off the coast of Madagascar, the French landowner Ferréol Bellier-Beaumont tried for 20 years to grow the precious vanilla. Ferréol took in a young slave named Edmond Albius, whose fate changed the history of perfumery.

Ferréol soon discovered Edmond's extraordinary talent for plants and decided to make him his assistant, sharing his knowledge of botany with him. Edmond had always been drawn to nature and its innermost secrets. Growing up among the vanilla fields, with his adventurous spirit he sought to uncover the secrets and treasures hidden in this plant. He spent hours among the vines, carefully studying the delicate flowers and experimenting with pollination techniques.

One morning in 1841, as Ferréol was walking through the fields as usual, Edmond came up to him with an extraordinary surprise: flowering vanilla plants he had grown himself. Incredibly, a 12-year-old boy had managed to make such a discovery. To demonstrate it, Edmond opened the edge of the flower and, using a toothpick-sized piece of bamboo, lifted the fold that prevents self-pollination, gently pressed the pollen-bearing anther and joined it to the receptive stigma. Edmond had just discovered the art of growing the most exquisite, highest-quality vanilla in the world.

With Ferréol's permission, Edmond shared his method with other planters on the island, who grew rich as a result. Edmond himself, however, received no financial benefit, but his discovery turned Madagascar into the world's largest producer of the most exquisite vanilla — Bourbon vanilla.

The story of Edmond Albius spread throughout the modern world, and the perfume house Eight & Bob, devoted to excellence and refinement, found in it the inspiration to create Le Geste d'Edmond. This extrait was created as a tribute to Edmond's visionary life and a way to honour his memory with a fragrance that embodies the essence of his passion and creativity.

“Le Geste d'Edmond” joins Eight & Bob's exclusive Les Extraits collection alongside the enchanting “Agneta” and “Guethary”, as well as the new extrait “La Musique de Christie”. Each extrait in this collection represents a unique story, a sensual experience that transports the wearer to faraway places and unforgettable moments.

“Le Geste d'Edmond” becomes the embodiment of the creativity and understated luxury that define Eight & Bob. A fragrance that embodies the soul of a legend and immortalises it in the art of perfumery.