Floris London: Historic British Perfumery Since 1730

Floris London is Britain's oldest independent perfumery, founded in 1730 by Juan Famenias Floris in London. From 89 Jermyn Street in the St. James's district, the house — still family-owned in its ninth generation — creates fragrances, bath & body lines, and home scents in a style that is refined and deeply rooted in English tradition.

History and philosophy

Juan Famenias Floris arrived in London from the island of Minorca in 1730 and opened his shop at 89 Jermyn Street, in the aristocratic St. James's district. Originally a barber and comb-maker, he had studied perfumery in Montpellier and soon began creating fragrances inspired by the Mediterranean scents of his youth, recording them in substantial leather-bound volumes that remain part of the house archive to this day.

The house has remained in continuous family ownership: the eighth and ninth generations of the Floris family still run the business from the very address where it all began. In 1820 the house received its first Royal Warrant — as comb-maker to King George IV — and over the centuries has accumulated an extensive series of royal appointments, becoming a byword for the British court and a distinguished international clientele.

The style

Floris builds its fragrances around essential oils and absolutes sourced from across the world, worked using methods passed down through the generations. The house's aesthetic favours clarity of materials — white flowers, citrus, green notes, warm woods — without resorting to extreme contrasts. Alongside its wearable fragrances, the house offers bath & body lines and candles that render the same scents in complementary formats.

• The Ledger Series — a collection that draws on historic recipes from the house's original archives, reviving fragrances such as Stephanotis (documented from 1786) and Rose Geranium with faithfully restored formulas.
• Classic Collection — long-established fragrances that have remained in continuous production, among them Limes, which has been in the catalogue since 1832.
• The Private Collection — a higher-positioned eau de parfum line featuring more complex compositions and rare ingredients such as oud from certified sources.
• Bath & body and grooming lines — soaps, bath essences, and toiletries that extend the house's olfactory signatures into the daily ritual.

Best-known products

The Floris London range includes fragrances with a documented history stretching in some cases beyond two centuries, alongside newer creations that honour the same olfactory vocabulary.

• No. 89 — a masculine eau de toilette launched in 1951, with a citrus-aromatic opening of lavender and bergamot, a heart of rose and geranium, and a dry-down of woods and oakmoss. Its name pays tribute to the house's historic address.
• Limes — a citrus fragrance in the catalogue since 1832, among the longest-lived in all of British perfumery; the original recipe dates to the late eighteenth century.
• Stephanotis — a green floral centred on the stephanotis flower, with notes of orange blossom, carnation, and lily of the valley over a base of jasmine and light woods; documented from 1786.
• Rose Geranium — a floral-aromatic fragrance with a long heritage, one of the house's most sought-after creations and also available as a bath & body line.
• Mahon Leather — an eau de parfum from the Private Collection inspired by Minorca, the founder's native island, with accords of leather, saffron, vetiver, and amber notes.