1201) Guerlain Heart, France: A set of two stamps in the denominations of 0.97 and 1.94 Euros issued by La Poste, France: Date of Stamp Set issue: 13.01.2020:

1201) Guerlain Heart, France: A set of two stamps in the denominations of 0.97 and 1.94 Euros issued by La Poste, France: Date of Stamp Set issue: 13.01.2020:

Guerlain is a French perfume, cosmetics and skincare house, which is among the oldest in the world, founded by the perfumer Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain. The group was run by the Guerlain family until 1994, when it was bought by the French multi-national company - LVMH, specialising in luxury brands.

Many traditional Guerlain fragrances are characterised by a common olfactory accord known as the "Guerlinade".

The House of Guerlain was founded in 1828, when Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain opened his perfume store at 42, rue de Rivoli in Paris. He composed and manufactured custom fragrances with the help of this two sons. Through continued success and the patronage of members in high society, he opened the company's flagship store at 15, rue  de la Paix in 1840 and put its mark on the Parisian fashion scene.

The success of the house under Pierre-François peaked in 1853 with the creation of "Eau de Cologne Imperiale" for the French Emperor Napoleon III and his Spanish wife Eugenie. This perfume earned Pierre-Francois the prestigious title of being His Majesty's Official Perfumer. Guerlain went on to create perfumes for Queen Victoria of the UK and Queen Isabella II of Spain, among other Royalty.

After he passed away in 1864, the second generation 

had an in-house perfumer Aime, who created many classic compositions including - "Fleur d'Italie" (1884), Rococo (1887) and Eau du Cologne du Coq (1894). Aime's greatest composition was Jicky (1889), the first fragrance described as a "parfum" rather than "Eau de Cologne" and among the first to use synthetic ingredients alongside natural extracts.

In the third generation, Aime's nephew became Guerlain's third perfumer and brought out important creations like Mouchoir de Monsieur (1904), Apres L"Ondee (1906), L'Heure Bleue (1912), Mitsouko (1919), Geurlain's flagship fragrance Shalimar (1925) and Vol de Nuit (1933). He created his final perfume Ode (1955).

The fourth generation had Jean-Paul Guerlain as the last family master perfumer. He created Guerlain's classic men's fragrances Vetiver (1959) and Habit Rouge (1965). He also created Chant d'Aromes (1962), Chamade (1969) and Nahema (1979), Jardins de Bagatelle (1983) and Samsara (1989), Heritage and Coriolan in the 1990s.

In 1994, the company was sold to LVMH, as there was no heir from within the Guerlain family to take over the role of master perfumer in family succession. Other perfumers were brought in to compose newer ranges of perfumes.

Guerlain's creations have long influenced the trends of perfumery with fragrances like Jicky, Shalimar and Vetiver. It is among the few older houses that exist solely to produce and market perfumes. Alongside its fragrances, presently, Guerlain has expanded to offer a large range of make-up and skincare. Guerlain products are available across the world at serviced counters within department stores and its beauty stores such as fellow brand Sephora. Guerlain also maintains around 13 international beauty and spa "boutiques", five of them in France itself, of which two are in Paris.

The Commemorative Stamps:

A postage stamp of 0.97 Euros shows a woman's stylised image at the heart of Guerlain

This 1.94 Euro Stamp shows a stylised image of a woman holding the bouquet/range/set representing all the Guerlain products.

The Mini Sheet (MS) of five Guerlain stamps of 0.97 Euros

A collectible representation of a stylised image of a woman walking on a "ramp" on which are inscribed the entire range of Guerlain products over the decades 

Technical Details:

Date of issue: 13.01.2020

Designer: Guerlain

Process: Heliogravure

Stamp Size: 38.0 mm x 38.0 mm

Stamp Denominations/values: 0.97 & 1.94 Euros

Art: Guerlain Heart - Ribbon etc; Visuals designed by Guerlain

Links:

 1) Honouring Louis Braille on the Bicentenary of his birth in 2009

2) Honouring Charles Eduord Jeanneret popularly known as Le Corbusieur, the French architect who built the modern city of Chandigarh & several other projects: A 10 Franc Banknote issued by the Swiss National Bank 

3) Fort St. George Museum, Chennai (Part iii): i) Indo-Danish coins ii) Indo-Dutch coins iii) Indo-French coins iv) Indo-Portuguese coins 

4) a) Central Bank of West African States issues: the "Franc African Financial Community" (FCFA) b) Bank of Central African States issues : the "Franc Financial Cooperation in Central Africa (FFCCA)

5) French Indo-China issues: A silver one Paistre coin issued in 1895 

6) Financial Institution for issuing uniform currency/coinage for French Overseas Territories in the Pacific & French Southern Territories of Antarctica: The Institut d'emission d'outre-Mer (IEOM) for French Polynesia (Tahiti), New caledonia, Wallis-et-Futuna and the erstwhile New Hebrides (present day Vanuatu)  

 7) Coinage of the French Polynesian Island of New Caledonia (or Nouvelle-Caledonie in French) - the CFP Franc

8) Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's exile to St. Helena (Part I): A one Crown Commemorative Coin issued by the Ascension Island 

9) Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's exile to St. Helena (Part II) : coins commemorating the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo: 1) A 5 GBP coin issued by the Royal Mint UK: 2) A "Drie Landen Zilverset" issued by the Royal Dutch Mint - which includes coins of Netherlands, Belgium and UK 

 10) Jeanne d'Arc or Joan of Arc or "The Maid of Orleans" or "La Pucelle": "Women of France Coin Series": 200 & 50 Euro gold coins and 10 Euro Silver coins issued by Monnaie de Paris in July 2016

11) i)"Europa Coin Programme" or the Eurostar Programme ii) Monnaie de Paris has issued a series of six coins with the theme "The Age of Iron & Glass" in January 2017

12) 100th Anniversary of Auguste Rodin's passing away commemorated with gold and silver Euro coins issued by the Monnaie de Paris under its on-going "The 7 Arts" Coin Series

 13) Statue of Liberty, Paris, France: "Treasures of Paris": Coin series issued by Monnaie de Paris on 20.01.2017

14) Marianne (or Liberty): "The Trilogy": A set of Euro denominated coins in Gold and silver brought out by Monnaie de Paris in January 2017 

15) Dakota Aircraft & the Berlin Airlift: Latest coins in the "L'Aviation Historie" ("Aviation and History) Coin Series issued in 2018 by the Paris Mint:

16) The "Baroque & Rococo Era" in France : Coins feature, The Hall of Mirrors, Rococo elements of the Palace of Versailles, philosopher Voltaire and the Dancing King Louis XIV in gold & silver coins issued during 2018, under the "Europa Coin Programme"

17) George Sand: "Women of France Coin Series": Third Coin in the Series issued during 2018 by the Monnaie de Paris, France on 04.05.2018

18) "Paris, The Banks of the River Seine" ("Rivos de la Seine") : UNESCO World Heritage Site: "The Louvre Museum"(Musee du Louvre") and "Pont des Arts": Gold and Silver Euro coins issued by the Monnaie de Paris on 14.06.2018

19) Notre Dame de Paris, France "Reconstruction": Monnaie de Paris (The Paris Mint) restrikes 2013 Silver 10 Euro Coin, Bronze Medal and Silver-coloured Mini-Medal, part proceeds of which will go towards the reconstruction of the iconic Cathedral which was partially burnt in a fire on 15.04.2019

20) The Micro-Currency called - "EUSCKO" , France circulates in the French Basque Country and is the largest such currency in circulation today in the world, fully backed by the Euro; ii) It is one of 44 such micro-currencies circulating in French cities; iii) Paris is on the vetge of introducing a micro-currency.

21) Guerlain, France: A set of two stamps in the denominations of 0.97 and 1.94 Euros issued by La Poste, France: Date of Stamp Set issue: 13.01.2020