Launched just one year ago by Guillaume Dufay, La Petite Madeleine is a start-up incubated at the Technopole de l'Aube en Champagne, whose mission is to combine traditional know-how with the expertise of exceptional perfumers. Initially consisting of a range of scented natural soaps, it now offers five fragrances that echo the scents of the soaps. Available online and gradually in niche perfumeries (Troyes, Reims, Lille, Dijon...), la petite Madeleine is rooted in the Champagne region.
Five new scents
Having worked for several years in the world of cosmetics, and more particularly in the world of exceptional fragrances, Guillaume Dufay wanted to create high-end products that would release memories through scents, while highlighting the richness of the French heritage. From this project were born the scented soaps of the little Madeleine. To do so, Guillaume Dufay trained as a soap maker in order to master the techniques of cold saponification. He started in his grandmother's artist workshop before moving to Troyes and developing his project in the Technopole de l'Aube en Champagne.
A year later, he announced the launch of five eaux de parfum with renowned perfumers to complement the five existing cold process soaps. Always with this will to produce in France and to keep the circuits very short, all the suppliers and partners are located at a few kilometers of the workshop of production of the small Madeleine.
Clean fragrance concentrated to 18 % based on organic beet alcohol used near their production facility, these fragrances are meant to be connected to nature and design in an industry that largely uses heavy, metalized plastic caps.
The scents available and the "noses" are the same as for the five scented soaps:
- Neroli des lunes" by Fabrice Pellegrin
- Nue d'iris" by Marie Salamagne
- Vetiver thrill" by Nicolas Bonneville
- Under the silence of the rose" by Philippine Courtières
- Rain of bergamots" by Julien Plos
These five "noses" work for Firmenich, one of the world's leading perfume houses. Each soap has its own olfactory story told by the perfumer himself.
"Humbly, my desire was to promote the various trades and know-how of our territory. Each one brings its expertise and a stone to the building of our olfactory stories."says Guillaume Dufay, founder of La Petite Madeleine.
A quality and eco-responsible assembly that promotes short circuits
In the same eco-responsible line of soaps - which are all handmade by Guillaume Dufay in his workshop in Troyes, the eaux de parfum are composed of virtuous materials.
Concerning the conception of the corks, the cork is produced in France and comes from the recasting of wine bottle corks, male and female cork bark. La petite Madeleine has called upon two talented designers who have handcrafted pebbles from shells and cork, symbolizing travel, freedom and marine movement.
The bottle is reminiscent of the rounded shapes of scented soaps, with a reduced environmental impact: the bottle was chosen to be light, with a glass requirement divided by two compared to a conventional bottle of the same capacity. Moreover, it is 100 % recyclable.
The boxes and decorations (patterns on the bottles) were made in family businesses less than 50 km from Guillaume Dufay's workshop. Similarly, vegetable inks are used on paper from sustainable forests and the perfume waters contain neither colorants nor UV filters. The beet alcohol is of vegetable origin, organic and collected nearby.
Afterwards, each bottle is packaged in the workshop, with the boxes assembled by hand. The shipping logistics are done in a company 3 km away, where people in social reintegration work.
