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It all started
ON THE HILLS
OF HAUTE-PROVENCE
HEAVEN ON EARTH
BORN DEEP IN THE HILLS
Haute-Provence is a sun-drenched region where nature is at its purest. The plants soak up all the fragrances and aromas in this spellbinding land of hilltop villages hovering between the blue sky and golden pebbles. Everything is unspoilt here.
The unique flora draws its strength from the landscape sculpted by mankind: rows of lavender snuggle up to seas of vines, a flock of orchards rubs shoulders with wild berries and aromatic plants thrive on the hillsides like nowhere else.
These are the hills, or "collines", that we take our name from: Collines de Provence. This is where we were born: deep in the hills, on rolling fields looking out to the hilltop village of Mane en Provence. Forty years have flown by since then.
This Heaven on Earth is where our story began and here it will stay, true to our roots.
It all began in 1982 in Mane en Provence. We were born deep in the Lubéron Nature Park in Haute-Provence. Back then, Collines de Provence was no more than a little workshop but it set the scene for some big ideas! We wanted to keep things simple... the answer was staring us in the face. We just had to hit on the right idea:
Create a small series of beauty products inspired by the natural gems around us. Why not? Verbena, Lavender and Grasse Rose reign supreme here so let's pay tribute to them. Voilà! The first range of Collines de Provence natural toiletries was born. We took inspiration from nature and turned into a beauty philosophy. It paved the way for a new brand that had its sights set on being both a "Perfumer" and "Botanist".
OUR STORY
THE POTTED HISTORY OF A GREAT SUCCES STORY
Collines de Provence went from strength to strength. The brand's success is all down to staying true to its roots and blending natural resources with local expertise. Its renown spread outside the local area when Collines de Provence ventured into the age-old art of home fragrances: lavender sachets, dried flowers, soap sitting on top of folded laundry... All these empirical scent methods have been used for thousands of years for their aromatic and hygiene properties. We just had to nail the tradition.
History is part of our story. Just take the word "lavender", from the Latin "lavare", as lavender was used to wash laundry. The same goes for the fragrance traders, botanists and perfumers who have always scoured the Haute-Provence hills in search of rare species. History and geography have come together as one over the centuries in Haute-Provence.
Collines de Provence wanted to perfect the art of home fragrance to make it a contemporary lifestyle feature, so it founded a workshop devoted to making room sprays and scented items.
SCENTING THE AIR AND WATER
Collines de Provence really found its feet throughout the home in the early 90s. With its unwavering passion for natural ingredients, two signature products saw its popularity soar: pot pourri and oil burners.
The pot pourri subtly scents a room with its plant-based ingredients made from flowers, shells and slices of dried fruit. The oil burners are made from hand-finished leaves and flowers in big glass bottles with a cork stopper. These classic but long-forgotten scented products were finally restored to their former glory.
BOUQUETS OF FLOWERS AND PLANT INFUSIONS
Collines de Provence carried on unearthing wellness gems from plants during the Noughties. Collines de Provence designed a brand new range of natural skincare made from plant infusions. Our brand continued studying the virtues of olive leaves and put them into the likes of day cream, body lotion and shower gel.
But the combination of clear glass, the capillary action of reeds and volatile fragrance is what produced a product that was truly brand new: "the reed diffuser."
This unique innovation is still what makes Collines de Provence stand out from the crowd. Its shape and scents have been copied so much that people forget who did it first. As for its quality, it has never been bettered.
As ever with Collines de Provence, the first fragrances wafting from these bunches of natural reeds were classic Provençal scents: Amber, Garrigue, Lavender etc. Success got our creative juices flowing and more original fragrances inspired by nature appeared in a variety of products:
Cotton Cloud, White Tea, Lily of the Hills and Gingerbread went into artisan hand-poured scented candles which were entirely hand-finished and decorated in our workshops too.
This saw Collines de Provence join the great tradition of Grasse perfumers and the ranks of our world-renowned "nez" fragrance experts: concocting outstanding scents using a whole host of natural ingredients from all over the world that sing together in Provence: geranium bourbon, vanilla, patchouli, neroli hibiscus and more.
New products launched in 2003 and a collection of scented products was taken to another level. Scented ceramics, plaster items, balls, tassels, sachets and other designs joined the myriad ways to fragrance your home.
A FRAGRANCE BRAND
Collines de Provence became a fragrance brand renowned the world over by specialists and those in the know in the 2010s: the brand was sold in over 35 countries and now has its own points of sale in places including Japan.
Like a designer brand, Collines de Provence concocts original creations using its unique expertise passed down through time. Our expertise is a smart blend of innovation and tradition that has created its very own language: who would have thought of blending two fragrances with the same initials? We put unexpected combinations of natural ingredients together and came up with scents such as Basil and Bergamot, Rose and Rhubarb, Vanilla and Vetiver.
PROVENCE MEETS HAUTE COUTURE
Collines de Provence has continued setting the benchmark with original new creations since the 2020s. Its beauty products gained more technical aspects without sacrificing the natural ingredient extraction and formulas: eaux de toilette, eaux de parfum, balms and butters reached a level of sophistication that only the biggest cosmetic laboratories could achieve. A discerning natural approach is what enables Collines de Provence to celebrate uncompromising efficiency.
But that doesn't mean Collines de Provence has forgotten the classic techniques used by seamstresses to make lavender sachets and dolls filled with aromatic plants to scent their linen and bedroom. The Couture range was unveiled in 2021 as a tribute to this time-honoured tradition. The White Cotton, Linen Stole and Wild Silk fragrances joined the Collines de Provence collection. The devil is in the detail and you can't beat "handmade" flair so just imagine the finishing touch: colourful thread sewn onto the packaging. Magical!