As well as a career as a gifted perfumer, Yuri was what you might call a mover and shaker within the industry. His influences remain in place today, notably as one of the founders and developers of the world famous Osmothèque in Versailles, near Paris.
The Osmothèque acts as guardian over fragrance formulae that have often as we all know either been reformulated or long discontinued (not our policy at Le Jardin Retrouvé – all our fragrances faithfully follow Yuri’s formulas). The oldest scent there is from the 14th century, L’Eau de la Reine de Hongrie and it is not advisable to open or try it! Yuri, along with nine other founders, helped to conceive and develop this unique concept, which preserves perfumes that would otherwise have been lost forever. We can share a little known fact with you: Yuri in his early years worked for a now defunct perfume company who had bought the rights to all Paul Poiret’s perfume creations – Les Parfums de Rosine. When the Osmothèque was opened he donated Paul Poiret’s original formulas – that he had kept and treasured – so that the perfumes could be reconstructed!
Today, the Osmothèque attracts thousands of fragrance lovers each year, hosting workshops and providing study space. The current President is renowned perfumer Patricia de Nicolai, supported by a team of “osmocurators.” The collection contains over 4000 fragrances, including the precious formulas of over 800 that have been discontinued.
