Balmain has launched a new fragrance collection, which is their first beauty product since partnering with The Estée Lauder Companies.
Inspired by Creative Director Olivier Rousteing’s modern influence on fashion and beauty, the collection, titled Les Éternels de Balmain, aims to build on the house’s signature French heritage while sharing a new vision of avant-garde beauty rooted in respect, love, and unity.
The inaugural collection features eight multi-layered scents from four distinct olfactive families: musk, amber, floral, and woody. Rousteing has been deeply involved in every aspect of Balmain Beauty, from concept and scent development to packaging design and campaign imagery. He even studied perfumery through hands-on training and consulted Balmain’s archives to reinvent four legacy scents for the modern era.
The Fragrances
Here’s how Balmain describes each fragrance in the collection:
- Carbone: A scent that explores identity and freedom, combining maximalist musk with minimalist rose.
- Sel d’Ambre: This fragrance offers a golden mystery that leads to inner peace, featuring glowing amber and salty ambergris.
- Vent Vert: A reinvention of the iconic green fragrance, it honors nature through airy vert de mandarine and sensual jasmine.
- Rouge: Radiating addictive love, this scent captures the magic of Los Angeles’ golden hour with an addictive bouquet and radiant woods.
- Ivoire: Carrying Balmain’s New French Style legacy, it unites global beauty with intoxicating tubéreuse de nuit and untamed vetiver.
- Bronze: Symbolizing rebirth, it rises majestically with blazing cedarwoods and cooling patchouli.
- Ébène: A revival of Pierre Balmain’s 1983 Africa-inspired fragrance, it embodies self-discovery with eternal ebony wood and precious myrrh oil.
- Bleu Infini: This fragrance evokes endless skies and seas, featuring warm cistus absolute and salted lichen.
Matteo Sgarbossa, CEO of Balmain, stated, “Just like Rousteing’s most impressive runways, Balmain’s ambitious plans for future luxury growth build directly upon a skilled melding of our rich heritage with a modern outlook.” He emphasized that the partnership with Estée Lauder represents a new chapter for the brand, aiming to maximize cross-category opportunities.
The launch follows Estée Lauder’s announcement of a licensing agreement to develop, produce, and distribute Balmain’s beauty products, with a focus on transforming the luxury beauty landscape. The fragrance collection is the first step, with plans to expand into new categories in the future.
Nathalie Berger Duquene, SVP and Global General Manager of Balmain Beauty at The Estée Lauder Companies, added, “Balmain Beauty embodies a steadfast commitment to excellence in perfumery, emphasizing not only the olfactive experience but also the emotions it evokes, brought to life by an iconic visual campaign.”
She highlighted the craftsmanship reflected in both the packaging design and the ingredients used, stating,
“Our fragrances hold tension, power, and strength – they are quintessentially Balmain, rooted in diversity and inclusivity.”
