Guerlain Taps Glassmaker Aristide Najean To Honor Le Bouquet de la Mariée Fragrance

Aristide Najean 170th Anniversary of Guerlain's Le Bouquet de la Mariée Bee Bottle.

Renowned glassmaker Aristide Najean has collaborated with LVMH-owned Guerlain to honor the 170th anniversary of the luxury brand’s Bee Bottle. Najean created a fantastical Murano glass limited-edition flacon housing Guerlain's Le Bouquet de la Mariée fragrance.

Aristide Najean at work on 170th Anniversary of Guerlain's Le Bouquet de la Mariée Bee Bottle.

Launching on May 1st, 2023 exclusively on Guerlain’s website at a price of $27,000, the flacon’s intricate and spectacular design of sculptured flowers sprinkled randomly with 24-karat gold is inspired by the popular tradition of a bride throwing her bouquet. The Bouquet de la Mariée fragrance itself, which incorporates notes of orange blossom, musk and vanilla, is also bride-inspired.

Flowers and golden bees seem to spill out of the bottle, while the bottle’s center proudly showcases the date of its inception, April 30th, 1853.

Celebrating the Marriage of Emperor Napolean III and Spain’s Empress Eugénie

Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain created the first bee bottle to celebrate Empress Eugénie's marriage to Emperor Napoleon III on that date.

Napolean I — often called Napolean the Great as the military and political leader known to global historians — had personally chosen bees as a symbol of the French Empire because of their ancestral ties to resurrection, power, tenacity, and hard-work.

Napoleon III was the first President of France from 1848 to 1852, and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew of world-famous Napoleon I, he was elected to the presidency of the Second Republic in 1848, and he seized power by force in 1851 when he could not constitutionally be reelected.

Guerlain’s 170th Anniversary Exhibit

Guerlain Director of Art, Culture and Heritage Ann-Caroline Prazan invites us to rediscover Guerlain’s iconic Bee Bottle, which celebrates its 170th anniversary in 2023 with a stunning exhibition at Guerlain’s flagship boutique.​

Titled ‘Chère Eugénie...’, the exhibition runs from March 9th to September 4th 2023 at 68, Avenue des Champs-Elysées, Paris.​

The exhibit is not purely for historians. The House pays tribute to the iconic Bee Bottle by inviting eleven women artists to revisit the Flacon aux Abeilles in a 21st century artists update of Guerlain’s heritage.

By Orlan for House of Guerlain exhibition entitled Chère Eugénie via

Guerlain Bees at The Yucatan’s Maroma Resort and Spa

Not only did the Guerlain Bee Bottle become an iconic symbol of the French fragrance house. Saving the world’s bees is a high priority at Guerlain and its parent LVMH.

Two weeks ago AOC highlighted the Guerlain #WomenforBees Project Led by Angelina Jolie in Yucatan for 2023. Intersectionality is a big word at LVMH and projects are often supported by more than one brand.

Guerlain’s #WomenforBees Project, led by Angelina Jolie, was launched for 2023 in the Yucatan to support the plight of severely-endangered melipona bees. Due to the destruction of their natural environment, about 90% of Melipona colonies have been decimated in recent years.

LVMH’s Belmond group Maroma Resort and Spa, re-opening August 3, 2023 in the Yucatan is also a co-sponsor of the #WomenforBees project.

In the restoration and upgrading of Maroma, there is a sense of purpose that has deep roots in ancient Mayan practices and traditions. A Guerlain spa is the branded lynchpin of Maroma, and we anticipate certain spa treatments infused with those ancient traditions to become offerings.

Rendering of new Guerlain spa at Maroma Resort and Spa.

In pre-opening publicity, we learn that:

Maroma is a space of enchanting natural refinement, where ancient mysteries meet modern revelations. Our hotel is based on higher design—infinite and larger than the place itself. It was created originally by true believers of the Sacred Geometry, who aligned our white stucco buildings with the surrounding energy fields.

Aristide Najean’s Bee Bottle and Rebirth at Notre-Dame Cathedral

Learning that Napolean I chose the bee as a symbol of the French Empire because of its ties to resurrection, my inner response wasn’t only thoughts of Napolean wanting to be associated with the divine and religion. He was a master at combining the arts of politics and religion. A more recent event came to mind.

Embattled French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigette visited the Notre-Dame Cathedral on Friday to mark four years since the fire that destroyed significant parts of the historic landmark. Tearful that day, my spirits were lifted by a special event that involved bees. I wrote:

SIBYLE MOULIN, A BEEKEEPER, TENDING TO HIVES ON THE ROOF OF NOTRE-DAME. IMAGE: DMITRY KOSTYUKOV FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Since 2013, three beehives — housing 60,000 bees each — have lived on the roof of Notre Dame. The hives, located about 30 meters from the main fire location were untouched. The wooden structures are very flamable and wax melts at 63 degrees, creating a pure honey trap.

The Notre Dame bees survived the fire. Bees have a different relationship with smoke than humans do. Geant told CNN "Bees don't have lungs like us. And secondly, for centuries to work with the bees we have used bee smokers."

A bee smoker box creates a white, thick cold smoke in the hives, calming the bees who gorge on the honey while beekeepers do their work.

Understanding that with bees in peril worldwide, the beehives at Notre-Dame had survived the fire, the discovery did inspire thoughts of divine intervention. Those bees certainly became a symbol of hope in countries far and wide.

In August 2018, the New York Times took a deep dive into the beekeepers of Paris. Read Paris Bees at Work From Notre-Dame to the Luxembourg Gardens.

LVMH, the Arnaults, Kering, the Pinaults

You could safely assume after the fire that LVMH and the Arnault family would be big givers to the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral. They performed like modern-day Medicis [my pet name for the Arnaults] and contributed €200m towards the restoration.

French luxury goods tycoon François Pinault, the founder of Kering, and his son, François-Henri Pinault, the group’s chief executive, signed a deal to donate €100m.

The cathedral will not be open for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, from July 26 to August 11. But it will reopen in December 2024, and in a significant way Paris will be whole again. I assure you, the bees will be so happy to have us back — even the tourists. ~ Anne