Officine Universelle Buly 1803 is a French company formed in 2014 byRamdane Touhami and Victoire de Taillac-Touhami. Entrepreneur Jean-Vincent Bully sold perfume products in the early 19th century onrue Saint-Honore inParis, France. This brand would then be reinvigorated by Touhami. It is headquartered in Paris, and has had more than 25 stores around the globe and counting, the brand sells perfumes, scented candles, soaps, plant oils, and other beauty products for body,[1] face and hair, as well as accessories.
At the beginning of the 19th century, a distiller, perfumer and cosmetician named Claude Bully invented a vinaigre de toilette,[2] a vinegar-based fragrance designed to fight body odours, cure disease, and nourish the skin, which later influenced the perfume industry and popular beauty-care sector.
His son, Jean-Vincent Bully,[3] sought validation from doctors and scientists, bringing further recognition to the brand, and the vinegar-based product was granted two patents in 1809, and a second for a revised product in 1814. Bully showcased products at the 1823, 1827, and 1849World's Fairs, and at the 1851Great Exhibition in London, England.[4]
Bully lost his shop due to a riot during a period of revolution, and then had to sell his business "for a trifling sum",[5] after which the perfumer died in poverty.
The protagonist Cesar in the 1837 novelCésar Birotteau byHonoré de Balzac was influenced by Jean Bully, reflecting his fame during the 19th century.
In the summer of 1937,Le Figaro newspaper mentioned in its Beauty section: "Don't forget to buy a bottle of … Bully vinegar, the object of world renowned for nearly a century."
The product "Vinagre Aromatico Tipo de Bully" with the same formula concocted by Bully continued to exist inLatin America due to international licensing; the work of the Bully family had endured long after the end of Jean Bully's company, although outside the borders of France.
Reinvigorated by Ramdane Touhami and Victoire de Taillac-Touhami, the brand was revived as "Officine Universelle Buly", or "Buly 1803" in 2014.[2][6][7]
Officine Universelle Buly was acquired by the multi-nationalLVMH in October 2021.[15] The company is managed by the duo Ramdane Touhami, the manager, and Victoire de Taillac-Touhami, the head of communication and the spokesperson. The brand now operates in seven countries in the world and is rapidly expanding.
Officine Universelle Buly carries a wide range of beauty products for body, face, hair and home,[16] with more than 800 variants amassed from around the world. Most of them bear a traditional French name[17] honouring its commitment to old beauty recipes but combined with innovative cosmetic techniques, such as eau triple, the brand’s water-based perfume, containing 0 alcohol.[18]
2019 has seen an unprecedented collaboration between theLouvre museum and Officine Universelle Buly,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25] with eight perfumers each selecting eight art pieces as an inspiration for eight new fragrances,[26] namely:
^L'héroïsme de Bully et son vinaigre. - [83] (1847)
^Charles Robin, Histoire illustrée de l’exposition universelle.
^Eugène-Oscar Lami, Dictionnaire encyclopédique et biographique de l'industrie et des arts industriels. (The Encyclopedic and Biographical Dictionary of Industry and the Industrial Arts).
^"Une Histoire".Officine Universelle Buly (in French). Retrieved25 November 2024.
