Poudre à la Maréchale Tincture 20%

The scent of powdered wigs. This is an 18th century tincture of dried flowers, spices, roots and seeds. Use it as a fixative or the foundation of an entire scent.

A very precious and little-known ingredient of many French fragrances from the golden age of perfumery was Infusion Poudre à la Maréchale (tincture of marechale powder). Poudre à la Maréchale was a scented powder that had risen to popularity during the era of powdered wigs (perukes) in which horse-hair wigs (which were seldom if ever washed) would be dusted to mask malodours. The original marechale powder was created in the late 1600s for the wife of the Maréchal d'Aumont. The materials used varied from perfumer to perfumer though there were some fundamentals that were common to most: ambrette seeds, sandalwood, orris root, cloves and a variety of other spices, herbs and usually one or both of rose petals and orange blossoms.

So popular was Poudre à la Maréchale that even as perukes fell into disuse, the great perfume houses that were beginning to emerge across Europe continued to supply the scent as cosmetic powders but also as an infusion (or tincture). Initially it was sold as an article for wear on its own like a cologne, but it also came to be added to other fragrances as a fixative base. Most of the early Guerlain fragrances incorporate this infusion, and Coty's L'Origan (formula below) owes much of its powderiness and complex dry down to it.

Fraterworks is the only company in the world that is currently making and supplying Poudre à la Maréchale tincture. We manufacture this product using materials and methods that are completely traditional. Despite its age, this is a product which modern perfumers can use to impart a je ne sais quoi to their fragrances. It is a very powerful fixative and adds complexity, richness and interest to any scent.

We supply this as a completely natural 20% tincture which is not vegan as it contains ambergris. Like all tinctures, this product will improve, strengthen and deepen with age.

Every batch we make is analysed by GCMS to give the most accurate IFRA recommendation possible. Because this product is entirely from dried raw materials, each batch will differ slightly.

natural tincture