Retour aux sources

Depuis peu, je bénéficie au travail de lessons d'anglais par internet. Le hasard a fait que les lessons s'appuient sur l'histoire de la société Delavigne qui fabrique... des parfums !
De quoi me rendre nostalgique de ce domaine passionnant...
Au moins, pas de problème pour le vocabulaire spécifique.

Pour le fun, voici le début de l'histoire :

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a man who loved the smells of life. Everybody in Paris knows the story of Xavier Delavigne, who started one of the most dynamic cosmetics companies of today. Born in 1900, Xavier was a simple man who created complex perfumes. He was known as the 'Father of Fragrance', but it was his grandson Bruno who brought international recognition to the Delavigne name. Eventually, Bruno transformed Xavier's humble perfume shop in Montmartre into a world-renowned, multi-national cosmetics company. Bruno Delavigne went from a perfumer's assistant in Paris to the president and CEO of the Delavigne Corporation, based in San Francisco. This is Bruno's story. Born on July 14, 1961, Bruno Delavigne spent the first years of his childhood in San Francisco with his older brother Felix. He often visited the garden, where he gathered lavender, lilac and jasmine. Bruno mixed these flowers with red wine to create homemade perfumes which he tested on the family dog, Stink. Stink allowed Bruno to spray him with various odors and fragrances. Stink was unhappy, but he was the best-smelling dog in the area. While other children played football after school, Bruno invented perfumes in his room. Bruno was sent to Paris at the age of 13 to learn the art of fragrance from his grandfather.

Bruno's teenage years were spent in Paris, where the boy worked as an apprentice to his grandfather, Xavier, at the family's small perfume shop in Montmartre. Xavier taught Bruno all that he knew about herbs, flowers, alcohols and chemicals. The two formed a powerful team, creating many fantastic concoctions. Their partnership came to an unfortunate end however, when Xavier died in a strange explosion in 1976. He was trying to create an experimental new fragrance called 'Liquid Dynamite' when he accidentally mixed some dangerous chemicals together with tragic results.

After the tragic death of Xavier, Bruno rebuilt his grandfather's laboratory and started to create his own original perfumes. His first attempts were quite successful. 'Bruno's Brew', and 'Montmartre Musk' became popular, and sold very well. Delavigne's tribute to his grandfather, 'La Potion de Papi' was the preferred cologne of Parisian men during the summer of 1978. Bruno's reputation as a skilled perfumer was growing every day. Perfume shops all over Paris began to sell Delavigne fragrances on their shelves. In the winter of 1979, Bruno suffered a terrible accident which changed his life forever. While driving to the International Conference on Smelling Techniques, Bruno's tiny Peugeot collided with an enormous truck carrying several boxes of Kalvin Krime products. Bruno's head struck the windshield, and he immediately fell into a coma. When Delavigne awoke, he was lying in a hospital bed. Standing above him was his friend and doctor, Otto von Headcold...
To be continued !