Henri Robert

Who is Henri Robert?

Henri Robert is the second Chanel in-house perfumer after the departure of Ernest Beaux, famed creator of Chanel No. 5. Robert was born in 1899 in Grasse and began his career as a perfumer with Chiris. Following that he joined Parfums d'Orsay and subsequently Coty where he was responsible for the creation of Coty's Muguet de Bois. With the outbreak of World War II, Robert moved to New York City and continued working for Coty there as a perfumer from 1940 to 1943. Henri Robert passed up an opportunity to work for Elizabeth Arden but upon the retirement of Ernest Beaux, perfumer for Chanel and Bourjois, he became chief perfumer for the Chanel-Bourjois enterprise where he created a sting of new classics for Chanel including Pour Monsieur, No. 19 and Cristalle EDT.

Henri Robert is the uncle of famed perfumer Guy Robert.