My first inspiration was art. I did a lot of research on how painters, sculptors, artists have illustrated the sun in their works. For many centuries, this star has fascinated human beings. It began in the civilization of Ancient Egypt, in the Middle Ages, the sun was painted in gold on religious books and paintings. Louis XIV, also known as “Le Roi Soleil” [the Sun King], used the sun as his ornament like the Incas some centuries earlier. In 1872, Claude Monet created the magnificent painting “Soleil Levant” which inspired Vicky Colombet with her interpretation of “Rising Sun” in 2020. Funny enough, when I was creating Solaris, an exhibition, “Face au Soleil”, took place in Paris at the museum Marmottan. It gave me a lot of inspiration.

— Perfumer Aliénor Massenet on developing Penhaligon's Solaris. Read more in Penhaligon’s New Scent Solaris Is Created With The Sun In Mind at Forbes.