We found Eight & Bob in 2013. We loved the scent, but we also loved that it felt like a discovery. It wasn’t something we saw everywhere, and once we heard the story behind the name, we knew we’d be telling it in the shop.
Here’s how Eight & Bob tells it. Albert Fouquet, a French aristocrat who made perfume for himself, met a young John F. Kennedy on the Riviera in 1937. Kennedy liked what he was wearing and asked for a sample. Fouquet left one at his hotel with a teasing note about adding a little French glamour to his American charm.
Then a letter arrived from Kennedy. His friends wanted the scent too. Could Fouquet send eight samples, and, if he had enough, one more for his brother Bob? That small request became the name on the bottle.
Even the packaging has a story. Philippe, who helped Fouquet make the perfume, found glass bottles at a Paris pharmacy. Fouquet chose striped boxes inspired by the shirt Kennedy wore when they met. And when war came, Philippe cut out the pages of books and hid the remaining bottles inside so the Nazis wouldn’t seize them. The Original’s book-shaped box is a nod to that remarkable detail.
There’s more to The Original than the story. Eight & Bob says its key ingredient, a wild Andean plant called Andrea, can be gathered for just two months each year; only a small part of the harvest makes the cut. The scent starts with lemon, pink pepper and cardamom, then settles into woods, amber, sandalwood and vetiver. It’s fresh and warm at once, and we love it on anyone.
We love the whole line, and we mix and layer the scents depending on the day. They make a wonderful gift, too. Give someone a bottle, tell them why it’s called Eight & Bob, and let them find their own favorite.
