Nicolita's Favorite Perfume

It is important to Nicolita to smell great all the time. Her favorite perfume is Royal Violets by Augustin Reyes. It is a sweet smelling fragrance, that she started wearing when she was a baby. The Perfume's Cuban roots reminds her of her own heritage.

Fine Perfumery Since 1927

Since 1927 Agustín Reyes®, Inc. has created fine perfumes and personal care products. Using handcrafted recipes, a tradition of quality was established that continues today. Agustín Reyes I, began his career as an apprentice to a pharmacist. In his youth he learned to formulate products for health and beauty. He possessed a natural aptitude for chemistry, but also an entrepreneurial curiosity. On December 6, 1927 he created the formula for Royal Violets®. This day fragrance whose slogan would eventually become “el perfume de la juventud” (a fragrance for the young). This simple origin in Havana, Cuba was the first chapter of his American Dream.

The people of Cuba loved those first products. Because of that success he founded our company. Many people still remember the first factory. There in the laboratory he created many other favorite products including: Axil, Agua de Portugal, Nuit de Samedi, and others. They milled their own sandalwood and lavender soaps. Seven layers of gold leaf adorned the boxes of their biggest seller, then-called Violetas Rusas.

Visionary Movement

Agustín Reyes II worked alongside his father in the factory in Havana. He was encouraged to study chemical engineering. So he set off to study at Georgetown Prep and later MIT. Then the revolution, and the family left its country and its 33-year business in 1960, smuggling out the secret recipe for violetas. Agustín Reyes II, turned down lucrative job offers with cosmetic giants in order to stay close to his family in Miami. He used his education and experience to improve the factory with modern technology.

He jump-stared the business, repackaging the signature scent and renaming it “Royal Violets”. During the next 20 years the family went on to produce sun care products, dusting powders and other perfume lines.

Family Tradition

In keeping with the same family traditions and values of his father and grand-father, Agustín W. Reyes III. studied at Emory University. He returned with a master's degree in organic chemistry and the desire to guide the company from its home-based office to a proper plant. Today the company sells its' colognes throughout the United States, South America and as far away as Saudi Arabia. They do contract packaging, like body mists and alternative fragrances, in addition to their own products.

For the company's 75 th Anniversary they launched a collection of spray bottles, including the classic Royal Violets edition. They will eventually add hair gel and body wash. Most recently for the company is the expansion of their shampoo line, which now includes three kids shampoos: Royal Violets, Cherry and Watermelon, with the re-invented classic baby shampoo now with Chamomile.