The extraordinary story of a Hungarian perfume empire

In the first half of the 20th century, the beauty products of Molnár and Moser’s Laboratory were highly popular among the aristocracy in Budapest. The name soon became well-known in the entire country and received recognition beyond the borders, too.

Between the late 1800s and early 1900s, the city of Budapest saw a rapid evolution in hygiene and beauty care. This was thanks to developments in urban infrastructure and healthcare institutions, as well as the introduction of medical studies. But the biggest milestones were the first commercial facilities: what people could only find at the pharmacist before was finally available in stores.

The story of a family business

If there is one perfume business to represent this golden age of beauty care in 20th-century Hungary, it is Molnár and Moser’s Laboratory (Molnár és Moser Laboratoriuma), founded by József Molnár and János Moser in 1889. Their products were made 100% within the family,

“It’s his sophisticated smell that established the future of our family,”

says a family memoir about the founding grandfather, who “would go on a tour everyday to smell the roses”.

As Dívány writes, their products, such as the Violette cream, MM Russé and MM Chypré cologne, and Yesso Henna eyeshadow were extremely sought after by the aristocracy in Budapest. Molnár and Moser were also the first to experiment with deodorants, toothpaste, and mouthwash.

The family business was later purchased by István Bartha; it was him who opened the iconic store in 1931 next to the Károlyi Garden (Károlyi Kert) in central Budapest, keeping the original name of the venture. Bartha himself was not only involved in the perfume business: he was a philanthropist who published several books under the series Kis Akadémia Könyvtára (Library of the Little Academy) on matters of natural science.

The name Molnár and Moser later became well-known all across the country: following all those decades of development and influence from other countries (especially from Germany), products soon started selling in all grocery stores and drugstores throughout Hungary.