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London Fragrance Shopping for Esoteric Scents

post #1 of 5
2/1/07 at 5:05pm
Thread Starter 
I will be going to London in March, and should have a few hours for shopping. I would love to sample Caraceni' s Mens fragrance (maybe) and Richard James (easier I guesss) both for the rose elements. I don't have time to run all over town, however, so perhaps could any Basenoters suggest a shop that might carry more esoteric lines, those I mentioned and perhaps others I have never heard of to date? I have looked at the fragrances at Harrods, and there's nothing special there that you can't get at a half dozen places in NYC, so I am looking for an "off the beaten path" sort of place.

Thanks,

Joe
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post #2 of 5
2/5/07 at 3:59am
No replies Joe?
All the cockney Basenoters must be busy sewing pearly buttons onto their caps . Hope an uncouth northerner can help in their absence.

I'd suggest a stroll around Jermyn St, St James St and Old Bond St. They are all within 5/10 minutes of each other. You should be able to get around 6/7 places in a few hours. I don't know how available these are in the US but you could visit Trumper, Ormonde Jayne, Floris, Czech & Speake, D.R. Harris, Taylors and Truefitt & Hill. The details are in the London shopping guide here on BN.

It's quite some time since I was shopping around there (and that was in pre-scent-obsessed-days) but it's a nice part of London to browse around, particularly if you are looking for English gent style stuff - cufflinks, ties etc (I'll never be able to afford to even look at the tailored suits, but a few nice accessories go a long way!)

I don't know of anywhere in London that sells the really obscure scents (Anglia Perfumery, Cotswold Perfumery etc). I think the best source is The English Scent http://www.english-scent.de/index2.html which is, naturally, in Germany!
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post #3 of 5
2/5/07 at 5:48am
Thanks!

I may also visit London, but in June. I recognize some of the names you mentioned, and I think they would surely be worth a visit.

noggs
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post #4 of 5
2/5/07 at 7:01am
When you say you've looked at Harrods, do you mean the large perfumery downstairs (which is just a very large department store perfumery) or the Roja Dove boutique hidden at the top of the store? Roja Dove has a large number of Caron urns (I've not been since before Christmas, but they told me that by February they were hoping to have the whole range of urns) and some hard-to-find stuff like Diorling. You can also try Roja's own perfumes, which are phenomenally expensive and released in very limited quantities, but are beautifully made and are available for sniffing on request. (TBH, you might find you enjoy going there just for the conversation - the guys who work there really know their stuff, and are delighted to talk for hours about perfume.)

It's mentioned in the BN London Shopping Guide, but Les Senteurs is also worth a visit. It's within easy walking distance of Harrods and Harvey Nichols, and they stock some pretty esoteric stuff. Again, they're really friendly and it's a great place to go to talk about your hobby. See http://www.lessenteurs.com/.

Try and get a shave at Truefitt and Hill if you can. (And check out West Indian Limes etc while you're there!) I bought my husband a shave there as a surprise a couple of years ago, and he's not stopped going on about it since! Trumper's also has some really old-fashioned men's fragrances and will do you a shave too. And you *must* go to Ormonde Jayne. Please feel free to PM me if you need someone to show you round town when you're here!
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post #5 of 5
2/6/07 at 5:12am
Its a shame you aren't going to be here a little earlier than March because you could have joined us on the first official Basenotes get-together...

http://www.basenotes.net/site_news/lunchdetails.html

Taking place on 24th February.
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