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Taking my nose to New Orleans perfumeries soon

post #1 of 17
10/22/07 at 7:36am
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I'll soon be driving with my daughter to New Orleans where she plans to winter away from Wisconsin. Thanks to some really informative posts by Twitchly and MorticiaAddams at PerfumeOfLive.org and online stores, I've got a sniffing battle plan equal in scope to General Omar Bradley's attack on Normandy.

Not being keen on spices or orientals, I suspect I'll hit Bourbon French mostly for its body powders and Hové for its floral fumes and candles. Have to clear a lot from my desk this week to free up my time to head south (expect to leave sometime next week). If you have any words of advice, feel free to counsel.


Will be taking along The Scent Trail book to read and listening to Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat. You won't believe me, but I chose this vampire book BEFORE I knew that Anne Rice was from New Orleans or that she had had Bourbon French compose a fragrance just for her vampire chronicles. Woooo. Spooky!
Anne Rice's Vampire Perfume "Dark Gift"

I'll be returning via Amtrak (LOVE the train!), which hubs in Chicago, and I'm still debating whether to linger there and travel uptown to Hermes (Brin de Reglisse!) and C.O. Bigelow (L'air de Rien).
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post #2 of 17
10/22/07 at 7:56am
Sounds like a heck of a drive!

I've always wanted to experiment with Hove scents but being pricier than BF, I've only tried BF scents. Not all are spicy, some of the florals are lovely, but the BF formulations are very strong. I have bottles of Mon Idee, my favorite carnation and Olive Blossom. Both of these EDTs are very long lasting.

Am thinking of trying their Vetivert which I hear is very green.

I look forward to your reviews! Have fun!
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post #3 of 17
10/22/07 at 8:04am
You'll have to smell Dark Gift than. Morticia Addams sent it to me and it's divine (in an earthly way). I think it's called custom blend though, you'll have to talk to them so they'll pull it out for you as the name is not that anymore. It's the parfum form that you want to try.
Let us know of your other discoveries though! I'm quite intrigued by Voodoo Love and a few others. Also curious about some of the single florals (Sweet Olive, for instance).
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post #4 of 17
10/26/07 at 10:29am
Oh I love New Orleans. So much. I still hope to live there someday. Haven't been there since before Katrina, though, and I must go back soon. I've been to Bourbon French, but I think they've relocated since Katrina...Hové has some nice stuff (particularly the haunting Tea Olive) but I prefer Bourbon French's line. Last time I was in New Orleans, Anne Rice still lived there - I have cool pics of her house, and St. Elizabeth's. She had a shop of mementos, including dolls, located across from St. Louis Cemetery No 1 (near Commander's Palace) and her fragrance was sold there. I loved it - and I regret not buying it! Her dolls are exquisite, and I wound up purchasing prints of the vampire character dolls instead of fragrance.

Have you seen the site www.laoaks.com? (Lagniappe Oaks Perfumerie) It's another LA perfumerie with beautiful scents.

Please let us know how your trip goes! Every detail! I'll be thinking of you
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post #5 of 17
10/26/07 at 11:05am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tovah View Post

Oh I love New Orleans. So much. I still hope to live there someday. Haven't been there since before Katrina, though, and I must go back soon. I've been to Bourbon French, but I think they've relocated since Katrina...Hové has some nice stuff (particularly the haunting Tea Olive) but I prefer Bourbon French's line. Last time I was in New Orleans, Anne Rice still lived there - I have cool pics of her house, and St. Elizabeth's. She had a shop of mementos, including dolls, located across from St. Louis Cemetery No 1 (near Commander's Palace) and her fragrance was sold there. I loved it - and I regret not buying it! Her dolls are exquisite, and I wound up purchasing prints of the vampire character dolls instead of fragrance.

Have you seen the site www.laoaks.com? (Lagniappe Oaks Perfumerie) It's another LA perfumerie with beautiful scents.

Please let us know how your trip goes! Every detail! I'll be thinking of you

Oh, Tovah, thank you! I remember reading this name at some point, but had no location connected to it in my mind. So, you'd like to live in New Orleans? I thought your heart belonged to New York.

I've begun listening to The Vampire Lestat CDs cuz I've figured there's more audio (20 hours) than will fit on an ipod. Anticipation is half the fun: Vampire and perfumes! It doesn't get much better than that--well, it'd be more fun with some Basenotes buddies along.
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post #6 of 17
10/26/07 at 1:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quarry View Post

Oh, Tovah, thank you! I remember reading this name at some point, but had no location connected to it in my mind. So, you'd like to live in New Orleans? I thought your heart belonged to New York.

I've begun listening to The Vampire Lestat CDs cuz I've figured there's more audio (20 hours) than will fit on an ipod. Anticipation is half the fun: Vampire and perfumes! It doesn't get much better than that--well, it'd be more fun with some Basenotes buddies along.

Indeed, you' ve got me there. My heart does belong to NY (and I'm a Native New Yorker), but I would love to live in New Orleans for a few months or years. New Orleans is so different from anywhere else (at least in my memories) because it flaunts its beautiful oddness.

While you're in Anne Rice mode, you must listen to The Witching Hour. It's not as good as the Vampire Chronicles, but it concocts the most haunting, gothic atmosphere you can imagine. Then, when you're in New Orleans, go to First Street and see the house the book is based on. It's every bit as wonderfully creepy as its description. Anne Rice used to live in this house, but she moved to Palm Springs after her husband passed away. The sterile, dry desert probably helps heal her pain, not that it will ever go away.

Oh I wish I was going with you!
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post #7 of 17
10/26/07 at 1:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tovah View Post

While you're in Anne Rice mode, you must listen to The Witching Hour.

I promise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tovah View Post

Oh I wish I was going with you!

I will, in a way, miss your presence. How you must tire of the companionship of pillows! Will get daughter to take lots of pix.
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post #8 of 17
10/26/07 at 2:05pm
You could also take Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume to read--lots of it takes place in a fictional French Quarter perfumery called Parfumerie Duvalier--it is a laugh out loud funny kind of a book! Have a great trip! Have a Sazarac! Have a ball!
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post #9 of 17
10/26/07 at 5:40pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oviatt View Post

\tYou could also take Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume to read--lots of it takes place in a fictional French Quarter perfumery called Parfumerie Duvalier--it is a laugh out loud funny kind of a book! Have a great trip! Have a Sazarac! Have a ball!

Books for the eyes and ears, perfume for the nose, and now this Sazarac for the tongue (or is it medicine for the mind?).
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post #10 of 17
10/27/07 at 6:57am
  • tdi
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Quarry your trip sounds divine....New Orleans over Halloween! My favorite city of all time...I usually eat my way through NOLA! I tend to come home with a case of what I call Beignet Butt .
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post #11 of 17
10/27/07 at 7:13am
Enjoy yourself, darling.
I am so jealous. I love "Nwalins."
Let us know how your sniffing safari goes.
Surely you will satiate your sense of taste, too with Creole and Cajun food.
Crab etoufee, gumbo, po'boy sandwich, red beans and rice and andouille sausage, with chicory coffee and beignets for desert.
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post #12 of 17
10/27/07 at 8:08am
Dear Quarry,

I hope you'll have the most wonderful time in New Orleans and have a safe trip! How I wish I could join you, it sounds great.
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post #13 of 17
10/27/07 at 9:45am
Have a great time J..

Also recommend the book Jitterbug Perfume by Tim Robbins, which has been mentioned already.

Enjoy your trip .

Hey will we get road trip reports ?
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post #14 of 17
10/27/07 at 9:55am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by maisonstinky View Post

Hey will we get road trip reports ?

Only if you hear me yelling across the Gulf of Mexico in your direction, my Floridian friend.

You'll have to wait until I return for a full debriefing.
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post #15 of 17
10/28/07 at 7:22pm
WooHoo and Bon Voyage- one more rec for Jitterbug and a 'minder the Chicago now has a L'Artisan too.

Have a splendid time and eat a beignet for me.
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post #16 of 17
10/28/07 at 8:03pm
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I ate lunch at Tujaques Restaurant in NO on the day of their 125th year anniversary of opening, not far from the Cafe du Monde. The waiter was wonderfully sarcastic, all dressed up in a well-worn tux, mouth just oozing scorn for all life forms and in particular all customers. Their 5-course pre-fixe lunch was it. Take it or leave it. Good food. Hmmm..I wonder if they survived Katrina?
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post #17 of 17
10/28/07 at 9:36pm
ooh trying to get this posted before my computer freezes up on me yet again, for the 14,295th time (new Dell on the way, yay!)/

Have a fantastic time in Nawlins, and on the way, not to mention the likely increasingly rare quality time with your daughter. Good sniffing, and be sure to eat some good local cuisine. Have a beignet and cafe au lait for me! (lol on the "beignet butt" comment)
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