I met shadesofbleu last year, for a few minutes over drinks, when she and her husband visited Miami last year. She's a real sweet woman, the kind of mom that you want to hug when you meet her. With a wonderful smile too. She happened to be back in Miami today, for another cruise out of Port of Miami, so I took half a day off of work and met her this afternoon. Picked her up from her hotel and whisked her off to Bal Harbour Shops, which has IMO a wide range of scents to smell all in one place. Saks, Neiman Marcus, Polo...Prada...Gucci...Dior...Hermes...Chanel boutiqes, well you get the picture.
So of we went! We had about 3 hours to get all of our sniffing done and I think we did pretty well without getting nose fatigue. So what did we smell - you ask?
- Saks Fifth Avenue. They remodeled the cosmetics dept. and the more open layout looked very nice but also highlighted a sad fact - the place was empty! SA's stood around, with their hand folded everywhere and really the only flurry of activity was at the corner of the Bond No. 9 display. We smelled two of the three Onde fragrances by Giorgio Armani: Extase (which shades loved...it reminded me of Lou Lou in a good way) and Mystere (I think...was it Mystere shades??) which left us cold. The new Lanvin, Jeanne (hey, isn't that the name of a B-side from The Smiths?) totally sucks (fruity floral boring sh*t). Essence by Narciso Rodriguez, we both couldn't smell ANYTHING, maybe we're anosmic to it? Infusion de Fleur de Oranger by Prada smelled like Smarties candies to me and like camphor to shades (what orange blossom!?) - overall a thumbs down. Astor Place by Bond No. 9 shades liked a lot - an SA walked by and asked her what she was wearing...I thought it was just OK (I tend to hate most BN9 scents). Plus shades introduced me to some fragrances she loved, that I never smelled: Le Baiser du Dragon EdP by Cartier (wow...this is great...the EdT is horrible but the EdP is like a SL scent, amaretto/amber goodness!), Bulgari Pour Femme EdP (hated it - too dizzy floral) and Panthere parfum by Cartier (stiff, white flowers, standing at attention - I need to smell this again). I introduced shades to Angel Men Pure Coffee by Thierry Mugler, Jardins de Bagatelle by Guerlain, Sandalwood by Art of Shaving, Gucci Pour Homme II by Gucci. Perhaps shades will see this thread, when she returns from her cruise, and post what she thought of these. * Some new things we discovered: Bond No. 9 sells a 5 ml purse spray atomizer of a few select scents. in a thin cardboard tube, for $50 each. Seriously. I'm not kidding. Is that a rip off or what!?. Also Saks had Angel Men Pure Malt in stock (but no tester!?).
- Chanel boutique. Shades had never been to a Chanel boutique, so it was fun exploring all of the scents with her. The very bubbly SA, Rie, introduced Shades to No. 22, Gardenia and Beige. No. 22 was the winner of the day - she and I loved it. Floral, not biting (as I expected it to be, after reading Turin's review) and downright classy as all get up on a woman. It floated off of shades just perfectly. The drydown was a transparent incense scent. Perfect. We asked her if she stocked Bois de Iles parfum - they do. 15 ml for $160. Yikes! We drooled over the box. LOL. We left, but not before watching on the large flat panel television inside the store, the full 2 minute Chanel No. 5 commercial with Audrey Tautou - which is just beautiful and left shades and I feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.
- Cartier boutique. One security guard and 6 sales associates (all dressed in jackets & ties on the men and pant suits on the women) and about a million dollars worth of jewelry all around us. You could cut the tension with a knife. They looked at shades and I, as if to say, 'Ah...customers!!!! Get them!!' LOL. I quickly said we'd like to see the fragrance section (a tiny little alcove off to the side) whereupon with one SA standing behind us escorted with a security guard, shades smelled Declaration (the original) for the first time (I think she liked it...her face was lost and expressionless the entire time she smelled it) and Roadster (which she loved - as do I). I smelled Pasha for the first time (nice, but it smelled really boring to me - although the bottle is lovely in a glass/acorn/mushroom kind of way).
- Neiman Marcus. After a quick restroom break we dove right into the very large perfume department. Mothers Day posters and offers were drenched all over the store. Shades scored some cosmetic/skin care samples and we headed right for the Creed counter so that she could smell Vintage Tabarome (which she loved!) while the SA told us that most likely in a couple months it would be impossible to buy VT anywhere in the US. I thought VT might be too...butch for shades?? Boy was I wrong! It smelled great on her...really sexy. I'm so stupid sometimes. The other Creed SA described two new Creed scents coming out: a watermelon fruity/floral that sounded horrible and a deep/dark vanilla scent that sounds great. I flat out refused to test Love in Black again (after being prompted by the SA) but Shades seemed to get a kick out of the layering combo of Virgin Island Water and Original Santal. We also smelled: Faerie by Van Cleef & Arpels (Paris Hilton wanna-be), Angel Sunessence by Thierry Mugler (shades is a die-hard Angel fan...she wasn't impressed and actually was turned off by the citrus), Profumo by Acqua di Parma (what a great chypre - we both loved it, this stuff rocks!!), Jasmin Noir by Bulgari (what jasmine!?). I introduced shades to Private Collection Amber & Ylang Ylang by Estee Lauder, Iris Nobile EdP by Acqua di Parma and Mechant Loup, Patchouli Patch & Ananas Fizz by L' Artisan Parfumeur.
- Hermes boutique. Visits to the Hermes boutiques can be hit or miss - some of their SA's are hissing, boorish snobs. Today we were blessed with the nicest SA I've ever encountered in a Hermes boutique. I went in with the sole intention of smelling the EdP of Kelly Caleche and the new Eau de Gentiane Blanche. Shades (a Hermes boutique virgin herself) helped me sniff all three formulations of KC (she preferred the candied EdP - me, I like the top notes of the parfum). The Eau de Gentiane Blanche is really nice, but it is one of those JC Ellena scents you have to douse yourself with to get a good impression of the scent...and since I didn't want to get strange looks in the store my 4-5 sprays vanished in about an hour. Lucky for us, after a fun and friendly conversation with the nice SA (he had heard of Basenotes before!) he came back from the rear of the store with two orange Hermes shopping bags filled with samples of the two new Eau's, Eau de Merveilles, Vetiver Tonka (2 deluxe samples) and Ambre Narguille (same). Most of these scents aren't new to us, but his kindness and generosity were what really mattered to the both of us. We also found out two things: 1) There is NOT an EdP of Terre de Hermes, contrary to what has been discussed here on BN and 2) In Paris you can buy the 15 ml travel atomizer's separate (by the piece) whereas here in the US you have to buy a set of 4.
The day ended too quick - I had to rush shades back to her hotel for dinner with her family and friends (she got a quick lesson in Miami traffic too).
A couple things we noticed:
1) Even the luxury shops, in this economy, are hurting for sales. Some of these stores I have been to years ago and the SA's would have turned their noses up at us, had we walked in looking to smell testers and walk out empty handed. Not today! EVERYONE was extremely helpful, cordial and downright generous. Of course some of you may expect service like this all of the time wherever you live, but here in Miami the service in luxury retail spaces like this can be downright ice cold. I was pleasantly surprised.
2) All day it was proven to us both, that no matter what we were smelling: a masculine scent, a feminine, unisex...it did NOT MATTER AT ALL. Scents are just scents. They have no gender. Shannon smelled absolutely wonderful wearing Vintage Tabarome. I easily wore the Kelly Caleche parfum that was doused all over by right arm all afternoon. NOSES DON'T CARE WHETHER A SCENT IS MARKETED AS MASCULINE OR FEMININE. Here on Basenotes when you're interacting online with each other...this concept can feel kind of hollow and politicized. God knows it has lead to a lot of heated discussions here on the Male Discussion boards. But in person, in the trenches, this man and woman faced with tons of scents...well, the barriers, boundaries and walls that the perfume industry (and we ourselves in our own head) put up - they come crumbling down.
And really, thats one of the main reasons why I stick around here on Basenotes and post as much as I do. New doors of perception keep opening up.
So of we went! We had about 3 hours to get all of our sniffing done and I think we did pretty well without getting nose fatigue. So what did we smell - you ask?
- Saks Fifth Avenue. They remodeled the cosmetics dept. and the more open layout looked very nice but also highlighted a sad fact - the place was empty! SA's stood around, with their hand folded everywhere and really the only flurry of activity was at the corner of the Bond No. 9 display. We smelled two of the three Onde fragrances by Giorgio Armani: Extase (which shades loved...it reminded me of Lou Lou in a good way) and Mystere (I think...was it Mystere shades??) which left us cold. The new Lanvin, Jeanne (hey, isn't that the name of a B-side from The Smiths?) totally sucks (fruity floral boring sh*t). Essence by Narciso Rodriguez, we both couldn't smell ANYTHING, maybe we're anosmic to it? Infusion de Fleur de Oranger by Prada smelled like Smarties candies to me and like camphor to shades (what orange blossom!?) - overall a thumbs down. Astor Place by Bond No. 9 shades liked a lot - an SA walked by and asked her what she was wearing...I thought it was just OK (I tend to hate most BN9 scents). Plus shades introduced me to some fragrances she loved, that I never smelled: Le Baiser du Dragon EdP by Cartier (wow...this is great...the EdT is horrible but the EdP is like a SL scent, amaretto/amber goodness!), Bulgari Pour Femme EdP (hated it - too dizzy floral) and Panthere parfum by Cartier (stiff, white flowers, standing at attention - I need to smell this again). I introduced shades to Angel Men Pure Coffee by Thierry Mugler, Jardins de Bagatelle by Guerlain, Sandalwood by Art of Shaving, Gucci Pour Homme II by Gucci. Perhaps shades will see this thread, when she returns from her cruise, and post what she thought of these. * Some new things we discovered: Bond No. 9 sells a 5 ml purse spray atomizer of a few select scents. in a thin cardboard tube, for $50 each. Seriously. I'm not kidding. Is that a rip off or what!?. Also Saks had Angel Men Pure Malt in stock (but no tester!?).
- Chanel boutique. Shades had never been to a Chanel boutique, so it was fun exploring all of the scents with her. The very bubbly SA, Rie, introduced Shades to No. 22, Gardenia and Beige. No. 22 was the winner of the day - she and I loved it. Floral, not biting (as I expected it to be, after reading Turin's review) and downright classy as all get up on a woman. It floated off of shades just perfectly. The drydown was a transparent incense scent. Perfect. We asked her if she stocked Bois de Iles parfum - they do. 15 ml for $160. Yikes! We drooled over the box. LOL. We left, but not before watching on the large flat panel television inside the store, the full 2 minute Chanel No. 5 commercial with Audrey Tautou - which is just beautiful and left shades and I feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.
- Cartier boutique. One security guard and 6 sales associates (all dressed in jackets & ties on the men and pant suits on the women) and about a million dollars worth of jewelry all around us. You could cut the tension with a knife. They looked at shades and I, as if to say, 'Ah...customers!!!! Get them!!' LOL. I quickly said we'd like to see the fragrance section (a tiny little alcove off to the side) whereupon with one SA standing behind us escorted with a security guard, shades smelled Declaration (the original) for the first time (I think she liked it...her face was lost and expressionless the entire time she smelled it) and Roadster (which she loved - as do I). I smelled Pasha for the first time (nice, but it smelled really boring to me - although the bottle is lovely in a glass/acorn/mushroom kind of way).
- Neiman Marcus. After a quick restroom break we dove right into the very large perfume department. Mothers Day posters and offers were drenched all over the store. Shades scored some cosmetic/skin care samples and we headed right for the Creed counter so that she could smell Vintage Tabarome (which she loved!) while the SA told us that most likely in a couple months it would be impossible to buy VT anywhere in the US. I thought VT might be too...butch for shades?? Boy was I wrong! It smelled great on her...really sexy. I'm so stupid sometimes. The other Creed SA described two new Creed scents coming out: a watermelon fruity/floral that sounded horrible and a deep/dark vanilla scent that sounds great. I flat out refused to test Love in Black again (after being prompted by the SA) but Shades seemed to get a kick out of the layering combo of Virgin Island Water and Original Santal. We also smelled: Faerie by Van Cleef & Arpels (Paris Hilton wanna-be), Angel Sunessence by Thierry Mugler (shades is a die-hard Angel fan...she wasn't impressed and actually was turned off by the citrus), Profumo by Acqua di Parma (what a great chypre - we both loved it, this stuff rocks!!), Jasmin Noir by Bulgari (what jasmine!?). I introduced shades to Private Collection Amber & Ylang Ylang by Estee Lauder, Iris Nobile EdP by Acqua di Parma and Mechant Loup, Patchouli Patch & Ananas Fizz by L' Artisan Parfumeur.
- Hermes boutique. Visits to the Hermes boutiques can be hit or miss - some of their SA's are hissing, boorish snobs. Today we were blessed with the nicest SA I've ever encountered in a Hermes boutique. I went in with the sole intention of smelling the EdP of Kelly Caleche and the new Eau de Gentiane Blanche. Shades (a Hermes boutique virgin herself) helped me sniff all three formulations of KC (she preferred the candied EdP - me, I like the top notes of the parfum). The Eau de Gentiane Blanche is really nice, but it is one of those JC Ellena scents you have to douse yourself with to get a good impression of the scent...and since I didn't want to get strange looks in the store my 4-5 sprays vanished in about an hour. Lucky for us, after a fun and friendly conversation with the nice SA (he had heard of Basenotes before!) he came back from the rear of the store with two orange Hermes shopping bags filled with samples of the two new Eau's, Eau de Merveilles, Vetiver Tonka (2 deluxe samples) and Ambre Narguille (same). Most of these scents aren't new to us, but his kindness and generosity were what really mattered to the both of us. We also found out two things: 1) There is NOT an EdP of Terre de Hermes, contrary to what has been discussed here on BN and 2) In Paris you can buy the 15 ml travel atomizer's separate (by the piece) whereas here in the US you have to buy a set of 4.
The day ended too quick - I had to rush shades back to her hotel for dinner with her family and friends (she got a quick lesson in Miami traffic too).
A couple things we noticed:
1) Even the luxury shops, in this economy, are hurting for sales. Some of these stores I have been to years ago and the SA's would have turned their noses up at us, had we walked in looking to smell testers and walk out empty handed. Not today! EVERYONE was extremely helpful, cordial and downright generous. Of course some of you may expect service like this all of the time wherever you live, but here in Miami the service in luxury retail spaces like this can be downright ice cold. I was pleasantly surprised.
2) All day it was proven to us both, that no matter what we were smelling: a masculine scent, a feminine, unisex...it did NOT MATTER AT ALL. Scents are just scents. They have no gender. Shannon smelled absolutely wonderful wearing Vintage Tabarome. I easily wore the Kelly Caleche parfum that was doused all over by right arm all afternoon. NOSES DON'T CARE WHETHER A SCENT IS MARKETED AS MASCULINE OR FEMININE. Here on Basenotes when you're interacting online with each other...this concept can feel kind of hollow and politicized. God knows it has lead to a lot of heated discussions here on the Male Discussion boards. But in person, in the trenches, this man and woman faced with tons of scents...well, the barriers, boundaries and walls that the perfume industry (and we ourselves in our own head) put up - they come crumbling down.
And really, thats one of the main reasons why I stick around here on Basenotes and post as much as I do. New doors of perception keep opening up.
