East Coast Trip Report: Gathering of the Cats, RHM, Tdem, and Debborrra

At long last, here is my report from getting together with Sakecat in the DC area and from a sniffing trip with RHM, tdem, and debbborra. Ladies, please feel free to chip in with photos, details, etc.

First came DC. I didn't do much sniffing there--just a quick trip to Perfumania and Macy's at Pentagon City mall snuck in between family time and tourist time. But I did get to exchange sniffies with my evil scent twin, Sakecat, over a lunch of Ethiopian.



While we may be evil scent twins, you can see we're glasses twins. More important, we're actually food twins. I don't know that many people who will tuck into kitfo (raw spiced meat), much less with relish. After catching up--I especially liked her story about keeping up with the young guys in her exercise class, I went off with lots of yummy sniffies.

DH and I drove up to New Jersey, spent a few days there with his family, and then took the train into New York.

In order to not torment my DH, I promised I would concentrate my fragrance shopping mostly within one day. What better way to spent a sniffing day than with Basenoters? RHM, tdem, and debbborra joined me for what ended up being a wonderful day of sniffing and getting to know each other in person.

What a warm, kind, and knowledgeable group of ladies. First, I must tell you that RHM knows everyone. Really. I'm not kidding. And Tdem knows practically everyone (including an adorable young makeup guy, Edward Bess, from whom I bought a lovely red lipstick). They were kind enough to introduce a number of their fragrance friends with us. I often felt like a duckling trailing behind the mama ducks. It was fun hearing too about debbborra's writing and her recent publication.

We started out at Bergdorf's as soon as it opened, meeting Jason at the Guerlain boutique. He was professional and knowledgeable, which was such a nice thing to find and which was true of the SAs I encountered during the day.



(I swear that tdem is not a vampire, although for some reason, she didn't show up in the photos. )

Jason shared with us several of the newer "city" releases (Moscow seemed to be everyone's favorite), as well as Sophia, which is a drop dead gorgeous fragrance in limited release. I finally got to try Mitsouko in parfum, which was much more wearable on me than the EdT, and Bois d'Armenie, which was reminiscent of a warmer, woodier Spiritueuse DV. (Still love the latter best, though.) I also got to sniff classics like L'Heure Bleu. Another thrill is that I got to experience what Guerlain smells like when it really works on someone--Chamade was absolutely beautiful on RHM, and one of us smelled delicious in Rose Barbare as well.

Then there were the Tom Ford Private Blends. I hadn't yet tried Oud Wood, and although it's not a Montale-ian aoud, I ended up liking it, although it does read quite masculine.

We then spent time playing with Annick Goutals with Tom, who is such a doll (and knowledgeable, too). I tried Les Orientalistes for the first time. My favorite was Myrrh Ardente. RHM bravely tried all three together, and they were to die for. I ended up buying the 10 ml roll-on of Matin d'Orage because I used my sample up, and it seems like a perfect summer fragrance.

At Serge Lutens, tdem recommended the Douce Amere, which I hadn't gotten around yet to trying. It was just lovely, as was Un Lys.

Then, tdem, debbborra, and I went through the "JAR experience." (To say that JAR and RHM don't get along is quite the understatement.) Our guide had previously worked in the wine industry, and it showed in his presentation. To JAR's credit, the fragrances really are distinctive as well as high quality, unlike other higher-priced fragrances I could mention. Golconda was stunning on tdem, and debbborra wore her lightly gourmandish fragrance (can't remember the name) very well. The SA also brought out for us the next release, which was highly distinctive, characterized by a burnt sugar/green note duo. He also brought out some gorgeous jewelry to try on. After I win the lottery. . . .

I was reminded that BG had the new Estee Lauder Private Collection White Jasmine Moss. One sniff, and I bought the darn thing. Oh well, at least it wasn't a blind buy. So far, it's wonderful. (I'll start a separate thread on that.)

After spending hours at Bergdorf's, I realized that getting around to five stores might not be the most realistic goal. I swear, I could spend a whole day in the basement there.

To be continued . . . .

We grabbed some Sabrett dogs at a stand (the quintessential New York experience) on the way to Barney's and then headed straight for the Frederic Malles. I had only smelled a few of these before, in LA (it's a long story, but suffice it to say I'm not crazy about the sales rep I keep getting there, who keeps trying to steer me away from FMs) or via samples. Luckily, Kash in New York was very helpful. Plus, there were the sniffing booths, which are a fun idea. Une Rose, which has been my favorite thus far, may have a serious challenger in Lys Mediterranee. Definitely more lily on me than LotV, and subtly sexy. Tdem sprayed Geranium for Monsieur, and we decided it definitely is for monsieurs. That's a zesty mint note there!

Onto some sniffing at Le Labo, then the Armani Prives, then a counter full of gems, including Heeleys and L'Artisans. I was excited to see "my precious," Delrae Amoureuse, displayed.

At this point, tdem got a call letting her know that relatives from Italy had arrived early, so we hugged her and regretfully said goodbye. She's so fun to hang out and sniff with!

The three of us soldiered on to Bendel's.

To be continued . . . .

Bendel's fragrance department is relatively small, but well-edited.

I had never tried Etat Libre D'Orange, having been turned off by some of their names (*cough* Secretions Magnifique *cough*). Not that I'm a prude, just that they always struck me as gimmicky, which made me wonder about the juice. So it was a good reminder to ignore fragrance names. Rossy DePalma was incredible, although the drydown was too patch-heavy for my tastes. Nonetheless, all dark rose lovers should try it. By this time, my nose and skin were a bit saturated, but it seemed as though Jasmin et Cigarette also smelled pretty terrific. I'll definitely need to explore this line a bit deeper. (Although one sniff from the bottle of Secretions Magnifique was more than enough of that one.)

We then had a blast at Memoire Liquide. For those of you not familiar, these are oil-based fragrances that are primarily meant to be blended. ML had a nice deal where you could get three different small fragrances in one package, so we decided to split three ways. RHM is a gifted fragrance blender, and she consulted on debbborra's and mine. By this time, we all knew each other's favorite notes, so it made sense that I would play with white flowers, and debbborra mixed a lovely zesty citrus. RHM's had honey, black tea, and lemon zest. And it smelled as good as it sounds.

At this point, I realized I needed to take more photos with my iPhone. That's when I realized it was gone. We traced our footsteps back and found it at (inevitably) the last place we checked--the Bergie's lost and found. BG really takes care of its customers! We also had a little set-back when the NY meter people decided to be draconian, but we're hoping to rectify that on appeal.

Dinner was definitely in order at this point. We ate at the restaurant on top of Bergie's, which has a lovely verdant view.



Debbborra and RHM bundled me into a cab, well-fed and tired but exhilirated from a wonderful day.

THE END

P.S. I was able to steal about 25 minutes at Saks the next day. It wasn't as fun to go by myself, and the SAs were definitely less friendly than at the other stores. It was good to finally smell Chanel Beige; however, sadly, it was a disappointment, veering between notes of lightly honeyed floral and of dishwashing soap. Clearly, it's not meant for my chemistry.

Thanks for the kind words. After all these years practicing law, I wasn't sure if I could write anything other than legal briefs any more.

Wow, I can't believe that brazen elderly shoplifter. At least she had good taste. If you're going to get busted for shoplifting, might as well lift a Chanel Exclusif.

Anyone who doubts that physical reactions to fragrance are very real (and not psychosomatic) should have seen poor RHM's reaction. She turned paper white and glaze-eyed before even hearing that she was smelling a JAR. Poor thing! She was a trouper and bounced back gamely, though.

Can't wait for my next New York trip! (I'm going to try to make the Fall Ball, but as RHM notes, it gets a little zoo-ey for quality time.) I'd love to hang out with the girls again and meet Therese. And Sakecat, my fellow obligate carnivore, I will definitely give you a heads-up the next time I'm in the DC area.

We missed you, rogalal!

Where did you end up sniffing?