I am back from a wonderful trip to Paris. I am now broke, but I smell fantastic…
I had a long list of things to do, but on Thursday I found out that my flight home had been cancelled owing the volcanic ash problem that is plaguing air travellers in Europe, so I lost a lot of sniffing time as I had to waste a lot of time owing to the disruption to my travel plans. Still, I got quite a lot done. Here are the highlights…
Caron
Tabac Blond parfum -141 euro for 25 ml! This was a steal. I also tried the EdT of Narcisse Noire and I thought it was amazing. I really can’t begin to imagine how this must have been if the current version is a mere shadow of its former self –and I only tried the EdT. For some reason I wasn’t able to get near the boutique for a second visit, as the street was closed off, but I tried Fleurs de Rocaille, Parfum Sacre and Montaigne EdP at Sephora and they were wonderful. Caron is becoming one of my favourite houses, and if I had more time I would have bought a bottle of En Avion –I bought a vial from TPC and I already know how good it is.
Chanel
I had never been to a Chanel boutique in Paris before, and it was a wonderful experience. I felt like royalty, and found the assistants wonderful. The care they put into making up packages is amazing, with lots of little touches like handing back your credit card in a little paper Chanel wallet.
I bought Cuir de Russie at the Rue Cambon boutique, and Bois des Iles parfum at the Avenue Montaigne. The BdI is a backup, as I already have a bottle I got on eBay a couple of months ago, and while I also have Cuir de Russie EdT, I had never tried the parfum. Unfortunately there was a cloudy residue at the bottom of the bottle, but I didn’t have time to change it, but it’s fantastic so I’m not too bothered.
Guerlain
I had visited La Maison before, and I was looking forward to another walk up the staircase with the gold mosaic, and sniff the perfumed “microwave ovens”. There are just too many to try properly in a short period of time, so I try to focus on a few for each visit. This year it was the turn of Philtre d’Amour. I expected to love this, but I was initially disappointed. When trying it on paper I was struck by the obvious high quality, but the feeling I got reminded me of trying very high quality essences as opposed to a great perfume. I then tried it on my wrist, and I loved the opening, but I still wasn’t sure about it, but I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, as it seemed like the kind of fragrance I could really grow to like, so I ended up buying it. It was a tough choice, as I really love Attrape Coeur, Vega and Sous le Vent, but after I had bought Philtre d'Amour, the charming sales lady sprayed some on me and I knew I had made the right choice.
Sadly Philtre d'Amour appears to have been discontinued, and the sales lady wasn’t even sure if they had a bottle in stock apart from the tester. I know I will kick myself for letting Attrape Coeur go, but I had to make a choice...
Sephora on the Champs-Élysées is great, and I found two fragrances that I can’t get at home -Chanel Egoiste and Dior Jules. I tried Egoiste when it first came out, and I remember liking it, but not much else. Now I’m going through a Chanel phase, so I had to try it again, and I really love it. It’s like Bois des Iles Pour Homme! I had heard a lot about the Dior, but never came across it, but from the descriptions it sounded like something I’d like, and it didn’t disappoint, although it isn’t as skanky as I had imagined ;p
One good thing about having to come home by sea is that perfumes are sold at duty-free prices, even though they are not actually duty-free within the EU anymore, so I bought Cristalle EdT, Antaeus and Eau Sauvage. I know these fragrances well, so it was really just a chance to grab a bargain with fragrances that I like.
I didn’t get to visit the Lutens boutique this time, but I wanted to buy Chergui. It’s not such a big deal as it’s not difficult to buy online, but it would have been great to try some of the other fragrances that I am not quite sure about.
Anyway, it was a great trip, even if I didn’t do everything I wanted to do. I also need to take a scissors to my credit cards...
I had a long list of things to do, but on Thursday I found out that my flight home had been cancelled owing the volcanic ash problem that is plaguing air travellers in Europe, so I lost a lot of sniffing time as I had to waste a lot of time owing to the disruption to my travel plans. Still, I got quite a lot done. Here are the highlights…
Caron
Tabac Blond parfum -141 euro for 25 ml! This was a steal. I also tried the EdT of Narcisse Noire and I thought it was amazing. I really can’t begin to imagine how this must have been if the current version is a mere shadow of its former self –and I only tried the EdT. For some reason I wasn’t able to get near the boutique for a second visit, as the street was closed off, but I tried Fleurs de Rocaille, Parfum Sacre and Montaigne EdP at Sephora and they were wonderful. Caron is becoming one of my favourite houses, and if I had more time I would have bought a bottle of En Avion –I bought a vial from TPC and I already know how good it is.
Chanel
I had never been to a Chanel boutique in Paris before, and it was a wonderful experience. I felt like royalty, and found the assistants wonderful. The care they put into making up packages is amazing, with lots of little touches like handing back your credit card in a little paper Chanel wallet.
I bought Cuir de Russie at the Rue Cambon boutique, and Bois des Iles parfum at the Avenue Montaigne. The BdI is a backup, as I already have a bottle I got on eBay a couple of months ago, and while I also have Cuir de Russie EdT, I had never tried the parfum. Unfortunately there was a cloudy residue at the bottom of the bottle, but I didn’t have time to change it, but it’s fantastic so I’m not too bothered.
Guerlain
I had visited La Maison before, and I was looking forward to another walk up the staircase with the gold mosaic, and sniff the perfumed “microwave ovens”. There are just too many to try properly in a short period of time, so I try to focus on a few for each visit. This year it was the turn of Philtre d’Amour. I expected to love this, but I was initially disappointed. When trying it on paper I was struck by the obvious high quality, but the feeling I got reminded me of trying very high quality essences as opposed to a great perfume. I then tried it on my wrist, and I loved the opening, but I still wasn’t sure about it, but I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, as it seemed like the kind of fragrance I could really grow to like, so I ended up buying it. It was a tough choice, as I really love Attrape Coeur, Vega and Sous le Vent, but after I had bought Philtre d'Amour, the charming sales lady sprayed some on me and I knew I had made the right choice.
Sadly Philtre d'Amour appears to have been discontinued, and the sales lady wasn’t even sure if they had a bottle in stock apart from the tester. I know I will kick myself for letting Attrape Coeur go, but I had to make a choice...
Sephora on the Champs-Élysées is great, and I found two fragrances that I can’t get at home -Chanel Egoiste and Dior Jules. I tried Egoiste when it first came out, and I remember liking it, but not much else. Now I’m going through a Chanel phase, so I had to try it again, and I really love it. It’s like Bois des Iles Pour Homme! I had heard a lot about the Dior, but never came across it, but from the descriptions it sounded like something I’d like, and it didn’t disappoint, although it isn’t as skanky as I had imagined ;p
One good thing about having to come home by sea is that perfumes are sold at duty-free prices, even though they are not actually duty-free within the EU anymore, so I bought Cristalle EdT, Antaeus and Eau Sauvage. I know these fragrances well, so it was really just a chance to grab a bargain with fragrances that I like.
I didn’t get to visit the Lutens boutique this time, but I wanted to buy Chergui. It’s not such a big deal as it’s not difficult to buy online, but it would have been great to try some of the other fragrances that I am not quite sure about.
Anyway, it was a great trip, even if I didn’t do everything I wanted to do. I also need to take a scissors to my credit cards...
I also smelled the actual Vol de Nuit a couple of times, and it is wonderful on a stranger. One rainy evening a woman passed me by wearing L'Heure Bleue -what could be more perfect for such an occasion?
Oh well...
