Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Perfume Shopping in Paris

  • A wonderful friend, a best one, sent me to Paris for a romantic weekend, four days in fact, the most special birthday gift I have ever received.
  • It'l all about anticipation: I dreamt of all wonderful perfume places I'm going to visit.
  • graindemusc has the best on-line guide for checking perfume shops in Paris
  • I found myself staying in a wonderful hotel and shockingly few steps from Palais Royal. Serge Lutens was all mine. On Rue de Richelieu where I stayed I had also few other wonderful things, like Patricia de Nicolai few meters away. And it was walking distance to all best places on Right Bank. And I checked all of them. As well the Left Bank.
  • It was like the project of my life, searching all over, running from a place to other. Being over excited in the Guerlain shop.
  • It is so, perfume should mean glamour to me. No field trips, nature, passion whatsoever. And on my mind it was the right place to look for it. Reality is cruel, in the end it is all about marketing, cost cutting, efficieny and LVHM. Most glamorous part are the bodyguards, their smile, attitude and earphones, at the entrance of the shops.
  • Gallerie Lafayette: I would never ever wear a Dior, Prada, D&G & co when bought fighting other thousands people looking for a bargain, in a bazar atmosphere, not being sure in which counter I ended up. It made me sick.  Everything looked cheap and vulgar.
  • What I found in Paris: Sous le Vent. what a wonder. And nothing else from Guerlain, nothing. (but Ode, which I smelled in one of the warm boxes.)
  • What else I found: Mitzah Dior, Mitzah is soooooooooo good. It was too overpowering in the first few minutes but after a while it was heaven. I don't care it is original or not, it is just so wonderful. I still have it on the sleeve of my jacket, I hate myself I didn't buy it.
  • What else still: Boxeusse. Feels in line with old Serge Lutens, but so attractive and sexy.  
  • Dissapointed over a purchase, very expensive one. I will never wear it. Actually I never found anything which I would wear from that niche company. Too sad.
  • I find it great to look for perfumes in Paris, the staff is very nice.
  • In the end, I would have liked to find some flea markets to check for some old perfumes. But probably they are only for connaisseurs.
  • My man wondered discretly about the romantic part of our Paris trip.
And here is my beautiful friend.