So it’s that time of year – well, actually beyond that time – for Paris and French perfume shopping. Delayed because it turns out January isn’t really the best time personally to go, plus my mom and aunt and two sons are going so we can visit my uncle and his family. Thanks to a ton of points, the airplane tickets were close to free, and we can stay in my uncle’s apartment. Yeah for cheap!
I am putting together my list of things I need to hunt down perfume-wise. This is the time of year that Serge typically puts out an export, right? And Hermessence usually does something in February? I’m going to try to hunt down that new Cartier L’heure missing from all places I normally find it here. I know there’s some exclusive lines there beyond the ones we are seeing, but the names of them are completely escaping me! I know Iunx has something new since the last time I was there.
What else must I hunt down? I’ll do it for all of you. No, I can’t mule anything back. Well, maybe I could. I’ll do a drawing for it! If you drop a comment and just note that you want something muled, and you win, I’ll bring you back what you want. Drop a comment regardless telling me what to look for, but unless you note you would like to be entered, I’ll not put you in the drawing.
No, I’m not paying for what you want. You’ll have to pay for it.
Four winners from comments can get one bottle of perfume muled back. I can this time because I have four extra mules and had enough points to fly Business so we’ve got luggage room to spare. That’s something you won’t hear me say very often. If you’ve been yearning for that Serge nonexport and don’t want to pay $300 at Barney’s, this is a great chance to get it for the Euro price at Serge with the exchange rate up, about 150-160, I think.
Ann, you can just ignore the entering part. Of course I will bring you back MF teas, just let me know your favorites!
Next question. We are thinking of a day trip to Reims. It’s a 45-minute fast train, we spend the day, I get a chance to ship some champagne back home, take the fast train home the same day. Is this a good plan? Has anyone done this? Or should I rethink this and rent a hotel or B&B? Go somewhere else close by instead of Reims?
Should you decide to go to Epernay/Hautvilliers/Marne river valley for sightseeing and visiting champagne houses, there is a great resto at Saint-Imoges, La Maison du Vigneron, http://www.lamaisonduvigneron.com. They take bus tours to the bigger side of the place but there is a lovely intimate small side with delicious food and excellent service. Find yourself a driver and have a champagne lunch there. 😀
I was in Paris for a short time last year and I didn’t do any perfume shopping. Paris was the last stop on a long European vacation and my husband chose to spend our time walking around the city. It was lovely but am I ever kicking myself for not at least stopping in at Frederic Malle! If I win the draw, I’d love a bottle of SL La Myrrhe.
You are so lucky! I went to Paris last year for the first time, and I’m obsessed with it. It was like my city soulmate with all of the perfume and pastries. I don’t know anything about Reims, though. If the drawing is still open, I would love to be entered. I have been trying to find a bottle of Armani Prive Pierre de Lune everywhere, but I guess it’s only in Europe now. If you can find that, I would love to pay you for it. If I win the drawing and you can’t find a bottle of Pierre de Lune, I would love a bell jar of Une Voix Noire. Thanks! Enjoy your trip!
I would visit Sens Unique and I would buy some ELdO and see whether the packaging made more sense in France…
I hope you can play at the Shu Uemura boutique on St. Germain and sniff at the Diptyque store a few blocks away. If I may be entered in the drawing, I will gladly pay for a De Profundis in case you go to sample Fille de Berlin.
What a sweet and generous gesture– as I know how precious suitcase space can be on a trip like this! I would love to be entered in your mule draw, since, I’ve been wanting a bottle of SL Boxeuses and the Barney’s prices chafe me. It’s the principle of it! Have a lovely, safe trip.
Would love to enter the drawing, and what I covet is the bell jar of SL’s Sarrasins, from Paris and not Barney’s. Irrational, I know. Have a lovely trip, and travel safe.
Hi Patty, Please enter me in your draw! I would love a bottle of Miller Harris, Note de Peau, which can only be had at Le Bon Marche Rive Gauche. Thank you for the muling opportunity 🙂
Hi Patty, Never mind…I checked the Bon Marche website, and Note de Peau wasn’t listed. As it was an exclusive, it has probably all sold out. Have a great trip!!
Have a wonderful time in Paris. I wish I could stow away in your suitcase on the way there. No need for me to return home. Hehehe. I’d love to be entered into your draw, but right now I can’t decide which of three fragrances I want the most. SL Rose de Nuit, Olfactive Studio Chambre Noir or Parfume d’Empire Equistrius. Please post any and all photos you might take while in Paris.
Have a wonderful time, Patty! No need to enter me in the draw, but sure is a lovely offer!
Ooooh! Please enter me in your muling draw. I need to get my hands on SL De Profundis . That Guerlain Vetiver Pour Elle would be sweet too. Thanks Patty.
Have a wonderful trip! Shop ’til you (or the mules) drop and then load ’em up and move ’em out! Back to the US that is! I would love a bottle of Tonka Imperiale. I haven’t even looked to see if I could get it here, but I have a feeling it might be cheaper there. You and your mules are real gems and Thank You for such a kind and thoughtful act =)
Hey, Ramona, yu can get this in the U.S., and it isn’t cheaper in Paris, I know that for sure. I keep trying to find it cheaper, but it just won’t happen. Saks, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman all have it, and you can order online!
No need to enter me, I live in Europe. Lovely offer though.
Both Reims and Chartres have wonderful cathedrals. Reims’ has the wonderful stained glass windows designed by Chagall. As someone else has already mentioned.Chartres is famous for it’s old stained glass windows anyway. I didn’t visit anything other than the cathedral the only time I visited Reims.
Have a great time and bring some warm clothes. It’s still pretty cold in Northern Europe.
Wow that is exceedingly generous of you! Nuit de Tuberose would be my mule choice, I think. Would love a bell jar of that.
What a kind offer! I’m sure I could think of something to be muled!
Reims makes the perfect daytrip. The cathedral is so beautiful, and Chagall’s stained glasses really moved me! My only suggestion is that you stick with your plan of going by train, so you can enjoy some Champagne at a local bistro!
I think you must have been there, but just in case, another very nice cathedral that you can reach by metro is Saint Denis. It is supposed to be the first gothic church, has Marie Antoinette’s nipples, and the popular ‘quartier’ around is very lively, and a great place to find good pistachios and other middle eastern delights.
Have a great trip, you all!!
(I live far, far away, so I’m out of the draw…)
I’m afraid I have to insist that you go and pay your respect’s to Marie’s nipples, Patty. If not this trip, then perhaps a future one with March and Musette in tow. Hard to pick which of the two I’d like most to observe under the circumstances. 😉
I think we should plan some kind of crazy travel itinerary around famous body parts……and perfume, of course.
You have no idea how fun that sounds to me. I blame it on being a Scorpio. 😉
Seriously, Marie Antoinette’s nipples! Wow..
I was wowed too! It was supposed to be the first gothic cathedral, and nothing prepared me to that sexy bomb of a tomb! Thinking about it now, Uncle Serge could do a perfume about it… And seriously, the pistachios were fresh and gooood.
Oh, we may have to do the St. Denis thing! We did visit the St. Denis that is further south and west, near – can’t remember the name of the town, the Loire area. I loved that church, it was probably the most peaceful cathedral I’ve ever sat in, and my sons thought that too, we all just sat there forever, we didn’t really want to leave!
Between your Perfume Fairy Godmother activities and your current offer to mule, you are the Queen of Perfume Fun! On behalf of the perfumista community, thank you! (Not entering the contest.)
Paris any time of year is delightful! Enjoy. If I were lucky enough to win, I would request the Pascal Morabito Or Noir refill bottle for €45. I have never seen it in the US.
Oh, what a generous offer! Thanks to Maggie, I discovered the Maison Dorin website; not sure if I am brave enough to buy blind, but several of them have caught my eye. I will try the Texas boutique to see if they carry the ones I’m curious about; if they don’t, I hope to win a spot on your mule train!
Ha! You’re welcome. Aren’t those bottles beautiful? And those gorgeous travel sets. Hope the Texas boutique still carries them. No use to me, I live in Australia but I’m happy to enable anytime.
Me. Mule Me. Seriously. Those boys are big. Big, strong, strappin’ lads. Surely one of them can haul a suitcase full of me? Just ……think about it, okay? 😀
xo
I am currently green with envy – are you sure you can’t “mule” me in a suitcase over there? Guerlain’s Vetiver Pour Elle is amazing – light and green and wonderful – and no one seems to carry it here. Be sure to sniff some, and if I win the draw, I’d love a bottle (though I’ll have to work on DH a bit in terms of spending!)
I would highly recommend sniffing (and picking up) Mon Numero 7 from l’Artisan. The boutique right next to MF in the Marais has an especially lovely staff (I can’t think of a more perfect afternoon than hopping between MF and L’AP…). Mon Numero 7 was made for QVC so we never got it here. It’s a stunning incense-y tea conconction with very light spices. Duchaufour at his best. I also just picked up and am loving a bottle of Cuir Velours by Naomi Goodsir. Both her new offerings are stunning little numbers. And maybe you can pick up a last remaining bottle of Musc Tonkin (my new addiction) somewhere? Have a fabulous and safe trip!
Oh, great tip! I’ll see if I can find it. We definitely want to go to th Marais this time, I haven’t taken my sons there yet for a delicisou Falafel!
No need to enter me the draw- I live so far away, you can’t “mule” for me, but I think this is a wonderful offer you made- thank you
the old city of Reims is beautiful and you don’t need more than 3-4 hours ( I visited twice, the last time I sat in the cathedral during the rehearsal for the organ concert, that evening ) I remember I lunched very well there, at a fraction of Parisian prices
have a wonderful trip
I can’t seem to get my hands on Les Bains du Marais Musc Blanc eau de soin (the perfume, not the oil) in the US anymore, so if you run across a bottle, I would love to buy it. Thanks!
Amy, I will keep my eye out for this, and if I see some, I’ll pick it up for you!
I would LOVE a bottle of Serge Lutens Bois et Violettes at Euro prices 🙂 Have a fabulous trip! I think for a day trip, or maybe an overnight, you should go to Bruges, Belgium…so incredibly beautiful and not that long of a train ride! Enjoy!
I would love Serge Lutens De Profundis but would not like to give Barney’s $290. Please enter me in your drawing. I will happily reimburse. I am a newcomer to the perfume obsession.
Sarrasins would be one my list. I think that Barney’s is insane for charging almost $300 for a bell jar. The bottle that I found on ebay was close to that as well. Yes, I finally went on ebay and managed to get a bottle of Courtesan. If this purchase goes well, I will get that bottle of Deneuve I have been eyeballing. Have fun on your trip though. Maybe someday, I’ll get a chance to go to Paris.
Patty,
Is it still possible to find bottles of Vol de Nuit Evasion, which was limited edition? That would be my “mule” choice. I hope your group has a wonderful time.
Go to Reims for the day! It’s beautiful but, as noted above, don’t go on a Sunday. Paris will be beautiful as always but cold, especially along the Seine. Have a fab time, drink MF tea, eat macarons and spray away..
I have never been to Reims but Chartres is a lovely day trip from Paris. The cathedral is stunning (if you like dark and Gothic).
Oh, Patty, I am SO excited for you! I was afraid that with all the dental goings-on that you wouldn’t be able to go, so yay!! When do you guys take off? And thanks for thinking of me regarding the MF teas; that is so sweet of you. I’ll chat with you later. Thanks again for doing this lovely draw; you will make four Posse peeps very, very happy.
Patty: I really wish I had purchased SL Borneo 1834 before it “went export!” It would be fabulous if you could bring that back for me. Thank you for this great draw!
Guerlain’s Après L’Ondee. Couldn’t get it on my stop over at Charles de Gaulle because the Guerlain store in the airport doesn’t stock it. Damn.
Have a lovely trip, Patty. 🙂
Went to Reims for a day trip. No need to sleep there, my advice would be not to go on Sunday though. The town was dead. Enjoy!
I would love a bottle of Serge’s Rahat loukhoum muled to the US. The price on their web site quotes $125 euros a bottle for european purchase and $290 for American purchase. Today’s exchange rate is $1.35 so a bottle comes to $168. The French screw it to the Americans any chance they get.
This sounds like a lot of fun! I’ve never been to Reims, but the architecture looks stunning. I hope you have a great time wherever you go, and happy sniffing!