Holiday Perfume Shopping! London 2018

Hey Posse! I know, it’s taken me three weeks of Holiday Snaps, A&O Awards and Osmotheque/Serge Lutens Adventures to get to this but I had TOO much fun stuff to share before the Holiday Perfume Shopping posts. This holiday I bought a bit but did not go as crazy as I expected. Shockingly I spent quite a bit less than I budgeted for. The amazing shops and sniffing so much new stuff was still superfun. Seriously, had I let myself get carried away the numbers could have been completely different. This week we will look at London where I didn’t go crazy.

Holiday Perfume Shopping! London 2018

There is SO MUCH to see and do in London but as I wa only there for three nights and there was a huge list of people to see fragrance got relegated to the back seat. I did manage to steal a couple of hours to myself and go check out Selfridge & Co.

London Holiday Perfume Shopping

It is a battle to get through all the stuff they have and honestly the smell is so strong in that niche anteroom that I was having trouble getting any real idea. It’s also too crowded and uncomfortable, decidedly unluxurious. Got my sniff on so much and I quite liked the new Piguet, So Oud, Memo and one other, maybe, it’s a blur.

Atelier Cologne’s Iris Rebelle was my stand out scent from the whole experience. I wish I could remember why it was such a standout. It was better than anything else I smelled that day by far.

Holiday Perfume Shopping

Val the Cookie Queen and daughter BlondesWunder were co-conspirators on my one real day of shopping. We hit Harrod’s together and the sixth floor Salon de Parfums did not disappoint. I forgot to take pics. Sorry.

My particular favourites of the day were the CHANEL complete boxed set of 200ml EdTs. They look absolutely gorgeous arrayed together. If I were super rich it would be sitting pretty in my wardrobe right now. Val is sniffing the EdP of Coromandel and trying to decide if life will be worth living still after she finishes her EdT.

Roja Dove’s section reminded me that the man may be derivative but his materials are excellent. Better than the originals in some cases. There’s something super lush about all his perfumes. Bloody expensive though.

While shopping we bumped into perfumer Rasei Fort of Australian brand Fort & Manlé. One day I hope his brand will make it to the hallowed halls of Harrod’s.

London Holiday Perfume Shopping Purchases

DIOR 125ml Santal Noire and 40ml Sakura. OK, I couldn’t help myself. Shopping was irresistible. A hint though. The DIOR perfumes cost the same amount of Pounds as they do Euro. I paid £89 for 40ml and could have got the exact same thing for €89 in Paris. That is an AUD$17 difference. I do not even want to think about the 125ml I bought there. GRRRR! Still, I have them and will love them. How freaking cute is that 40ml Sakura? It can be my new onboard plane frag, perfectly safe and quiet cherry/blossom.

Next week we get to my Paris shopping, it’s a much heftier post.

Have you smelt any of the DIOR exclusives range? Did any sing to you?
Portia xx

  • Musette says:

    You always have SO MUCH FREAKING FUN! baby. Not a Sefridges fan (sounds like I just hop over the pond because ‘it’s Sunday’, to shop, dunnit? 😉 Love Harrods, always have.

    xoxoxo

    • Portia says:

      Hey Musette,
      Selfridge & Co doesn’t seem to prioritise the niche section. If you want excellent service and experience Liberty has a wonderful niche room and excellently trained staff.
      Yeah, Harrod’s for me too. Very sad they took the Diana & Dodi statue down though.
      Portia xx

  • March says:

    What a wonderful trip, and glad you got some delightful souvenirs to take home with you! Hugs.

  • hczerwiec says:

    Oooh! Must sniff that Iris Rebelle! That should be available here. And I would commit unspeakable crimes to get myself a bottle of Roja Dove’s Diaghilev.

    • Portia says:

      I do hope HCZERWIEC that after doing unspeakable crimes you’d come back here to Perfume Posse and share them. our little secret huh?
      Portia xx

  • Tara C says:

    I have and love Mitzah, Gris Montaigne, Ambre Nuit, Fève Délicieuse, Cuir Cannage and La Colle Noire. I also have a decant of Oud Ispahan but that’s not a favourite, it’s a bit strong and I’ve gone off oud. Very curious about Santal Noir, how strong is the oud note?

    • Portia says:

      Hey TaraC,
      LOVELY Dior Prive collection.
      It’s quite a polite oudh if I remember rightly. This is a sheepish fragrance that hums quietly and will be a perfect work, movie, dinner or close encounter scent.
      I don’t have anything quite like it in my collection so a good add. Let’s see how much wear it gets.
      Portia xx

  • Gina says:

    I miss your blog, Portia! I hated the frag department at Selfridge. It was uncomfortable. But, I did spend four hours in the frag department in Harrods. That was glorious. I also tried to go to Bloom on a normal day at a normal time but they were closed after all that travel and hunting for it down alleys. No stores/employees in the area had ever heard of it or knew where the street was. I didn’t give up and showed up in victory to a closed store. Ugh.

    • Portia says:

      Hey Gina,
      APJ is being resurrected slowly but surely. I promise it will be back soon. I’ve enjoyed the break but now I’m ready to get back into it.
      Yeah, Selfridge & Co is not a wonderful place to explore niche.
      Did you go to the Spitalfields Bloom? I think they moved to Covent Garden. What a bummer.
      Portia xx

  • Tara says:

    Ooh I now need to try Iris Rebelle, Portia.
    Michael wasn’t at Chanel in Harrods on Tuesday so Lisa and I walked in and walked out 🙂

  • cookie queen says:

    Life will be worth living but it will not have the Coromandel EdP in it. It sucks. Bussi.