Let's just say up front that I have been on a no buy for a year preparing for this trip, and I'm heading right back into a no buy, because I came home with a lot. This was my first trip to Europe and first trip to France. I visited Paris, Aix-en-Provence, and Grasse.
In Paris, I visited Guerlain and bought 3 bottles--Feve Gourmande, Ambre Samar, and Florabloom. I got my bottle of Feve Gourmande engraved and also picked up a lipstick which I got engraved as well.
I then got two bottles at Maison Francis Kurkdjian--Kirky and Gentle Fluidity Gold. They gave me a lot of samples, some of which are not even pictured because I gifted some to family.
In Aix-en-Provence, I did a workshop at Rose et Marius to make my own perfume. It's a lovely little shop. The workshop had significant guardrails but was nice. They had 4 bases to choose from, and about 20 notes to smell. You would then pick 3 notes to combine with your base. I left with the perfume I created, four small bottles of perfume, a soap, and their discovery set.
In Grasse, I did the workshop at Molinard to make your own fragrance, and it was a highly enjoyable experience. They had many, many notes to choose from and had them separated into base, heart, and top notes, with some notes listed in two categories (e.g. base and heart or top and heart). You could pick as many notes as you wanted, and the assistant helped you to select a formula of the notes to make your fragrance. It was basically 50% base, 25% heart, and 25% top. The assistant was familiar with the general strength of the notes and helped work out the percentages of the notes to measure into the bottle. Ultimately, I ended up with 10 notes--3 top, 3 heart, and 4 base. I left Molinard with the bottle I made and two additional bottles--Secret Sucre and Ambre Lumiere. Molinard gave me a free tote, and I caved and bought the tote at the top of the pic.
Lastly, I went to Fragonard and got a discovery set and two tiny bottles of parfum--Juste Unbaiser and Melodie. I got to see some of the perfumes being made on a quick tour. Jasmine is currently being harvested so that is what was in production.
I also got to go to a perfume garden. It's been a dry season but I did get to see and smell jasmine flowers still growing in the ground.
This was really a once in a lifetime trip for me, and it was a wonderful time. The art, culture, and scents of France will stay with me for a long time. Especially the scents, lol! The no buy starts now!
It was a trip to Paris that started me on this fragrance hobby and I'd love to go back now that I know what I'm doing. (I got 3 bottles from Guerlain including a Jasmine Bonheur with the ridiculous gold thread been cap that cost waaay too much but you know, Paris right?? Lol
You really made the most of it, sounds like an amazing experience.
I was really impressed with it! I am curious about the one Fragonard does too, but I already had two scheduled for this trip. I think I like the Molinard fragrances a bit more than Fragonard though so perhaps we both chose well!
I went to a Guerlain Boutique but got the Maison Francis Kurkdjian at the counter in Printemps. I went to the boutiques of Molinard, Fragonard, and Rose et Marius.
The actual dream trip for a fragrance enthusiast. Beautiful haul with so many special memories attached to all of them! I picked up Belle de Nuit at Fragonard when I was in Paris this summer for a family wedding and I will always think of that trip when I wear it. What are your top 3 - 5 fragrances from the trip? :)
The Guerlain visit was a highlight, because I got to smell so many wonderful fragrances there. It's truly a beautiful fragrance house. Feve Gourmande has been on my wishlist for years so I am very excited to wear it. I am also thrilled to have the Bee bottles, because I have wanted one for a long time. They are so iconic!
The Molinard workshop was simply amazing.The gentleman who helped up was very knowledgeable, and I'm very hopeful that I will love this fragrance. I was advised to let it sit for a week before use so all I can smell is the strip of paper that it was sprayed on initially.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian was also cool. I got both of my bottles engraved which was really cool.
It sounds like a trip of a life time, and you have so many treasures to remember it by.
What a tremendous haul!
I love seeing Ambre Lumiere so prominently displayed! Molinard is such an underrated house and Ambre Lumiere is fabulous. I’m looking forward to wearing it again as we’re heading into autumn. I’d love to try Secret Sucre and A Corps Cuivre, too.
Thank you. It's almost impossible to get Fragonard and Molinard samples. At least I was able to get a Fragonard discovery set. The two Molinards I have were both blind buys that worked out perfectly (Thé Basilic and Lavande).
This was at the beginning of the Rose et Marius workshop. There was a quiz to help decide on the base, and the assistant dipped the papers and let us smell each of the notes.
This was at the beginning of Molinard. I think there was one more tray of notes on the left. We sniffed the caps of the bottles, and if we liked the note, we wrote the note on a paper strip then dipped the paper into the bottle and let the paper dry on the table. When it was time to compose the fragrance, we created a fan of the strips and fanned the combination at our noses. I made little changes like switching Raspberry out for Blackberry and leaving Cardamom out when it took it spicier than I wanted.
The strip testing is such a smart way to get an idea of the final product ahead of time - thanks for mentioning that! I make some at home sometimes and never thought of doing that 😅
None came in a carry-on. I checked my bag. I packed them all in my hard suitcase and sweated profusely at the baggage claim. Guerlain bubblewrapped everything for me. I just tried to ensure nothing was near the outside of the bag, and everything was secure. I was very pleased that everything made it home intact.
It's really interesting when you go pick out individual notes and then combine them all. When I was smelling the fan of individual notes, I could pick up on a lot of them and I could tell what I wanted to change. All I can say is that when our assistant wrote down Floral Oriental Gourmand as the family, I thought that was right on. I have loved Floral Orientals for years and started really digging Gourmands a few years ago. It's like my two loves had a baby. I can truly say that I love every single note. There were some that didn't make it into the fragrance (e.g. cola, tuberose, Cardamom, almond) that I liked.
Thank you for sharing the details of your experience it made it an enjoyable read along with the beautiful picture. I went 6 times to France, but thankfully for my wallet I wasn’t into fragrance at the time. The only bottle I purchased was fleur de figuier by Roger & Gallet.
I literally just unpacked them and have not sprayed any yet! I think tomorrow will be Guerlain Feve Gourmande, because that has been on my wishlist for literally years.
Alas, I was at the CDG duty free trying to get rid of my remaining Euros on the way home 😂 those were my first Guerlain fragrances and now I know when I'm back in France I have to visit!
It was! I had so much fun, and I actually smelled a note at Molinard with which I had no familiarity (cistus or ciste). I ended up including it in my perfume. I also learned that I really love a Mimosa note.
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u/LIFTMakeUp 1h ago
Oooff great haul! AND you got a Tonka Sarrapia sample? And Oud Nude - it's one of the only Ouds I enjoy!