What would a trip to Paris be without perfume? While I’ve been in Paris, I’ve spent time with Denyse Beaulieu of Grain de Musc, who kindly wrangled me a few perfume-related press invitations. In this post, I’ll give you an overview of a few of these doings, with real reviews to come over the next few weeks.
Jean Patou: To launch Jean Patou Joy Forever, Patou set up one-on-one meetings for journalists with a company vice president and Patou’s new nose. Denyse and I went to Patou’s tiny storefront on the rue de Castiglione and were ushered upstairs to a reception room just big enough to hold a desk and a table with tea and plates of jasmine and rose macarons from Pierre Hermé.
Big changes are happening at Patou. First, Procter & Gamble sold the brand to a family-owned company in 2011. The new company brought in a new perfumer, Thomas Fontaine, who orchestrated the re-releases of Chaldée, Eau de Patou and Patou Pour Homme. Next year, they plan to release Amour Amour, Que Sais-Je and Adieu Sagesse. I smelled the new Chaldée, and it rang true to my memory of the Ma Collection bottle I have at home. I haven't tried the newest versions of Joy and 1000, but the executive we talked to said they'd upgraded the raw materials used since Proctor & Gamble's watch.
After talking to the company executive, we descended a steep and narrow staircase to the Patou perfume laboratory in the basement. The laboratory consisted of a modest conference room with a small table and chairs and an adjoining kitchen-like room with a perfume organ on three shelves arranged as a horseshoe. Nearby was a desk and a few small refrigerators for materials. (Fontaine let us sniff the iris concrete — two grams and 200 euros worth of heaven.) I learned that there’s no civet at all in Joy. None. Joy’s animalic whiff comes from the indolic jasmine.
Memo: Memo launched its latest fragrance, Italian Leather, at a coffee reception at the Italian embassy. The Italian embassy is an early 18th-century mansion behind one of the stolid walls on rue de Varenne — you know, the walls tourists like me walk by while scheming how to peek inside. This time, I made it in.
In the Grand Salon, we sat on butter-yellow silk armchairs and listened to the brand’s owner talk about driving through Italy and her inspiration for Italian Leather, while the perfumer, Aliénor Massenet, described its notes, including the tomato leaf accord she included. The event was set up as an open house. Chic beauty editors came and went, and a waiter brought coffee and pastries to the clutch of women surrounding the perfumer and owner.
It was hard to pay attention, though, surrounded by gilded boiserie, chandeliers, and a view of a lovely, long garden with a mirrored sculpture shaped like an oval pond intended to reflect moonlight. On one end of the central wing was a small, dim library with green and blue watered silk furniture. On the other side of the wing was a colorfully baroque theatre imported from Sicily. We left through a marbled entrance hall with a massive staircase and urns of flowers.
Jovoy: Just down the street from Patou is niche perfume heaven in the form of Jovoy. At Jovoy, you can get samples of anything from the store’s approximately 60 brands. The owner, François Hénin, has a little bit of Stephen Fry about him. He's charming enough to sell ice to Eskimos, so hang on to your credit card. By chance, I met Elisabeth de Feydeau as she left the store. (Apparently, besides being a perfume scholar, she makes a line of candles, which Jovoy carries.) It’s a relaxing, low-key boutique, and it’s unintimidating to visit no matter how terrified of French sales assistants you might be.
Nose: Nose is another boutique specializing in niche perfume lines — it carries more than 45 of them. I got to sniff Etat Libre d'Orange's new fragrance, La Fin du Monde, which, although it didn't smell the same at all, reminded me stylistically of Like This. One of the fun things about Nose is its computer tool to recommend fragrances. You can use the tool on Nose’s website, or a sales associate will lead you through it on an iPad. Plus, Nose’s neighborhood is a great one for window shopping and stopping for a coffee.
I wish you all could have been with me! Second best, though, is that I gathered perfume swag to share with Now Smell This readers. Keep your eyes open in the coming weeks for giveaways.
Note: top image is the Teatro siciliano at the Italian Embassy in Paris, via their website.
Wow! Lovely description of what sounds like a marvelous time. I was riveted by the Memo launch in the Grand Salon. (Thanks to Denyse, too, of course!) Are you going to review La Fin du Monde? I am very excited to smell the new Patou Pour Homme and Que-Sais Je. Any signs of Moment Supreme?
I just tried the Nose website tool, and while I enjoyed the sort of quaint English translations and the little olfactory favorites pyramid it made for me, it recommended Creed Love in White!! :p Also a few others I’m not fond of. I had a good chuckle over it, anyway. Enjoy the rest of your trip!
Funny you mention Moment Supreme–I asked about that one, too! I didn’t get a timeline for it, though. I did try the Patou Pour Homme, and it was terrific, more oriental in feel to me than fougere. The Eau de Patou was great, too, and I felt like I could smell each of its facets, more than with the usual Eau. I didn’t get a sample, so I can’t review Fin du Monde, but I did look at the PR materials, and they were up to ELDO’s usual panache.
Oh Lucky you!!. You sound like you are having a great time – and I am green with envy. It all sounds totally fabulous!
Trivially, I am curious to know if anyone actually risked eating any of the pastries or macarons on offer or did they just gaze at them, maybe taking a sly picture?? I don;t think I could restrain myself which is why I don’t look the slightest bit French or fashionable.
I did! I actually had two of the jasmine ones. I had one jasmine macaron up in the reception room, then when the plate came around again down in the lab, I couldn’t resist. For a split second I thought I’d reach for the rose so I could try both, but my hand shot back to the jasmine. And, yes, I was the only one eating macarons. But dang it, I don’t regret it a bit.
Love love love your article, and what uplifting news about the house of Patou. They are saved from the Proctor & Gamble claws, hallelujah!
I know! The company exec said that P&G never really wanted Patou anyway, but that they bought Patou to get Lacoste, a company linked with Patou (part of the same portfolio) at the time. I love seeing Patou’s heritage respected, and let’s cross our fingers that it’s all lovingly done.
Lovely account Angela ! I love Paris .
Thanks for the the bit about Joy and not having civet- v interesting.
Anyone here have any thoughts about the new Joy and 1000 extraits ? Anyone tried them yet ? I heard it is mostly a rose scent now – Joy.
I haven’t smelled the brand new Joy or 1000 yet, but I do want to. It would be a shame if Joy were too rosy.
Your writing never disappoints, Angela. Reading of your perfume adventures in Paris is second best to actually being there. I love all the sensory details of your surroundings. I adore macarons, but have never encountered jasmine or rose flavored ones. Mmmm! I’ve never met a macaron I didn’t like, and am sure I would have been shamelessly gobbling them all up. What good news about Patou!
Then you would have been fighting me for the macarons!
It really was a wonderful trip, and I’m lucky to have been able to go.
Waiting with bated breath for Patou Pour Homme… I know it will be different than the classic, but I’m terribly interested in sniffing the reformulation.
Patou Pour Homme is already released, but I think it has limited distribution. From what I smelled, though, it would be worth tracking down.
Hope it finds its way to the US sometime in the near future. Great article, as always!
I hope so, too! Although it may actually be here somewhere (Bergdorf’s?) and I don’t know it.
Thank you for sharing your experiences on the inside. Really fun to read. I’ll be looking for more.
And if the macarons were indeed from M. Herme’, then I’d consider it inexcusable not to have tried them.
I see we think alike, Donnie!
Great news about the Patou house! I see a bottle of Joy in my near future. 🙂 Thank’s for sharing your Paris fragrant explorations with us, Angela!
You’re welcome! I’m planning to review Forever Joy next Monday, and I’m looking forward to wearing Joy next to it.
I can’t wait to read your review of Joy Forever!! Monday cannot come soon enough!
Uh oh, the pressure is on–I hope I turn out an insightful review!
Angela,
I am so excited about your news re. Eau de Patou. Has the new Eau de Patou made it to the U.S.? I can’t wait to try it. Eau de Patou was my very first perfume, when I was 16 and I love it. It brings very happy memories.
The Eau de Patou is out, as far as I know, but it doesn’t have very wide distribution, and I’m not sure who carries it in the U.S. I did smell it, though, and I really liked how distinct everything in it smelled, from the lemon peel and honeysuckle down to its warmer drydown.
Thank you for the second installment of this series – I am going to Paris under a month and this is just the thing to read. Very exciting, x
How fun! I hope you have a fabulous time!
Just curious.. did you make it by Sens Unique? I would love to get your opinion of the difference between the three niche stores – Jovoy, Nose, and Sens Unique – and their different styles of SA/sales. Especially – from your perspective as a woman who is a fragrance lover (and expert.)
I didn’t make it there, unfortunately! There were so many places to visit, and so little time…but next time, for sure.
Well you certainly cover the perfume range, don’t you? From Disney Hannah Montana to rubbing elbows with Thomas Fontaine and visiting the inner sanctum at Patou. Not sure why, but this delights me to no end! Keep the stories coming!
I’m glad you’re enjoying it! I love to be the observer, and I love it even more when I know at least a few people will be along for the ride with me through these posts.
That sounds like a lovely trip! I’m glad you enjoyed your time there!
Thank you!
It sounds like you’re having a great trip. So lucky to have a connection to get you into places where mere mortals like myself will never go. I would have eaten those macarons too. It seems a shame to just let them go to waste.
I do feel really lucky, and it’s all thanks to Denyse and her multitude of connections.
Those macarons were creamy and delicious. I’m getting hungry thinking of them.
Thank you, Angela, for taking us along on your fabulous experiences! Patou hasn’t raised my heartbeat in a very long time, but these (re)releases sound awfully promising…
I have my fingers crossed that Patou has turned a corner, but we’ll see!
That diagnostic thinks I like florals. Do Son? La Chasse aux Papillons? I don’t like these perfumes!!!!!!
I only like florals in food so I really wish I could have had those rose and jasmine macarons.
So much for the diagnostic! I seem to recall you’re more of a Wonderwood fan. Very different. And, yes, I’d really rather eat a rose macaron than a Wonderwood macaron.
My options were limited and I’m wearing Jasmine et Cigarette and I like it so I just chose it. It really put everything out of whack. I changed it to Histoires de Parfums 1740 and now the florals have been removed.
I haven’t heard of any of them! CALE FRAGRANZE D’AUTORE
Roboris, KEIKO MECHERI Canyon Dreams, MEMO Luxor Oud, NU BE Carbon [6C], NU BE Oxygen [8O]. I haven’t liked any Keiko Mercheri that I’ve tried but Canyon Dreams sounds nice. The Nu Be interest me but I can’t tell if I’d like them or hate them. I will try them if I go to Nose!!
Is a sandalwood macaron possible? If so, I’d try that.
I’d try a sandalwood macaron in a second, too!
Canyon Dreams has a bit of a L’air du Desert Marocain feel to it if you like that? I think it’s quite beautiful really. Her bespoke collection have a nicer feel to them than the main line imo..
Thanks for the mini-review!
Oh, Angela, what lovely experiences you have had! Thanks so much for sharing. I’ve enjoyed reading about all of your Parisian travels, and was so excited to read about Patou. Did anyone ask about Vacances or was it mentioned during your visit? It would be beyond wonderful to have this lovely lilac gem back in the perfume world. I know they can’t snap their fingers and bring everything back all at once, but here’s hoping that Vacances is on their radar and on the agenda for the near future.
Yes! They did mention Vacances and L’Heure Attendue as on the slate. Wouldn’t that be fabulous?
I am enjoying your Paris posts, Angela! And this sounds like an absolutely wonderful experience. I love how you describe the details..:)
ohh- those rose and jasmine macarons sound divine!
There are so many details I’ve left out! A blog post simply isn’t enough space to describe, for example, the chic beauty editors at the Italian Leather launch or the convent potager I walked by on the way home or the knife sharpener pushing his cart down the street a little later that afternoon….
How lovely to travel vicariously with you. I like to bookmark pages like this, for when I finally get to each city.
I love the photo of the little theatre, would like to stage a ballet on that stage!
I’d love to see the ballet you put on! What the photo doesn’t show is the theater’s ceiling, which has 3-D molded roses and vines seeming to grow from it. A gorgeous room.
Angela, hope you went next door to Nose and had one or a few of those delicious eclairs that shop sells?
I had one or two of the delicious eclairs that Nose had out. I wonder if they were from that patisserie?
Were they mini? I forget the name of the shop but I know they do ‘cocktail’ size eclairs as well as the normal size and savoury eclair sandwiches (the salmon is wonderful)!
Yes! Exactly. They were “mini” eclairs. I had a caramel one. I love the sound of the savory eclairs. They’d be great as an appetizer.
Hi Angela, it sounds like you had a wonderful and productive time in Paris! and how exciting to also have an opportunity to visit the Patou perfume laboratory! Your beautiful descriptions make me feel as if I am there.
It was a fabulous trip. I was especially lucky to have Denyse to invite me to so many places normal perfume lovers don’t get to go. But you know, home is pretty great, too. *pets cat on lap and sips coffee*