We’ve all been there: I was standing at the Lancôme counter at Saks Fifth Avenue and asking for a sniff of a new fragrance, in this case Lancôme Peut-Être. The sales associate said, “Ah, yes, it’s so beautiful!” She sprayed it on my arm, and a few seconds later I lifted it to my nose. “What do you think?” she said eagerly. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
The fragrance was barely dry, and I wasn’t ready to say anything about it, really. But the ambery mix I smelled wasn’t what I’d expected at all…