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Just got back from my first trip to The Perfume House. Kind of overwhelming. They are the exclusive sellers of a number of high-end fragrances. For example, something I bought a small bottle of (impossible to refuse): Rancé Le Vanquer (not le Vainquer, as I notice is in a blank page on this site for this scent). Now, the formula is out there and a person can buy modern versions of this sublime stuff, designed for Napoleon (as a part of Napoleon's and Josephine's signature perfumes, the two of which became a third distinct scent when Napoleon's and Joesphine's skin touched), but The Perfume House is the only place in the USA where one can buy bottles of the actual perfume found in the original vats labeled Napoleon and Josephine, which only became available in the last couple of years (for $75 for 1.7 oz, from the original vat, how could a person say no?). The scents were perfectly preserved, as we were told any properly made perfume would be. The owner and his wife have had the place for about 25 years. The Perfume House has many awards, including a crystal egg from the government of France in thanks for keeping the true perfume tradition alive. The owner (Chris I think) spent many years in Europe prior to opening the shop, studying with the greatest perfumers in the world. He says, in some cases, he's the only American ever trained.
We asked him a little about alcohol and perfumes; he said all true perfumes have to have it, but that good (European) perfumes use real alcohol made from grapes, whereas it is common for American makers to use synthetic alcohol...is this common knowledge here? (Perfume House only sells fragrances with real alcohol from grapes.) He then went on to talk about pure plant essences (no alcohol), which he said are "on a whole different level." He let us try essence of Snow Rose. This is a rose that grows in the Himalayas, and each rose lives only a day, after rising up through the ice (no one yet understands how this is possible); obviously, to make an essence from such a flower is incredibly labor intensive and time consuming. His stuff was commissioned by a man to whom the Himalayas are very important. Shows of current plant essences are given a few times per year; customers are called, and, so we were told, no one ever leaves without a bottle of some hand-made essence (and they're not cheap, 1 oz is over $200, but then it last forever too). Hours later, the Snow Rose is still filling my head with fantastic pictures, like, memories that aren't mine or something...and I don't ever remember actually puttin any on myself.
They also sell a companion pair of perfumes created by some middle-eastern royalty, one is Frankincencse and Myrrh, as was brought to baby Jesus. The other is rose essence added to that. We were told millions and millions of dollars and hundreds of years were spent perfecting these fragrances (they are aged for more than a hundred years). With the rose one, it took them many years to figure out that when adding rose essence to the aged Frankincense and Myrrh, they needed to add aged rose essence. When they tried adding fresh rose essence to the aged stuff, it ruined every batch. Now, a certain mid-east representative for the royalty comes at least once a year to check on the Perfume House stock.
Another fascinating moment was when Chris said, "If you hear someone say they've got a scent they wear 24 hours a day, something's wrong." At most, he assured us, a given fragrance is good for a 12-hour period. With so little exposure to a lifestyle incorporating perfumes and colognes, most Americans are insensitive to the changing nature of fragrances. You want different smells for different moods, different times of year, different times of day, etc. Then I'm sure all the Basenote folks are completely hip to that notion
Anyway, a totally fascinating and enlightening experience and l look forward to patronizing the place for years to come. I'm still sitting here in awe that I have a bottle of cologne (EDP actually) on my bathroom shelf that dates from 1805, the actual liquid! I'll go to one of the plant-essence shows--and maybe he'll have some neroli or immortelle essences!

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Sorry, I just noticed it IS Le Vainquer, my bad. Tonight's my first night trying out, so I'm still in testing phase, but I like it more than anything I've tried so far. It has some similarities to Geurlain's Eau Imperiale, but smells a little bit more like Acqua di Gio to me (being from 1805, of course, it must be the model that Armani folks followed), classy, fresh. It's an EDP. Here's the pyramid:
Top Notes:
Grapefruit
Bergamot
GINGER
Melon
Watermelon
Italian Mandarin
Middle Notes:
Lavender
Geranium
Lily of the Valley
Nutmeg
Calabrian jasmine
Base Notes:
Sandalwood
Vetiver
Florentine Iris
Leather
Ambergris
Musk


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Yes, it's a fantastic shop (and no sales tax in Oregon). However, the notion of "real" and "synthetic" alcohol is silly. There may be characteristics of alcohol distilled from grapes, but not if it is completely distilled. Then it is just like pure ethyl alcohol from any other source. You might just as well speak about "real" and "synthetic" water.

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Interesting post adamgottschalk, enjoyed reading it. Looks like you got a lesson in perfumery while you wer out there . Somebody else at basenotes had mentioned this store about 4 or 5 months ago.
Vijay"Maisonstinky"


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It's a great place.

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I love the Perfume House, they are very generous with samples and never pushy. Chris has been recognized as a Master by France Parfum Association (there are only 13 master worldwide), he can detect most notes in a fragrance. The store has one of the biggest collection in the world ,you can find fine niches like Serge Lutens, Rosine, Commes des Garcons, L’artisan, or private reserves. If you visit Portland, this is a “most” destination.

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Originally Posted by Tuner_Watson Yes, it's a fantastic shop (and no sales tax in Oregon). However, the notion of "real" and "synthetic" alcohol is silly. There may be characteristics of alcohol distilled from grapes, but not if it is completely distilled. Then it is just like pure ethyl alcohol from any other source. You might just as well speak about "real" and "synthetic" water. No question alcohol is alcohol, but I've been thinking on the subject, and, knowing a fair bit about solvents and fuels and such, I think what Chris meant (being one of 13 "master perfumers" in the world, as noted above), and considering that he kept talking about alcohol made from grapes, was basically any alcohol not made from grapes. For example, the majority of the sugar used in making Budweiser is refined white sugar, not the traditional barley malt (Budweiser cannot legally be sold as "beer" in Germany for example, because of a law dating back to the 1500s, the Rheinheitsgebot (sp?), which says anything sold as beer must have only 4 ingreditents, barley malt, hops, yeast, and water...meaning, according to that law, Budweiser would rightly be considered a synthetic beer). Many other alcohols are made by complex chemical extraction of the sugars in a given plant (corn alcohol, for example). With grapes, they still walk on them to press them in some parts of the world. Talk about "non synthetic."

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By the way, I own several niche/ non niche fragrances, but the one that I get the most complements from friends,co-workers and estrangers is Le Vainquer by Rance

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Originally Posted by adamgottschalk I think what Chris meant (being one of 13 "master perfumers" in the world, as noted above), and considering that he kept talking about alcohol made from grapes, was basically any alcohol not made from grapes. I'm sure there is a meaningful difference in the olfactory quality of the alcohol used, probably because there are residual impurities in the distillate, or because it is not "specially denatured" (the "SD alcohol' seen in ingredients) with a chemical additive. However, if it is just alcohol, noting that it is made from grapes makes as much sense as saying the water you drink is "distilled spring water."

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I live in Portland, OR. and I've been to TPH a fiew times. *They sell over 1000 different fragrances and I find it hard to believe that ALL of them are based with grape alcohol. *Many of their fragrances can be found in Nordstrom or Macy's. *They don't carry just the rares. *So many of the fragrances they sell are massively mass produced and I don't think that mass production allows for searching out alcohol from grapes crushed by foot. *I could be wrong :-?