Question:
Highlights:
Serge Lutens Palais Royal. Like going to heaven! Toured the upstairs private salon, the sink and toilet were designed by Mr. Lutens and are carved out of solid blocks of Amber colored marble. Left with a complete set of wax samples of the exclusive collection, a spray sample of the new fragrance, Rousse, based on cinnamon and bought a bottle of Santal de Mysore.
Guerlain, Champs Elysees. Brilliant restoration of the original store. Upstairs the entire range is displayed. All the bottles are testers, so you can spray yourself, do a test strip or ask for help. Sampled Jicky, Derby and Mouchoir de Monsieur. No purchase, but I was enlightened and thrilled.
Caron, Avenue Montaigne. Small and old fashioned shop. A bit "old school". I grabbed a test strip and sprayed a sample of Tabac Blond. Mission accomplished!
Comme des Garcons, Marche du St Honore. Very sleek and modern. Bought a bottle of Jaismaler Incense, which I think caused an allergic reaction on me. The scent strips are in the shape of ice cream cones, a brilliant idea!
Parfums de Nicolai. Small and friendly shop. Sampled Baladin and Pour Homme, which I loved. No purchase.
Sephora, Champs Elysees. The Disneyland of fragrance shops. Found a bottle of Dior Jules for 45 Euros. Right on! To my surprise they sell the Serge Lutens export line as well as A Different Company's range.
Next time:
Editions de Parfums Frederick Malle, Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier and L'Artisan Parfumeur.

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I'm green with envy! thanks for the summary!

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Originally Posted by Ruggles Highlights:
(1) I grabbed a test strip and sprayed a sample of Tabac Blond. Mission accomplished!
(2) Found a bottle of Dior Jules for 45 Euros. Right on! ad1: Mission accomplished - means?
ad 2: One of their best offers. I am glad you selected that. It's worth each cent of it, and luckily all Sephora/F have it.

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Originally Posted by narcus ad1: Mission accomplished - means?
ad 2: One of their best offers. I am glad you selected that. It's worth each cent of it, and luckily all Sephora/F have it. I wanted to experience the legendary Tabac Blond and finally got my chance, hence "Mission Accomplished". An amazing fragrance.
I've got to admit I was growing a bit weary of the Serge Lutens export line, but after the Royal treatment I got at the Palais Royal, I am a SL fan for life! The wax samples are genius. I never imagined that I would get to try the entire range of the exclusive line in my own home. Enough wax for one or two wrist dabs for the next weeks!

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You should have brought back a bottle of the notorious,infamous,etc Musc Kublai Khan,could have made a killing with decants to fellow basenoters!

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Originally Posted by abimanyu You should have brought back a bottle of the notorious,infamous,etc Musc Kublai Khan,could have made a killing with decants to fellow basenoters! Muscs Koublai Khan is insane/genius, almost unbearably so, I find Guerlain's Jicky to be just as daring, but instead of the unwashed accord you get the smell of vomit. Unfortunately, you can only bring back about two bottles in your carry-on luggage and the bell-jars have stoppers instead of screw on tops. I would have been a nervous wreck if I checked the 100 Euro bottle! Next time it will be two bottles of Lutens in my carry-on!

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Hi Ruggles,
Did you sample your SL Rousse yet? I want to hear more about this one.
cheers.

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Originally Posted by dimples Hi Ruggles,
Did you sample your SL Rousse yet? I want to hear more about this one.
cheers. Hi Dimples:
I tried Rousse today. It's a bit like Comme des Garcons white, being based on a cinnamon note, but Rousse also has iris and orange notes. As far as SL fragrances go, I wouldn't put it in the top 10. I may change my mind over time. I have another couple of days left on the tester. It is part of the export line, so it will be showing up outside of France soon.
Cheers!

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What a truly fascinating experience!