HS3

The first time I had a chance to try Guerlain’s Les Voyages Olfactifs was at EPCOT last year. It was the first time we’d been to a Guerlain boutique and it was fascinating to have a big table full of all the Paris and boutique exclusives. All three from Les Voyages Olfactifs are Guerlain through and through, with the signature Guerlainade and touch of powdery sweetness in the top. They come in enormous 8.3 oz bottles, with screw cap and additional atomizer. I would personally prefer these bottles to have a better integrated atomizer since I keep them with the atomizer on and the great, brushed screw cap off.

Paris – New York is supposed to smell like Manhattan at Christmas time. I’ve never been to Manhattan, but if it smells like this, it must be a marvelous place. It opens with a slightly perfumey, candied note that lingers in the air with a hint of tart mandarin and bergamot. As it dries and throughout the day, you’ll catch wisps of vanilla, cardamom, cedar, and hints of orange blossom. It lasts a full day and then some, and projects in just the right way. It lets its presence be know, but does not announce it loudly. The dry down is gorgeous – a light floral over cedar and vanilla with hints of cinnamon.

One of these is not like the other. Wait, yes it is. As I was arranging things and moving things about this evening, I noticed that the older style bottle for Keiko Mecheri (Oliban in this case) was very similar to the bottle used by Guerlain for a number of their scents. Wait, not similar… the same. Exactly the same. So I get that a lot of smaller perfumers use pre-made bottles, but I would hardly consider Guerlain a “small perfumer.” I wouldn’t think Keiko is either. I can assume that it’s an off-the-shelf bottle that some glass company had and they both opted for, but I really would expect Guerlain to do something a bit more custom, especially considering the exorbitant price one must pay for their scents in those bottles.

What struck me as sad as I was formatting these pics was how much has been used of the bottles. Oh, bottles, why can’t you refill yourselves?

I was wandering through Marshall’s the other day, waiting on dinner reservations, and saw Lagerfeld Kapsule Light. I quickly read a couple reviews on my phone (none terribly glowing), and decided to pick it up even though it wasn’t the highest regarded in the Kapsule bunch. When the GF and I got to the car, she quickly opened it up and gave it a couple sprays. I was pleasantly surprised. It is what it says it’s going to be – light. It’s a pleasant “clean” type thing, and reminded me quite a bit of the Emporio Armani He that I wore in college for a couple years. It’s no masterpiece, but it’s a great thing to wear when you’re not in the mood for an olfactory assault. It also seems to layer pleasantly.

The bottle is pretty cool too – it’s unconventional, but completely functional. You can lay it on it’s back, or stand it up. It has Karl’s signature engraved on the base as well for a nice extra touch.

The week before, I was killing time at another Marshall’s during lunch (I need to stay away from that place), and ran across Narciso Rodriguez for him, travel sprays. They are 25ml each, for a total 50ml. I don’t wear the regular Narciso Rodriguez too often because I usually opt for the musc collection for him, so it seemed like the perfect replacement for my big 100ml. There don’t seem to be many photos of the travel sprays around, so I thought I’d stick one in here.