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 ended up going back over there on Monday rather than Sunday. I ultimately got what I came for, but the experience was far from stellar. I came in and asked for the person I was told to ask for. He wasn’t there. I asked for Cari, the manager. After telling them my name, and a few minutes later, she came out. She explained I could either replace the bottle with an non-engraved version, or she could just give me some vials filled to make up for it – I told her that would be perfect. While I was standing there I glanced over to see the same Colombian SA that sold it to me in the first place. She had the gall to snap in an uppity way “you know, they ALL come that way.” I told her she was wrong and it had been used. She snapped back “uh, no it wasn’t.” I explained that the bottle didn’t have to be primed (not to mention the huge amount missing), so she was unequivocally wrong. She smirked and said whatever. I loudly told her she didn’t have to get snotty and I certainly didn’t come there to see her. That was enough to make her turn around. When the manager came back, I told her I didn’t appreciate her SA accusing me of lying to which I only received a grunt back and a “sorry.” Long story short – the service at the Guerlain boutique in Epcot sucks and that Colombian SA is incredibly rude. I can’t remember her name, but the next time I’m there I’ll be certain to remember it. I’m planning on getting a bottle of Moscou this spring, but I can guarantee I’ll be selecting my salesperson very carefully.

Unbelievable.

I’ve gone to La Signature, the Guerlain boutique in EPCOT a few times and have enjoyed playing at the big display table, but hadn’t purchased anything there until yesterday. Last week I ran out of my sample of Gourmand Coquin and decided I’d bite the bullet and get a bottle. When we got there and after sniffing some more for a few minutes, I asked the SA to retrieve a bottle. Much to my dismay, she said they were out but wanted to double check. After she rummaged around in the back room area for a while, she emerged with the shiny gold box and said they had one left. I saw that the seals were broken, but just assumed she had opened it to make sure it was a right one. We happened to be there on a day they had an engraver there and decided to have the bottle engraved. All seemed well and we went on our way to poke around the other countries sniffing.

When I got home, I pulled the bottle out and realized it had not only been sprayed already, but quite a few times. There was approximately 1/4 inch missing! I’ve since emailed and will be calling the store shortly, but talk about a bad taste left after spending so that much money on something. I doubt it was done intentionally, but I think that sort of thing should be double checked before they wrap something up and sell it. Now I doubt they’ll offer to do much about it since it was (poorly) engraved.

I’ll update back here once I’ve been able to get in touch with them.

***UPDATE***

I heard from the store manager. She was very sorry about the situation. She offered to replace the bottle, but it would take some time since they had no more stock. I just asked for a couple decants to make up for the missing amount, to which she absolutely agreed and said that they would do whatever it took to make sure I was happy. I was pleasantly surprised at her service, so +1 for them! Perhaps I’ll see if they won’t give me a small decant of one of the other Les Elixirs des Charnels.

We’re going back to EPCOT this weekend for an Annick Goutal event, so I’ll post again once that’s all said and done!