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.

I often put a bit of a fragrance on the back of my hand to sniff during the day at work and sample. Today, I decided to grab a random Bond out of my desk drawer at home – I grabbed Astor Place and thought I’d give it some more attention since I’d only briefly smelled it in the store up til now.

When I first put it on, I got a pleasant, but not exceptional plummy fruit note. It seemed nice enough and I thought perhaps it could be something the GF would like when she wanted something light or girly. By the time I had gotten to work, it had fallen flat. I’m not sure exactly what the culprit is, but it’s turned into the smell of shampoo. I lived with a number of girls one year in college, and this is the smell of their just-washed hair while getting ready to go out for the night. I think the freesia may be to blame, but I can’t be certain. What I get now is nothing more than wet Pantene hair. Every now and then, I get a pop of citrus, likely the mandarin sticking its head out for a breath of air.

I wrote most of this earlier and then headed to a meeting. Astor Place did evolve some, but not much. There were a few minutes that I felt like it was going to turn into something better, more tart – but then it settled back into a shampooed head. The juicy mandarin is smothered with the hammering freesia and white florals.

I’m left pretty disappointed for the most part. It’s a pity – the bottle is quite a sight, and the real location seems to be very cool. Perhaps that intersection has a lot of recently washed heads of hair.