A Day In Paris with Denyse Beaulieu: Photo Essay

April 13, 2014 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 36 Comments

Heya Crew,

One of the most amazing things that has happened from finding the online fragrance blogging community, starting APJ and joining the Facebook fragrance groups has been the incredible people all over the world who I have been lucky enough to meet.

A Day In Paris with Denyse Beaulieu: Photo essay

Blogger, Author, Fragrance Muse & General Great Girl

Printemps rooftop restaurant

Michael and I went first to the Printemps rooftop on our way to lunch. It’s a great way to get your bearings and see where everything else is around Paris. Sadly they were renovating the terrace and we could not go out. Still it was good for Michael to see. So where do you go when Printemps verandah is closed? Laduree of course.

Laduree (Michael doing his serial killer look)

Palais Royal Gardens

Then we met the very fun and elegant Denyse for lunch. If you haven’t read The Perfume Lover (available now in paperback $14 delivered at Book Depository) then you MUST!! It is the story of a romance which became a fragrance by Bertrand Duchaufour, Seville a l’Aube for L’Artisan Parfumeur. Denyse has written a book both personal and informative that was so fun and enjoyable that I’ve now reread it a couple more times.

Last year in Paris with Jin he had sussed out the best Korean restaurant in the city, a tiny little hole in the wall restaurant with seating for about 25 people and the full BarBQ set up called Seoul Opera (6 Rue Danielle Casanova). If you are in Paris walking on the Ave de l’Opera from the Hotel d’Louvre to the Opera turn left at the Kusmi Tea and it’s about 5 shops in. Unless you knew you would walk straight past it. Denyse had heard of it but never been so I was glad to take her to a Korean that Jin had found completely authentic, and delicious. I don’t know why we didn’t take any photos of lunch, it was super fun. Lovely to catch up with Denyse and hear her stories of life in fragrant Paris, love and writing. NOBODY can drop fragrant names like Denyse and she has a wicked fund of fabulous stories that had us sniggering like dirty little schoolboys. It would be SCANDALOUS if she ever wrote her stories down, like Jackie Collins for fragrance. Food was awesome and very reasonable, Jin had sent us a menu of 5 dishes and we left nothing.

Jovoy

We then wandered up to Jovoy and Paris was putting on its kindest Winter face ever, remember that this was early February and we were expecting snow and freezing temps but to be honest it was merely cool and a jumper and scarf were all I needed during the days to be OK. The walk was beautiful and Denyse pointed out points of Interest for us. Michael was super thrilled as it was his first visit to Paris and he walked through in a completely fabulously overwhelmed daze.

Place Vendome CdG

The crew at Jovoy are so friendly and could not have been more helpful or interested in making sure we smelled and understood EVERYTHING. My nose gave out after a couple of hours but Michael and Denyse were indefatigable. They both are very interested in the nuts and bolts of fragrance and they were very happy parsing and comparing. To be truthful I was COMPLETELY over sniffing at this point and couldn’t wait to get out of there. I went and stood out the front for about half an hour to calm the pounding in my head.

We were introduced to a lovely set of Parisian bloggers in Jovoy and Denyse was able to give us a preview of the newest L’Artisan offerings which smelled rather like 100% artificial candies to me. Not my favourite of their offerings in the new milieu.

Then Denuye took us to the IUNX shop in the Hotel Costes on Rue Saint Honoré where I happily grabbed Splash Forte, a favourite warm weather frag for me, Olivia Giacobetti has done a lovely job with the line and Michael picked that she was the perfumer straight away. Very cool call. While we were there a couple came in and bough 5 x 150ml bottles of fragrance, didn’t even bat an eyelid. I was completely thunderstruck.

Costes/IUNX

Then we had a lazy beverage in one of the suit bars near the Costes Hotel. It was a great place to finish our adventure before wandering Denyse to the Opera Metro. Isn’t she beautiful?

Opera Metro

It was pretty late and Michael & I had not done our Galleries Lafayette fragrance shopping yet. We both grabbed a bottle of DIOR’s Mitzah (I got the last 150ml bottle) and I also grabbed Guerlain’s Mon Precieux Nectar which I had wanted before last years visit to Paris but didn’t buy it then. FINALLY got it. We were so late and in such a rush that we only managed to capture these two pics. It was all extremely fun though. By then end of this we were absolutely exhausted.

Galleries Lafayette

There you have it. A near perfect day in Paris with one of the fragrance world’s superstars. I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride. All photos were kindly donated by Michael and that’s why he is in so few of them, I know, he is rather lovely eye candy isn’t he?
Portia xx

Denyse Beaulieu: The Perfume Lover

May 18, 2012 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 8 Comments

Hi Snifffters,

I have recently finished Denyse Beaulieu’s book “The Perfume Lover”. Denyse has been a long time blogger on Grain de Musc and a perfume afficianado, teaching “Understanding Fragrance” courses in London, living and working in Paris. She is a bit of a hero and writes many of her blog posts in English and French.

Unfortunately I am a bit under the weather today and my nose has gone on strike for smelling because it’s already full.

So instead of talking about perfume, I thought perhaps that I would tell you a tiny smidge about Denyse’s book. I found it a delightful and entrancing page turner, teaching me a lot of history, some of the perfume making process, and a whole bunch of side related trivia that you have to be on the inside track to know. Like a perfumed version of a rag trade novel. Behind this font of knowledge though is the story of how a perfume came to be from a vivid recollection of youthful dalliance Denyse had enjoyed in Spain, some of her loves through time and the scented thread holding all together.

Many of you don’t read novels, I know. This is such an easy read that few of you will find it in any way challenging. You may learn some new vocabulary though, which will stand you in much better stead next time you are faced with a pushy salesgirl or the incredible gamut of fragrances available currently. It will also give you some hints of great perfumers and the companies they have created for, who to look out for and what they put into the juice. All knowledge is power, right. For you ladies your buys will look more savvy and for the gentlemen the same holds true. Imagine being able to surprise a loved one with something they’ll cherish or brag about your own splendid choice of fragrance.

Buy The Perfume Lover (after the jump) from Book Depository in hardcover for around $21 delivered to your door. It is also a sensational gift. I was going to write this about a fortnight before Mother’s Day because it is a perfect book for gifting. Beautifully bound, writing not too small, light and entertaining while still informative.

It has inspired me to go and find a couple of the mentioned perfumes too.
Is there a book I need to read about perfume that you adore, please leave it’s title and author in the comments.
Much reading pleasure to you,

Portia xxx

BBC documentary “Guerlain; The Next Generation”, Terracotta Voile d’Ete Review

April 29, 2012 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Hi Fume Heads, Stink Whores, Perfume Junkies and all others,

Just had the most wonderful lunch with friends down at Blue Fish, Darling Harbour off Sydney Harbour, chatting away to a girl who I’ve met a couple of times and liked very much. Had NO IDEA that she was the girl to set up Le Labo bar here in Sydney, has met most of the world’s most recognisable perfumers and many noses, and wants to be my scent mother. Helping, teaching, exploring!! She has even offered to do some guest spots here on AustralianPerfumeJunkies. OMFG! I am blowing kisses to the universe and to my BFF Kath who started the conversation about AustralianPerfumeJunkies today over the most ENORMOUS seafood platter.

It’s Sunday and I’m dropping this in early to give Sydneysiders a chance to read and watch before dinner. Instead of writing about a perfume I thought we could all watch a story about a perfume house. In honour of it being a Guerlain documentary I am wearing Terracotta Voile d’Ete and if you want to know what it is like Denyse Baeulieu from Grain de Musc does history, scent and wearability. All I will say about Terracotta Voile d’Ete by Guerlain is that it is a soft spicy floriental with moderate sillage and lasting power, works all year round and is pretty cheap online at $50-$90 100ml EdT. Being a 1999 limited edition you will be the only guy/girl wearing it and it’s modern but not as you know it AND, the bottle is beyond fabulous, the most deliciously retro chic. Imagine this little beauty on your vanity, huh? I got mine from FragranceNet.com with 15% off for about $43.

Photo Stolen from Fragrantica

Denyse is also the author of “The Perfume Lover” which I am currently enthralled in. It’s a page turner about a memory of a magical night turned into a fragrance by one of the world’s most talented perfumers, Bertrand Duchaufour of L’Artisan Parfumeur. Quite a plot, that also happens to be based on the real life events that led to the creation of Séville à l’aube, the new perfume from L’Artisan Parfumeur. I hope we get a movie with Lucy Liu, Maggie Smith, Angela Bassett, George Clooney, Eric Bana, Zac Efron, Will & Jada Pinkett Smith too. That would be AWESOME!

Go to with abandon!!

Portia xx

Guerlain, The Next Generation

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