Dear Sophie,
What a wonderful time I had at your studio. Thank you for having us, and I can't wait for your opening in New York **crosses fingers**
Review:
When asked what was one of my favorite things about France, this was definitely one of the top 10 things to do. While in France, we stayed in a castle on the outskirts. We had activities planned for each day, but only arts and shopping scheduled for Paris. Well after spending quite a bit of money shopping we decided that our project for the next day in Paris will include making our own perfume. We called, (from our hotel front desk) made an appointment, and voila the next day we were on our journey.
Her shop was located in an area that we deemed to be very authentic. Not very touristy, and you can tell that a lot of locals frequent the area. We were warmly greeted at her shop and began the process. Because we were a party of four, we had the luxury of having the studio for ourselves during the process.
Sophie was very patient and informative. She explained her role as a "nose", taught us about the different notes in a fragrance, and about how each note reveals itself over time. She then asked us what kind of fragrances we liked, and asked a little more about us to get a scent profile. Well let's just say we had a very diverse group. I like clean scents, my mom likes deep florals, my sister likes woody scents, and my cousin likes fruity scents (particularly peach lol). Yet, even with all our differences she sat with each one of us, helped us go through the process of accepting and rejecting the notes from her vast collection of fragrances, and we all left the shop with something that we loved.
I was particularly pleased that I did not become ill with the process. I am very sensitive to certain scents, and just knew that being in a studio of perfumes would trigger a migraine. Gladly it did not.
We all opted to go with the largest option, and I definitely plan to order more. (Sophie makes a recipe of each scent so that you can easily order a new version when in the U.S.).
My one con is that there was a scent that she ran out of that we all loved, but I kid you not her suggested replacement smelled ten times better (I found out how much better when I returned to the U.S.--apparently once it sets it smells a TON better).
My takeaway (after this novel) is that it was a great learning experience, I left with awesome product, and when I get complimented on my scent (which happens VERY often) I can flip my hair and say, "ah this scent?? It's a one of a kind scent made by myself and a professional nose in Paris" :D read more