20 April 2010

Mûre et Musc

I just bought L'Artisan's Mûre et Musc, in a 50 ml. It is the old bottle. Luca Turin in Perfumes: The A-Z Guide, says that it has been reformulated, and that the old version was better. I don't know if this is the older version or the reformulated. I am not sure when they changed the bottles. My recent L'Artisan acquisitions (Dzongkha, Timbuktu, Les Épices de la Passion) have all been the older bottles. Mûre et Musc smells like the L'Artisan sample they sent me last fall, though. I prefer this to the Extreme version. The Extreme, to me, smelled too much of grape Kool-Aid. Mûre et Musc is not my favorite L'Artisan, but I like it, and had been thinking of getting it.

18 April 2010

Dzongkha

I have an interesting tale to tell.

In January, I came back from Japan. After having spent no money there, I decided to go out and buy the L'Artisan Parfumeur Épices de la Passion coffret. It is three 15 ml bottles of Saffran Troublant, Poivre Piquant, and Piment Brûlant. I had seen it in a store for $75 and went there to get it. By chance they were having a 75% off sale and I got it for $18!

Two months later, I am in the same store and checking out the L'Artisan stuff. For some reason, I sprayed my friend with Dzongkha. I had tried it last fall and, to be honest, wasn't so nuts about it. But this time I just loved it. The SA told me that, on the following Thursday they were having some sort of sale again, so I decided to come back.

When I returned, the SA I had had in January was there, and she remembered me. I had every intention of buying a 50 ml bottle of Dzongkha, less the discount of the day. We got to talking, and she and another SA decided to just GIVE ME a used Dzongkha tester with about 80% remaining. I offered to pay for it, but they said, no, it had been opened, and they were just going to throw it away (they had another Dzongkha tester on display). Also... to be honest, the bottle was kind of grungy. So I bought a 50 ml bottle of Timbuktu instead. And I got the Dzongkha!

Last fall I had liked Timbuktu more. But now I am really in love with Dzongkha, and I think, if it is still there next time I go, I will buy the 50 ml bottle of that, too, as a backup!

I really like L'Artisan, and think so far it is the house that suits me. A lot of people complain about longevity, but, so far, I have no complaints there. I own 100 ml bottles of Dzing! and Tea for Two. Sprayed on, they last me a long time (Tea for Two more so). I would like to buy more of the line. I also like the L'Artisan SA at Barney's on Oak Street, and, when I decide to get bottles of Al Oudh or more recent stuff, that is where I will buy them. But in the meantime, I will keep going back to this store until I deplete them of all their L'Artisans! (They are not carrying the line any more.)