Perfumista on a Shoestring: If you Like L'Artisan La Chasse aux Papillons & Rochas Poupée, you might Enjoy TBS The Spirit of Moonflower
I am inaugurating a new budget fragrance category for the "Perfumista on a Shoestring". How can one enrich one's fragrance wardrobe without breaking the bank? There are two solutions for that; you can scour the internet for great bargains and/or you can try to find fragrances that seem to belong to the same group of perfume-siblings for a fraction of the cost....
A couple of weeks ago I made a little stop at The Body Shop to try some of their fragrances. I was pleasantly surprised by the good quality of both their alcohol-based perfumes and oils. I had recently sniffed Rose Cassis and did not care for it.
My little find of the day was The Spirit of Moonflower. The jus is in a pretty, little pink glass bottle resembling pharmaceutical bottles. I sprayed some on and immediately thought, La Chasse aux Papillons by L'Artisan Parfumeur! Poupée by Rochas! It is about the same type of contrast found between a fresh floral body and a slightly peppery counterpoint.
It smells pretty. I would say that the drydown is more short-lived than with the other two fragrances, but it really has its charm. It is not simplistic. All in all, a worthy buy if you are looking for a casual, pretty floral scent for the summer.
Perfume notes are: Top: melon, green complex, coriander, gardenia Middle: lily of the valley, moonflower, lime blossom, cyclamen Base: jasmine, rose. It retails for $14 and $22 for, respectively, 1 oz and 2 oz.
Poupée can be found also for bargain prices on the net.
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Comments
It sounds gorgeous. I'd love to try it--I'm a fan of La Chasse aux Papillons. I love the Perfumista on a Shoestring idea!
Posted by: Sali | June 6, 2006
Thanks! It's what we call the "système D" in French, reference to the word "débrouillardise";). It means something like you are able to overcome obstacles by managing to find alternative solutions or to live by your wits.
Posted by: Mimi | June 6, 2006
This is a great idea. I am a big fan of Systeme D.
Posted by: Cait | June 6, 2006
That's how you can make life more exciting:)
Posted by: Mimi | June 6, 2006
What a great concept! I'm looking forward to further recommendations.
I also like Poupee very much but am having trouble getting past the name (I know, silly, it MEANS doll or something, right?)
I'll have to dig this one up...
Posted by: | June 7, 2006
Shoot, the previous comment was me. :-)
Posted by: March | June 7, 2006
Yes, it does mean "doll". The term doesn't carry the same types of connontations in French as it does in English, it seems to me.
For me, it's like wearing some seemingly kids' plastic jewelry that, in fact, was made by an expensive designer.
It looks kiddish but, actually, it's a very sophisticated and grown-up style. It's all about context!
Posted by: Mimi | June 7, 2006
Okay, laugh away -- gonna post this on the blog next week -- I went by the Body shoppe yesterday to try the Moonflower, which I really liked! Thanks. Anyway, they have these other EDTs which are now 2 for $26, on sale. Okay, they're not SL, but at that price I think they're quite nice... anyway, the charming young SA helping me said "smell this" and layered Armorito, which is a chocolaty coffee thing, and Chymara, which is their "spicy" one -- and it was excellent! And smelled better than a fair amount of the product I sniffed at NM, too... you're right, the cassis is lame!
Posted by: March | June 8, 2006
Yes, I was pretty impressed by the quality of their perfumes.
I went to Lush yesterday and tried their Karma and Ginger. Although they smelled really good at first, they ended up smelling a bit cheap in the drydown, I thought. Ironically, these are more expensive than the TBS scents. TBS seems to be working with better noses.
Posted by: Mimi | June 8, 2006