This past weekend I attended my first ever Sniffapalooza event, here in New York City. Called "Spring Fling," it was a weekend filled with scent testing, shopping and smoozing along with lots and lots of sample collecting.
Registration for "Spring Fling" was for either one day or both days. I signed up for both, which turned out to be more than I could handle. I knew I had a problem when I failed arrive on time for the 8:15 am breakfast at Bergdorf Goodman's. The room was all filled up, so I could only sit outside the door. I heard presentations by representatives from Creed, Annik Goutal, and Tom Ford. Tom Ford's rep, by the way, unveiled his newest collection of 12 fragrances, to be sold as a set, available for pre-ordering that day at Bergdorf's.
At the end of the breakfast the real fun began. There was non-stop sniffing and spraying all weekend long. My nose never got a break! I got in line with the breakfast attendees and received the first of many gift bags of the weekend, filled with skincare and fragrance samples. Everyone was then free to explore Bergdorf's famous Beauty Level. We were lavished with even more samples and gift bags, and encouraged to enter raffles for the chance to win more gifts, including one worth thousands of dollars. I was very impressed with a scent I smelled at the L'Artisan Parfumeur counter, La Chasse Aux Papillons Extreme, a wonderful light floral. By then I probably already had over 20 samples of different fragrances to take home. I realized that Papillons was the one I really wanted. But, of course, there was no sample of that one.
We left Bergdorf's a short while later and went over to Henri Bendel. Bendels roped off an area just for us, but it was way too small. I felt like I was being detained, so after listening to a rather long pitch from a salesperson, I left the store and got some much-needed fresh air. Lunch was at Seppi's on West 56th Street, in the Parker Meridian Hotel. The food was fine (when it finally arrived) but the speakers were even better. Marlen Harrison of Perfumecritic.com had us getting to know the person next to us and deciding just what kind of fragrance wearer we each were. Also, Franco Wright and Adam Eastwood of Lucky Scent talked about the fragrance lines they sell and Mark Thomas talked about the venerable British fragrance company he works for, Floris Of London.
After lunch there was a trip to Takashimaya on Fifth Avenue between 54th and 55th Streets, for more fragrance sampling, along with tea and cupcakes. By then I was totally exhausted. I took the samples of Vertigo and Hypnotica I received and went down the street for a cup of decaf at Starbucks. The last stop of the day was at Saks Fifth Avenue. I only lasted about ten minutes before I knew I had to go home, wishing I hadn't paid for day two.
Yesterday morning I left my apartment refreshed and ready to sniff. The first stop was the Bond No. 9 store in Soho. Perfumer Laurice Rahme welcomed us into her "salon" with a beautiful brunch and gave each of us a purse-size bottle of her West Side Fragr
ance. She also gave us breaking news: On June 1st Bond No. 9 will release its next New York scent. It is called Coney Island. Coney Island has notes that smell like a margarita, among others. Smells good enough to drink!
Le Labo was next, followed by Lafco, both less than a mile from each other, also in Soho. Le Labo is the place that custom-blends fragrances for you, a tiny store that felt like a sardine can with all of us Sniffas in it at once. Lafco is an importer of several Italian fragrance and skincare lines. It was there that I made my one fragrance-related purchase of the weekend: Pomegranate Soap from Santa Maria Novella. This soap smells truly heavenly. I definitely recommend it!
By the time I left Lafco, my olfactory system was pretty much shot to hell. There were several other stops to make during the day, but I could only manage one more: L'Artisan Parfumer on Thompson Street. It was there that I finally got my La Chasse Aux Papillons Extreme sample. I was at peace then. I went home to play with all of the samples I'd collected and vowed never to abuse my nose that much ever again.
Buzzing off for now...
The other day I talked about Jo Malone’s Dark Amber and now I want to mention its counterpart-Lotus Blossom and Water Lilly, the fragrance to wear during the day. I like the light floral scent. It has a flirty essence too, but it's not as sensual as the Dark Amber. It’s still great to wear, whether to work, on a day trip or just to smell nice while staying home all day in your pj’s.
