Right about now is probably prime time for leaf peeping in parts of North America. We took advantage of the long weekend for Indigenous People’s Day a week ago (which coincided with Thanksgiving Day in Canada) to drive up to Montréal and admire the fall foliage along the highways. I was a bit surprised that less than half of the leaves in the city had changed color.

We went to some of the big department stores we’d been to before, but also made it a point to explore the many vintage stores, or friperies, along an extensive stretch of Saint-Laurent Boulevard. Several are specialized in a particular category, be it luxury, streetwear, jeans, menswear, plus size, upcycled, etc. It was fun to browse, although I didn’t end up buying anything.

At the department stores, some niche perfume brands shared shelf space with mainstream offerings. For example, the Simons fragrance section had Bon Parfumeur, Diesel, Maison Matine, CRA-YON, and others juxtaposed.

This time, we made a purposeful visit to LVNEA, a botanical perfumery and apothecary. Usually, if I get to know a perfumer or store owner, it’s because I’ve been to their shop/studio/blog, etc. In this case, it was the opposite—we had met the perfumer and founder of LVNEA, April Lea, at an activity last year, so when we decided to go to Montréal, we made a plan to stop by to see her and the boutique.

The space is large yet warm and inviting, and I immediately loved the minimalist and apothecary aesthetic, livened by several green plants. April gave us a tour of the production spaces and the perfume-making room where the magic happens, and showed us around the store.

LVNEA has a wide range of products, from skincare, bath & body, candles, and essential oils sourced from various producers to perfumes in both oil and alcohol formulations. Everything is botanical, and as I sniffed my way through each of the perfumes on the pre-prepared blotters, I marveled at how well blended they all were—truly beautiful, with some of the raw materials instantly recognizable without disguise.

These creations were also a practical lesson in the concept that notes are not ingredients, a reminder that perfumer Sarah McCartney has reinforced in her educational videos. Some LVNEA potions have notes of smoke, leather, or petrichor, which often rely on synthetic aromachemicals, but have been approximated with botanical materials, which in turn are not disclosed on notes lists.

I purchased discovery sets of both the alcohol sprays and the roll-on oils, as well as a mushroom and marshmallow root face cream, which has a really smooth texture. As I write this, I’m wearing Feu Follet, with featured notes of smoke, wood, botanical leather, tree resin, and charred bark. “Campfire” is the most common descriptor from others who have tried it. My curious nose constantly wants to guess at the raw materials, and I’m thinking there is probably cade and possibly some davana in it… maybe one day I’ll venture to ask (but not today).

The next day, we went to the Biosphere, a geodesic dome that now houses a museum dedicated to the environment. It was designed by Buckminster Fuller and Shoji Sadao and originally built with acrylic panels in the exterior, but those burned down within 15 minutes in a fire in 1976. The Biosphere has remained an open steel skeleton structure since, allowing a wind turbine to provide much of the power for operations.

Learning about environmental issues is important, but part of me wished we were attending this electronic music concert hosted by Cercle… too bad we were 2 years too late! The video is worth checking out even just for the aerial views of the Biosphere, Saint Lawrence River, the Grande Roue, and the Montréal skyline.

We were in time for a guided tour about “eco-technologies,” among which was a living wall representing the four seasons. My favorite was autumn as it was the most colorful.

To my delight, there was a rose garden, or Roseraie, outside the Biosphere, and some roses were still in bloom even in October.

Finally, in need of hydration, we took the Metro to Berri-UQAM for a late lunch at Le Saint-Bock—mostly for sentimental reasons, as our friends (who have since moved away from Montréal) took us there when we visited them several years ago. They recently went back for a holiday and sent us a photo from there, so what could we do but return the favor? (One day, we will overlap not only in place but also in time!)

Le Saint-Bock had several novelties on offer, including a “bubble beer” (boba in beer, anyone?) and a sour lime beer that changed flavor as you drank it. We went for the “sensory beers served with an olfactory cloud,” which involved a specialized contraption shaped like a gun to bubble the cloud over the liquid.

The process was fascinating to watch, but the bubbles smelled like some kind of plastic glue… and disappeared within seconds (in the time I posed the glass by the can), so it didn’t really enhance the flavor experience of the beers.

All in all, I think we did well with our time in Montréal, while still leaving room for a potential future visit.