The weather was finicky when we arrived in Paris by Eurostar from London. Without a solid plan, our first stop ended up being Fleurivore, an edible flowers shop. I wasn’t sure what to expect. The shop turned out to be a very small space, and their array of available fresh flowers were in a basement. The florist told me that the most flavorful ones were marigold (rose d’Inde), tagète agrume (related to marigold, but smaller), and blackcurrant leaf—I bought one of each and later felt that I’d bitten off more than I could chew, but I managed to eat the flowers, buds, and leaves and brewed the blackcurrant leaf like tea, as suggested. The petals tasted pretty mild, and the marigold leaves were spicy and refreshing in a vegetal and astringent way. I don’t regret it, but in future recommend leaving the preparation and presentation of edible flowers to chefs who know what they’re doing with them!

Jardins de Bagatelle

I had planned the dates for this trip to include Rose Weekend at the Jardins de Bagatelle, which is often the first weekend of June. However, the forecast for Saturday was storms, so we decided to swap our agendas and go on Friday instead. As such, we did not get to be there for the weekend activities, but were able to walk the gardens at a leisurely pace and see and smell all the roses without crowds. The heat wave had not been kind to many of the flowers, but others were still at peak bloom.

There is an iris garden as well, although they bloom in May and few were left.

We started at the classic rose garden, Roseraie de Bagatelle, as we finished off the rose ice cream (and violet, and apricot, because I was greedy) that we bought from a cart at the entrance.

On the other side of the gardens is the Rosiers du Paysage, or landscape rose garden, with more rustic rose types as well as those identified by number only for future competitions.

The icing on the cake was when a peacock showed his feathers by possibly my favorite patch of roses (numbered “4”).

The Parc de Bagatelle has a tiny gift shop, and I bought some rose nougats and a rose hand cream to make the memories last longer.

Parle Moi de Parfum

We happened across a Parle Moi de Parfum boutique and as they were busy when we walked in, I started sniffing the row of pre-fragranced blotters on clips one by one. Several years ago, I had gone through a discovery set, so many were familiar with Orris Tattoo / 29 being a favorite. About halfway through picking up each clip (and putting it back more neatly than it was), the other guests left and the sales associate was available to chat with us.

She explained that violet gave Orris Tattoo its cool effect, along with Ambroxan. The wall behind the counter was filled with apothecary-style bottles of raw ingredients, and she showed us the Ambroxan crystals, smooth and chilly. Larger jars of natural materials in whole form were on display, and I was granted permission to smell them all, including benzoin, cardamom, orris root, and sandalwood chips.

The orris root was captivating—at once woody, powdery, rooty, and even a bit spicy.

A newer perfume that I found intriguing was Blossoms Smoke / 57, which opens dark and smoky with vetiver before floral notes unfold, leading eventually to a soft drydown of tonka and vanilla. As the sales associate described, it was like an upside-down notes pyramid. At this point, a man walked in and joined the conversation. I found the top note(s) quite fresh despite the smokiness, and asked if it had ginseng as well, to which he replied that “our nose” (perfumer Michel Almairac) “does not like ginseng” because he did not feel it added anything to the composition.

Some perfume bottles are clear, while others are black, and I wondered whether the black ones were extraits. He clarified that they were not, but simply contained perfumes with ingredients that were more sensitive to light.

It was only after I’d left the shop with a splay of blotters and a spritz of Blossoms Smoke on my wrist that some fog started to clear from my brain, vague memories of readings and interviews from years ago surfaced, and I realized that the man was Benjamin Almairac! Co-founder of the brand and son of the master perfumer.

I really ought to keep this embarrassing miss to myself, but there it is.

The rest of the day was focused on visiting several clothing shops and enjoying “terrace culture,” stopping for drinks and people watching when we needed a rest (or facilities). I had checked the hours of the Grand Palais art galleries and it appeared to be open late, but when we got there, it was near closing time much earlier and we had entered through a different gate, so not only did we miss the exhibitions (which I later learned were sold out anyway), we didn’t get to see the famous glass domed ceiling.

We also walked past the Bourse at least three times without knowing that they were open very late as part of Nuit Blanche city-wide contemporary art activities, which were free to boot…

Officine Universelle Buly

I had heard of this historic brand before, but what moved it toward the top of my list this time was seeing videos of the apothecary-style interior. On our last day, we went first to the oldest location on Rue Bonaparte. A few people were lined up outside, but it didn’t look too bad… until we were told there was another line around the corner (where the sidewalk was much wider). At that line, the estimated wait was an hour.

We abandoned that plan and crossed a bridge to the Rue de Richelieu location. En route, we got a view of Pont Neuf in partial La Caverne glory—the installation looked incomplete, and we later learned that this temporary artwork by JR was damaged by high winds a few days before and its opening is postponed until repairs are finished.

Fortunately, the Rue de Richelieu store did not require queuing at the moment we arrived, and I enjoyed sniffing all of their perfumes. They are true to their featured hero notes, and I particularly liked the “lichen” and the “amber,” which harken back to classic perfumery.

I ended up purchasing a rosehip oil for the face, which they packaged artfully in a paper box.

The Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport, as many of you know, is one of the best for perfume shopping. While I’m no longer quite at the stage of taking full advantage of this, I did get a specially designed blotter for a L’Artisan Parfumeur airport exclusive to try. Minuit à Paris lists notes of rhum, vanilla, and pink peppercorns, and I have to say I find the scent pretty true to this, spicy and sweet while maintaining the crisp quality of many from the brand. Now, a week later, it has dried down richly vanillic and faintly woody.

I’ve got my rosy souvenirs to get me through the next weeks and months, but some opportunities are definitely saved for “next time.”