By Lisa Jones
I was lucky enough to visit Paris with perfume friends recently, as I’ve explained in other posts, and I smelled so many things I’m making separate posts about some of the places I visited and my thoughts on what I tried.
I was taken to the Jovoy store on Rue de Castiglione by Margo, Brian, Omer, Tim and Katherine, and we fell upon the treasures with little exclamations of delight. It was literally like letting a group of hungry children loose in a sweet shop. There are 90 brands listed on the website and I swear they must have all been represented in the shop. My eyes were out on stalks seeing the size of the space and the number of brands and ranges. I had no idea what to smell first.
I started with Parfum d’Empire, one of my favourite brands, and was able to try some of the range that I have missed previously. Musc Tonkin was excellent, but I was underwhelmed by the florals in the range. I have come to the conclusion that I am really not a floral fragrance girl. Your mileage may differ, and Osmanthus Interdite is honestly pretty. Ambre Russe and Cuir Ottoman are as good as ever, you will be pleased to hear, and Wazamba is on fine form (and my wishlist, in case Santa is reading this – after all, it’s never too early to drop hints). Fougere Bengale, with its strange and fascinating accord of tar and curry, is still so delicious I would follow a man down the street if I smelled it on him, and Corsica Furiosa is so raspingly herbal and bright that I would go on holiday somewhere bakingly hot just to be able to enjoy it at its best.
I confirmed to myself that I love this range and it’s one I can depend on to offer something a little bit different that works on my skin really well. I feel that Marc Antoine Corticchiato is, like Andy Tauer, Lyn Harris, and Liz Moores, a nose whose tastes are similar to my own. For me, this is a way to find fragrances that I may enjoy among the huge numbers that are released each year – I seek out the work of noses I whose work I admire.
I’ve been interested in The Different Company for ages after reading that it had been set up by Jean Claude Ellena and his daughter Celine, another gifted perfumer. Way back when, I had a sample of the 
beautifully stinky early Rose Poivrée – a spiced rose with an animalic base – that was so good it was sinful (and I don’t like rose fragrances). Their Sel de Vetiver – grapefruit, vetiver and salt – is widely praised as a summer classic. So I grabbed a bottle of Majaïna Sin and had a good huff – I liked the spices and the unsweet vanilla, but it didn’t really move me. However, Adjatay Cuir Narcotique was definitely my speed, marrying leather and tuberose for some interesting weirdness that still smelled good.
The Institut Tres Bien range was created by another of my favourite noses, Pierre Bourdon. The three eaux de Cologne in the range didn’t disappoint: one is Italian style with sparkling citrus over herbs, while the French style transposes these and brings herbs and lavender to the fore. The Russian style is more obviously different as it has a leather note that I loved. I considered buying a bottle of the Cologne Russe but when I checked the price, I couldn’t justify spending €92 for 100mls of Eau de Cologne. This is something I slosh on with abandon and I don’t want to be thinking of the cost when I do, so I’ll stick to my cheap and cheerful eaux from the supermarket.
Tim guided me towards Marc Antoine Corticchiato’s latest venture, La Parfumerie Moderne, which was beautiful quality and very impressive. I wanted to love Belles Rives with its incense and iris, but on my skin it disappeared within moments, to my great disappointment. I would love to spend more time with this range though.
Katherine introduced me to the Neela Vermeire range, and her favourite Trayee which is a delicious spice mix that impressed me greatly. We smelled Niral, the new release and agreed that while it’s very pretty, it’s not for us. I really haven’t paid much attention to this range before now, to my shame, something I will have to remedy.
After snuffling my way around the shop for 40 minutes, I tried the Jovoy range and found that it stands up very well to comparison with the dozens of others in the store. The names are quirky, and I like it just for that. La Liturgie des Heures is gorgeous smoke and cypress, and L’Enfant Terrible is a spicefest worthy of Dune (gratuitous Scifi reference that I’ve been itching to slip into a review for ages). I also liked L’Arbre de la Connaissance, which implies that the Tree of Knowledge bore figs, not apples, and L’Art de la Guerre made me hope that Sun Tzu enjoyed a rhubarb chypre. At €130 for 100mls, these are reasonably priced and it’s a range I will come back to.
The Jovoy shop was a rare and nose-boggling delight; I can’t recommend a visit highly enough. If you are in France, there are stores in Paris and Le Mans, there is a newly-opened store in London (brace yourselves guys, I will definitely be visiting) and there are three in the Gulf: one in Doha and two in Dubai.
