My best friend moved to Paris after she was chosen along with 15 others to attend a prestigious graduate school where she could begin the necessary studies to become a “nose.” Unsurprisingly she’s surrounded by scents all day and they often have to be tested on human skin. As a result she has developed a serious skin sensitivity (literally a mosquito bite can turn into an infected medical emergency). Isn’t that scary!? How disturbing that there are so many chemicals and irritants in the perfume world that too much exposure can cause this! Needless to say I was curious about Honore des Pres — a new line of Ecocert-supported organic, 100% natural perfumes — which Bergdorf Goodman recently introduced. The founder of Honore des Pres worked with Robertet, a perfume manufacture renowned for his stock of natural ingredients, and given the line’s certification, the formulation of these perfumes use only botanical ingredients produced using organic farming methods, there are no petrochemical products or synthetic perfumes, the formulations are free of coloring agents and phthalates, are produced without animal testing or ingredients of animal origin and contain no elements which are known to aggress the skin. As for the perfumer who would accept the challenge of creating the actual organic perfumes – they turned to Olivia Giacobetti (she has worked with Diptyque and Guerlain among many others). Jump for more on the scents!
Giacobetti created four out of the line’s five scents.
-“Chaman’s Party” — this one claims to be made with ingredients that have aphrodisiac properties. This is an earthy/woody scent.
-“Bonte’s Bloom”— romantic-chic this scent has hints of blue chamomile, citrus fruit leaves, and fresh herbs.
-“Nu Green” — a clean scent inspired by a morning swim. You’ll find hints of mint, dewy grass with Indian botanical music, tarragon, and cedar wood.
-“Sexy Angelic” — they call this one “a girl’s secret love elixir” — no wonder it’s my favorite! It has a snip of hemlock flower, a touch of Angelica, and a hint of marzipan!
-“Honore’s Trip” — saturated with citrus fruit and color this one is all about sun and sea:)
I got little samples of all of the scents at Bergdorf’s and they’re truly ALL wonderfully refreshing — they scream happiness and spring. Plus I think some would even work for both men and women (especially Chaman’s Party). The only downfall to the line is that the scents don’t last as long as my usual Allure Eau de Toilette. So even though the packaging of the full-size bottles is GORGEOUS (opens like a flower!), I would suggest getting the sample-size sprays so you can spritz yourself throughout the day (and switch things up depending on your mood!).
