Perfumarie is trending on Reddit:
“So I finally did it. I put on my big girl britches, dragged myself and a girlfriend to the eastern most terminus of SoHo, and braved the 25-course sniffing menu at Perfumariē. And it certainly was.
For the truly fragrance-addicted, I'd say that this experience is only slightly different than your usual browsing. For me, this consists of smelling through every, single, new thing in Twisted Lily every couple of months. I generally don't know about whatever it is I am smelling and have no preconceived notions about any of the fragrances. I like what I like, I move on from what I don't.
With that said, there is something pretty neat about blind sniffing a line-up that you KNOW will contain fragrances you’d ordinarily avoid. When I walked in, I told the super lovely fragrance attendant that I was looking forward to seeing whether I really am my Niche Scum flair. I was sort of hoping that I'd fall in love with whatever the celebrity scent offering of the month was, because wouldn't that just be the gag? I wanted to challenge my preconceived notions and identify whether or not I really do know what I like.
Guess what people. That gag does not work on me. (you are so SHOCKED.)
I sniffed through 25 fragrances, arranged ostensibly (though I did not ultimately agree that the line-up was linear or even that there was a coherent line of reasoning) from lightest to strongest. Included in the line-up were aroma chemicals (which would not be safe for skin sampling) and artistic fragrance compositions (also unsafe for skin testing). The fragrance attendant provided us with golf pencils and paper to write notes as we sniffed and to make sure to note that which we'd like to try on skin.
According to my notecard (which Perfumarie actually scans and emails you after the fact,) I noted 9, 12, 13, 19, 22, 24, and 25 (which turned out to be Jovoy Private Label, a scent recommended by a friend and that I have worn, but did not recognize it in this line up. Apparently, I'm good, but I'm not quite that good).
I was OBSESSED with the Methyl Pamplemousse, which smelled like all the most floral bits in a super fancy sushi plate: fresh grated wasabi, pickled ginger, starchy rice, umami; and the Floralozone, which is petrichor perfection. Too bad they were both skin-unsafe.
I also circled and noted each of the Olfactory Art compositions by Christophe Laudamiel as gorgeous and obsession-worthy as well as his clothing spray (which...is amaze). I don't know what it is, but Mr. Laudamiel's scent compositions trigger both instant familiarity and total je ne sais quoi. They totally and completely excited me as both things I wanted to smell like that just fit ME and things I hadn't smelled before. I ended up purchasing his scent Spacewood (which is just...SO. WEIRD.) (which is just...SO. WEIRD.). The scent attendant was pretty surprised that the majority of things that fascinated me were composed by Mr. Laudamiel and encouraged me to come back for a notes in tea workshop he may be hosting in the next week or so. 10/10 y'all should check out his new line The Zoo.
So, low lights: I did not discover anything I could actually try on my skin (that i didn't already own a sample of).
High lights: I discovered Christophe Laudamiel and his line The Zoo (which is not on Fragrantica?!); I confirmed that I'm not a poseur.
TL;DR: if you are in NYC, this was a super fun experience I am likely to repeat and is well worth checking out.
Edit: I just noticed all my links were missing! wtf? Now they are not.”
Read the full ORIGINAL POST with comments HERE.