This post is NOT sponsored
Today, I will tell you about my express but very interesting visit at Jovoy Paris. I went there to find a new perfume.
Since I was very young, thanks to my rather developed sense of smell, I have always loved and worn perfumes. Recently, because of an unknown element/change (diet?), my perfumes began to disgust me and not knowing what kind of perfumes were suitable for me anymore, I clearly needed help.
That’s when I discovered through a closed group on Facebook, the name of Jovoy, a boutique selling niche perfumes. As I was supposed to stop by, I planned to spend 30 minutes there.
JOVOY PARIS
4 Rue de Castiglione, 75001 Paris
jovoyparis.com
Despite the 5-star location of the boutique (near Concorde), its huge stock (more than 1000 perfumes), and the sober, elegant design, the service is amazing (and not snobbish).
I was in hiking mode (backpacker clothing) and at no time was I looked down on 😀
Knowing that the store’s exclusivity is their service, I immediately go to a saleswoman to ask her for advice.
She asks me what types of perfumes and the names of the perfumes I wear/love. And then she begins to introduce me to the perfumes of different families (citrus, floral, ferns, woody etc.) to know my tastes.
The perfume is psschited on a paper, on which she notes the name of the perfume. If I like the perfume, I keep the piece of paper, if not, I put it on the table (that way I don’t clutter up the paper).
At no time does she give me the name of the perfume/brand/shows me the bottle…. so marketing/packaging has no impact on me, and my only job is to know whether or not I like the piece of paper in my hand.
At one point, she presents me a perfume that attacks my nose as much as the 2nd perfume presented, I make the remark to her, and she makes the link between the two perfumes, telling me that the common smell of both is the rose, it is probably the very pronounced smell of the rose that I don’t like finally.
That’s how we move forward little by little. After about ten perfumes, I am saturated. As there is a perfume that I like a lot, I decide to stop there. We could have continued, the saleswoman shows absolutely no impatience, eh, I think that we had left to test 20 other perfumes if I wanted to 😀
I also noticed another customer hanging around the store since I arrived, testing himself full of perfumes and no one came to pressure him. I read on the Internet that it was the temple of niche perfume lovers in Paris. You can really take your time here.
So it’s only then that I ask what the piece of paper is that I’ve been obsessing over for the last while. She shows me the bottle, I finally have the name of the perfume, we talk about the ingredients, the philosophy of this perfume house that I didn’t know existed. And then I ask… the price.
The price
So, even if they are niche perfumes, the prices vary enormously, it can be from 30€ up to 300€ (or even more). I didn’t give a limit to the saleswoman, but I set a limit in my head (100€).
Unfortunately, the perfume I flashed on costs 170€ for 100ml and there is no packaging (at least in their store) smaller than that. Carrying 100ml around the world is unimaginable anyway.
The sample
I was ready to leave the store (the perfume is too expensive for me) when the saleswoman kindly offers to psschite the perfume on my wrist, to see how the perfume evolves on my skin. And she also offers me, for free, a sample of the perfume, to be able to test it over several days.
At no time am I pushed to buy. And even if I really liked the perfume in the store, I was still advised to take the time and test it on my skin (because perfume does not react the same way on a piece of paper as it does on a person).
If I had cracked on several fragrances, I would have received several free samples (1ml) too.
What I liked
- The knowledge and the passion of the saleswomen, we are light years away from the Sephora saleswomen who always direct towards the most expensive perfumes or those of which they have the most commissions at the moment.
- Rare perfumes, which aren’t worn by everyone
- Quality perfumes, because perfume houses are smaller and are more focused on quality and creation – than having to “please everyone” or set a price limit
- My perfume: she chose very well for me, it’s the first time that I like a perfume so much and the smell evolves very well on my skin
- There are other JOVOY stores in Le Mans, London, Dubai… and they have an e-commerce website
What I liked less
- I thought I could find vintage or discontinued perfumes (I thought I could find my Midnight Poison – not typing) but I was told that the quality of vintage perfumes couldn’t be guaranteed, so they sell little known perfumes, but they are still in production
- Even if the store is very well ventilated, it still smells very strong perfume. It is a pity because a few years ago, apparently one smelled the perfumes directly on the corks, which avoided to perfume all the store.
In short, I recommend this exceptional boutique with my eyes closed for your next visit to Paris or if you are looking for an exceptional gift for yourself.
Finally, I was able to find a smaller package by contacting the perfumer directly, but I will definitely come back to JOVOY (specifying my budget this time lol).
I also heard a lot of good things from their candles. Apparently, they do not dig in, burn evenly, perfume the interior very quickly and are delivered under a bell.