Not that Paris is in shortage of any perfumes stores. On the contrary. There are so many. It seems that every other store, including clothing stores, home decor stores and even patisseries, are having their own line of perfumes.
In Rome act like Romans do and in Paris get perfumed as Parisians. Right?
As much as Paris is packed with perfumes stores, there is always a room for one more; Jovoy Paris, which was opened in Paris at the end of March and focuses on rare, exclusive and limited edition perfumes.
The man who stands behind Jovoy Paris, is the charming perfumer, François Henin, who started his way in Vietnam. His mission was to explore the natural olfactive riches of Vietnam and to set up a pilot distillation factory on the Chinese border. He traveled through Asia for four years, selling flavors, fragrances and raw materials to local businesses. On 2010 he returned to Paris with a project in mind: to acquire a forgotten perfume house in order to present beautiful, rare and limited edition fragrances. That was the first Jovoy perfumery he opened in Paris. The success was immediate and the Parisian women ran to the store. After all, who doesn’t want to smell a bit different than others?
It happened that I visited the new Jovoy’s location in rue de Castiglione the day of its grand opening and lucky me, the charming François Henin himself was walking around, explaining about Jovoy’s concept and told me some stories and anecdotes behind some of the perfumes. ‘Rare perfumes are usually small houses run by a perfumer, who is committed to using raw materials that are noble, natural and sometimes exclusive. They don’t have high sales targets but they resonate with consumers who really know and love perfumes, as well as those who are quite disappointed with the ‘muse’- oriented fragrances, that are the product of a too-wide distribution’
Aside from the wide selection, which is both original and quality-minded, I love the way Jovoy features its perfumes. Whereas in traditional shops the saleswoman is spraying the perfume on a smelling paper (and what you smell is actually the alcohol that ‘burns’ the nose), Jovoy uses glass domes to cover the little brown tester bottles, in order to capture the perfume’s true scent. It is actually allowing the customers to get a better idea of the fragrance’s real scent without the inconveniences of the alcohol.
But beside the little domes, the colorful perfumes bottles and obviously, the heavenly scents, I also love the way the new space is designed; The red walls, the warm colored shelves in the middle of the store, where costumers could pass both sides and the vintage touch of some of the displayed tables, gave Jovoy a very Parisian chic, yet conceptual high-class store.
The French are well known for their delicate baguettes, the rich-with-butter croissants and for the sweet and colorful macaroons. The macaroons or in french ‘le macaron’, are small round meringue like cookies, made of sugar and eggs, stuffed with light cream or crushed almond cream. There are endless bakeries in Paris and so many patisseries that sell and serve macaroons but my favorite one was Ladurée, which became a prestigious brand name for macaroons. The history of the Ladurée brand goes back to 1862, when Louis Ernest Laduree, a miller from the southwest of France opened a bakery at 16 Rue Royale in Paris. At the same time, the area around the Madeleine was gradually becoming a central, cultural and prestigious thanks to the Garnier Opera’s developments. Ernest Ladurée’s wife, Jeanne Souchard, who was the daughter of a well-known hotelier, came up with the idea of combining a Literary salon for women with a Parisian café and pastry shop. The result was the first tea salons in town and “salon de thé” which had a definite advantage over other cafés, as these kinds of salons permitted ladies to gather in freedom. Jeanne Souchard succeeded in combining the turn-of-the-century trend to modernism. The tea room was enlarged in 1930 by a family member of Louis Ernest Ladurée, who gradually made it into a ‘Maison’ and a well known Parisian institution. In 1993 the Ladurée brand was bought by the Holder Group, which extended the business and opened a new prestigious Ladurée (both a restaurant and tea room) on the Champs-Elysées. The mission of the Holder Group was to bring back the great classics, which have contributed to the reputation of this ‘salon de thé’, as well as create an environment for gastronomic creativity in Paris. With time, Ladurée became a tea salon, pastry shop and extended its products to other colorful desserts, home fragrances, candles, stationary products, all are painted in pastel colors as of the macaroons. My most visited Ladurée was the one on 21 Rue Boneparte, a cute cornered patisserie with a colorful magical and tempting gift shop next door.
My first visit to Paris was actually a mad chase after all the touristic attractions and the ‘must-see’, ‘must-go’, ‘must-do’ places: I saw the Tour Eiffel sparkling at night, walked along the Champs-Élysées, all the way to Arc de Triomphe , climbed the steep streets of the Montmartre and sighed when I saw the beauty of the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur. I paid a visit to the old cemetery of Montparnasse and looked for Jean Paul Sartre and Samuel Beckett’s graves. I Photographed the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, along with hundreds of people, searched for the old synagogue in Le Marais and drank coffee in the famous Café de Flore in Boulevard Saint-Germain. I visited Centre Pompidou and for shopping I went to Gallery Lafayette. If this was not enough, I also French kissed while looking over the Notre Dame.
All of this happened twelve years ago, when I visited Paris by myself for the first time and indulged myself in the touristic Parisian days and night. I was a student on summer break. What did I know….
But my second and third visits to Paris were completely different. I was already a ‘well-travelled’ person who is more curious about how the locals live than how the tourists spend their days and I did so many other things. I called these visit ‘Paris for the Advanced Users’. Paris for the Advanced Users is for those who had already been to Paris at least once — and for those who prefer discovering a city while taking the side streets and not following the touristic path.
If you are an advance user, or want to be one, here are few places worth checking.
La Butte aux Cailles: A small Parisian neighborhood, located on the hills of the 13th Arrondissement. The neighborhood was originally a fenced village outside Paris that was annexed to the city in 1860. It is characterized by mostly small, low-rise buildings in an Art Nouveau style, similar to the traditional buildings in northern France and Russia.
Some of the buildings have small courtyards, which are open to the public during daylight hours and locked after dark. The uniqueness of this neighborhood is characterized by its narrow streets and cobblestone roads around small squares, which once served as a central meeting place in the village. In Place Paul Verlaine you can find an active and natural spring water source; you can even drink from it and it also serves as a natural source of water to the other fountains in the neighborhood’s courtyards. The neighborhood that once was inhabited by working-class people, has now become extremely popular among young artists, and it attracts wealthy residents who appreciate the charm and the artistic non-metropolitan atmosphere of the place. If you are not looking for touristic attractions, then this is the place for you.
You should visit the neighborhood in the afternoon, walk around the galleries and the courtyards and end your evening at a local restaurant bustling with Parisians of all ages, and where waiters don’t know a word of English.
Directions: Get off the Metro line 6 at Corvisart and go up the Rue des Cinq Diamants until getting to the heart of the neighborhood at Rue de la Butte aux Cailles.
BNF: Bibliothèque Nationale de France: The National Library of France is located in Tolbiac area in the 13th Arrondissement as well. It is considered the largest and most important library in France. The original location was in Rue de Richelie in the 2nd Arrondissement from 1720 until it was moved to the current site, (also called the Francois Mitterrand site) in 1996. Mitterrand gave the library a legal status of public institution in 1988 and turned it into one of the most important and advanced libraries in the world.
The site consists of four towers; Tower School, Tower Court, Wind Tower and Tower Time, and its architecture resembles a book holder and — when seen from above — it resembles an open book. The quantity of the books is immense; 10 million documents and writings, spread over an area of over 420 miles of bookshelves. Visiting the library is both an architectural and intellectual experience. It is worth paying the fee to get into the reading rooms and see the interior of the building. The site is even more spectacular and impressive in the evening, when the buildings are lit up.
Directions: Get off the Metro line 14 at Bibliotheque Fr . Mitterrand.
Place de la Nation: A square, situated on the border between the 11th and the 12 Arrondissements, has a great monument of Marion, one of the national symbols of the French Republic, as she stands on the globe in a carriage drawn by lions. The monument, which symbolizes the triumph of the Republic, was established to mark the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The adjacent streets will lead you to a colorful area with walls covered in frequently changing graffiti.
Directions: Get off the Metro line 6 at Nation.
Ecole Nationale supérieure des Beaux Arts: The National Superior School of Art, also called ‘The Bazar of Paris’, is considered one of the world’s most prestigious schools for art. It is located on rue Bonaparte, in the middle of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, which is filled with art galleries, furniture stores and interior design studios. There is no better place for the school to be located; if the students ever need an inspiration, they can always cross the Seine and head straight to the Louvre.
The school was established in 1648 and includes a complex of four buildings around a courtyard patio dotted with sculptures. Although the school entrance is reserved for students and faculty members only, you can get an organized tour with a guide from the school on Mondays. It is a great and fascinating way to absorb art that’s a little bit different than going to a museum.
Directions: Get off the Metro line 12 at Rue du Bac and continue until you get to Rue de L’ Universite. Turn right until you reach the intersection of Rue Bonaparte. Entrance is at number 14.
Canal Saint Martin: Canal Saint Martin is a combination of the old Paris and the new one. There are many little cafe’s along the canal next to small boutiques and local galleries. In sunny days you can find the local Parisians rolling up their sleeves or pants and getting a sun tan on the sidewalks while having lunch outdoors. The canal was carved out between 1822 and 1825 at the request of Napoleon the first, to provide the people of Paris with drinking water. With time, this canal has become one of the most romantic spots in the city, with planted banks and narrow foot bridges that might remind you how Paris used to be. Don’t miss Pâtisserie de l’Eglise Demoncy, an old pâtisserie opened in 1887, which served few Parisians generations with chocolates, Éclairs and tartlets.
Directions: Get off the Metro line 5, 9, 11 at Republique or 4, 5, 7 at Gare de Lest.
More places worth visiting:
Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation: A must for those who love photography. Apart from Cartier-Bresson’s exhibit, there are three different changing exhibits throughout the year.
Museum Nissim de Komondo: One of the most luxurious private houses of the early 20th century, it belonged to a Parisian banker who was an avid collector of furniture and artifacts from the 19th century.
Cite Internationale Universitaire: Residence of foreign students, who come to study in Paris, from over 140 countries. Sometimes the dorms are more interesting than the class halls.
Visiting Serge Gainsbourg at Montparnasse old cemetery, eating baguette and French cheese on a bench in Jardin du Luxembourg, the Pantheon, Odeon, The Sorbonne. Chocolate Nutella, Picard frozen food, Diptyque perfume at 34 Bulevard Saint Germain. Running along the seine river, waking up to the sound of bells of the Notre Dame, standing in a long line to get into the Notre Dame. White blue stripped shirt, Taking the Metro instead of the Subway, Climbing to the Montmartre in a late afternoon and watching the sun goes down. Chocolate bliss at Un Dimanche a Paris, Chocolats rive gauche and at Maison Larnicol. Manet exhibit at Musees d’Orsay, Claude Monet village at Giverny, cafe de Flore at St Germain des Pres, getting lost in the little streets of St. Germain des Pres. Eiffel Tower after midnight. Patisserie, Brasserie, standing in line on a Sunday morning outside the local Boulangerie. The mythological store Laduree. Rue de Rivoli, Jardin des Tuileries, designing stores such as Colette and Merci. La Defense. Beautiful boutiques at Rue St. Honore, Lunch at Printemps rooftop, Macarons at Hugo and Victor, Maison de Victor Hugo, Gallery Lafayette shoe searching. Walking around Musee de Louvre, Jewish restaurant at Le Marais. Pink doors at Fauchon, Butter cake in Poilane bakery. Getting the last pair of Pretty Ballerina shoes, getting chocolate ice cream at Ile de la Cite, buying so many soaps of Le Petit Marseillais, Watching the new Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris” while being in Paris and doing all the above with a charming French Photographer….Priceless!
I think the trigger was the new Woody Allen’s movie I just saw ‘Midnight in Paris’, recognizing some of the places and locations I have just visited on this trip. I love watching movies and recognize the locations, knowing I was actually walking on those streets, eating in that and that restaurant or saw the same views the hero of the movie was looking at. It happens to me a lot when I watch a movie about New York. I remember the first movie I watched on the first Summer I lived in New York, a movie that showed some iconic places and locations on the Upper West side and it made me feel like a REAL New Yorker. I had the same feeling watching ‘Midnight in Paris’ right from the start when Gil (Owen Wilson) and Inez (Rachel McAdams) were standing on a bridge, looking at the water lilies in Claude Monet’s garden in Giverny, a place I have just visited few hours earlier.
I left my heart in Paris… or was it because what the movie said: ‘Paris in the morning is beautiful, Paris in the afternoon is charming, Paris in the evening is enchanting, but Paris after midnight is Magic’
As a travel photographer, I am always inspired to take candid shots of the places and the locations I visit. In contrast with the Fashion Photography arena, where usually everything should be just perfect and beautiful, and in contrast with the Documentary Photography arena, where everything is so honest, bold and sometimes ‘in your face’, I juggle between the desire to show the reality around me while also making it pretty and aesthetic. I’m driven by the wish to create ‘A Portrait of a City’ and its’ various layers. (with a tendency for aesthetic and interesting)
Ask any artist, and he/she will tell you that one of the things they are always looking for is inspiration; the inspiration to create. And inspiration can come in so many different ways. In my latest visit to Paris, I was quite inspired by the permanent collection of various Impressionist Painters in Musee d’Orsay, also known as the ‘Temple of Impressionism’. I always had a great admiration for the European Impressionist painters, and among my favorite are Edgar Degas, Camille Pissaro and Claude Monet.
After paying a visit to Musee d’Orsay, it was very natural for me to continue and visit the Claude Monet foundation in Giverny (where he lived from 1886 till his death in 1926) and see with my own eyes the water lilies, the garden, and the Japanese bridge which all played an important role in his later paintings. Since I was inspired by the exhibit I saw and the beautiful brushstrokes techniques, and although I don’t usually photograph flowers or plants, (hardly ever do I photograph flowers just like that) it was quite obvious for me that I was going to shoot Monet’s garden in an unconventional way. I wanted to photograph the garden in such a way that will relate to Monet and his art, a way that will ‘talk’ in the language of impressionism, in brushstrokes. Therefore, I chose to use the lensbaby SLR lens with a pre cut star-shape aperture disk, to create a sort of brushstroke affect in the photos.
The lensbaby is a creative effects SLR lens that creates a Sweet Spot of focus surrounded by a graduated blur. A swivel ball allows tilting the lens depending on the effect you want to create. (Blur, lesser blur, circles, etc’) The aperture is controlled by a set of disks that come with the optics and they are held in place by shielded magnets and can be easily changed. The wider the aperture in the lensbaby, the more blur it gets and a smaller sweet spot, where the photo is sharpest. The exposure is easily controlled with shutter speed and ISO adjustments in the camera. It can also be balanced by swapping out aperture disks.
As pictures might often be ‘too honest’, using the lensbaby allowed me to deconstruct the image, to shape it in order to create a new truth, a new reality, an Impressionistic photo.
If you visit Giverny, I highly recommend (beside visiting Claude Monet’s house and gardens) to spend some time walking around the village, see some old Churches from Middle Ages time, visit Mills that some of them can be found in Monet’s paintings or spend the night at one of the Castles (Chateau) and feel like you are living in one of Claude Monet’s Impressionistic picture.
