Mr. Radiance is traveling to Paris tonight. He'll be going to the Brittany area so I don't think I'd be able to beg him to go to any Paris perfume shops for me. As fate would have it, I was watching the Coco Chanel movie tonight and the thought came to ask him to bring me home a bottle of Chanel No. 5 Pure Parfum -- maybe even to be so bold as to ask for the 30 ml.

I know nothing about duty free shopping. Do they have pure parfum there? Do they carry Chanel? How much of a savings might it be over just buying it at a department store here? (of course, here, it wouldn't have the romantic notion of my hubby bringing me perfume from Paris.) Is there any problem with bringing it on the plane now?

I'm open to other suggestions. I also like Guerlain, Cartier and L'Artisan.

Thanks!!!

Very possible that in inflight magazine on the plane they'll have Chanel No5 parfum, if I remember well, the price for 7ml was around $75 just a few months ago, now that US dollar is better the price could be even better.

I believe Guerlain Vol de Nuit Evasion and Vétiver Pour Elle are available in the duty free stores.

I think Vetiver Pour Elle is currently only available at Maison Guerlain since it was relegated to the same status as Derby. To order online you need to contact Vanessa Plessy.



When it was in the duty-free shops it was limited to the six major French Airports.

And while I was trying to verify some of my facts, look what I found: Habit Rouge Habit de Métal.
_

Parfum in Chanel #5 is available in the Paris duty free shop and usually at a better price although, on the whole, few perfumes are really a bargain in duty free shops. I bought a 7.5 ml recenty for about $80.00. You can take the duty free purchases on the plane with you. They put it in a special sealed bag at most airports. However, if you transfer to another plane at some airports, then he might have to put it in the checked bag. The rules vary from one airport to another. But on a direct flight, there is no problem carrying a duty free purchase with you on the plane.

If he is in Brittany, will he be near the town of Dinard where the original shop for Divine is located?

Thanks for the replies. I planted a little seed with hubby when we chatted over IM today. I totally forgot about the Guerlain's that might be in duty free. The Vetiver Pour Elle has been on a wish list ever since I first heard of it here. Not sure I could get him to buy me two perfumes... argh - decisions.

I'll report back if he does bring me a pretty little scent.

Chanel N°5 in the parfum can definitely be found in Paris dutyfree shops.

Guerlain Vol de Nuit Evasion, which is the Eau de toilette version of Attrape-Coeur/Guet-Apens, is there but not always easy to find. It was right next to the cash register at the Orly airport shop I went to, but it was the last one.

I didn't see Vetiver pour elle at all.

There are a lot of dutyfree only Lancômes, but they're not very good.

OMG, I love that first bottle........beautiful!!!!

Those are the famous "bee" bottles (the bee is a Napoleonic symbol that Guerlain uses) that the Paris boutiques exclusives Les Parisiennes are bottled in (they have Derby, Liu, Metalys, Quand vient L'Ete etc. in those)

Confirming Vetiveronica's post that Vetiver pour Elle is now part of the above "Les Parisiennes": the exclusive line at the Guerlain boutique in Paris, so any stock one might find at the designated duty-free shops that used to carry it should be what has remained.

Habit de Metal (=metal "robe") for Habit Rouge is to my knowledge only a different packaging for the same old well-loved Habit Rouge fragrance.

Vol de Nuit Evasion is a really good investment, if he can locate it ;-)

Confirming that the Lancome duty-free exclusives (Tropiques, Benghal etc.) are not earth-shattering.


So what did you GET (if he has already purchased something)?

Mr. Radiance was very sweet tried to get me No. 5 pure parfum, but they sold him edp instead (this was at duty free at the Paris airport). I've been fighting back my disappointment and kicking myself for not being more clear with my language with him. I think I asked for pure parfum and that 1 ounce/30 ml was my highest wish, but that smaller sizes would be ok. I think he asked the SA for Chanel No. 5 "pure perfume" and he even questioned them when they gave him this 100 ml bottle of eau de parfum, and he said the lady was fussing at him, yes it's pure parfum, pure parfum!! I don't understand why they wouldn't even try to bring out a bottle of the extrait de parfum and try to make a bigger sale?

He's only bought me perfume himself one other time, and that was a limited edition Angel Mystic flacon around 5 years ago, and even then, he had several bad experiences with SA's around downtown Chicago before he found a helpful one at Bloomingdale's. I'm afraid this experience has probably made him less likely to want to buy me fragrances in the future

Back to No. 5 -- After a few hours yesterday, the edp smelled a lot like Samsara on my skin, and was so overwhelming to me. I was really looking forward to the parfum, and it laying closer to the skin -- the edp has a lot of sillage! Today, I tried it on the back of one knee, and while it still seems a bit strong to my nose, it's not as bad as having it on my wrists and neck. Maybe I need to spritz a cotton ball and dab? Maybe it's just a learning curve with a new scent? I was encouraged to read here and on MUA that edp version is preferred by some folks. I also liked the ideas of layering it with No. 19 and Coco. Still, I'm tempted to go searching the local stores to see if they have any No. 5 pure parfum that are labeled Made In France.

Mr. Twitch just did the same thing, HTR. I asked for the parfum for my birthday; the SA sold him the EDP. Fortunately, I love the EDP and don't mind having a backup bottle at all.

FWIW, I have seen the pure parfum at our local duty free shop (coming from Canada), in both dab and spray bottles. Don't recall if I saw the full 30 ml size, though.

Oh what a pity, I hate it when they do that! My BF has learned, fortunately - I give him a piece of paper with each request explicity written out. If he doesn't find exacly what is written on the paper he doesn't buy.

Twitchly - I'm so sorry that happened to you too, but I have to tell you it makes me feel much better about what happened with my hubby. I read on your speachless post that you now have the 30 ml of the pure parfum so yay!!

Cauzabon - That's brilliant to send along each request written out so no confusions can arise. I'll remember that. AND I'll remember to use exactly what the concentration is called in the language he's at.

I've been testing it more and I'm really beginning to enjoy the edp. It's much more perfumey and powdery than the scents I usually wear. I tried it with No. 19 edt and I thought it was a beautiful combo. It had a Quelques Fleurs vibe.