A Parisian’s Guide to Buying Perfume Like a Local

For Clémence Pelle, perfume isn’t just a profession — “it’s my life, it’s my hobby, it’s in my DNA,” says the Paris-born fragrance expert, who shares her favourite spots and etiquette tips for buying scent the French way.

Paris’s relationship with fragrance stretches back to the “perfumed court” of Louis XIV, and by the 18th and 19th centuries parfumeries had spread across the city just as it was emerging as a global fashion capital. The pairing of scent and couture crystallised with Coco Chanel, who, as Pelle notes, “created [Chanel] No 5 to match her vision of modern femininity” in 1921. That legacy lives on in a style Pelle describes as “less-is-more, spontaneous” — the French tend to favour a simple, effortless eau de toilette over anything heavy.

Pelle’s own shopping ground is Le Marais, where niche houses like Maison Francis Kurkdjian and Jeroboam sit beside classics such as Chanel and Dior. “At the same time it’s inspiring because now we can choose something that really makes us feel unique,” she says of the overwhelming variety on offer.

How the French actually wear fragrance

Application matters as much as selection, Pelle explains. Scent should go on pulse points — “where the vein is so it can warm up the scent and make it blossom on the skin” — with just one or two sprays per side of the neck, often behind the ear, since the French greet each other with a kiss there. Rubbing the wrists together afterwards is a common mistake: in France, it’s said to “break the molecules of the fragrance” and dull its full composition.

Shoppers, she adds, should pace themselves. Test no more than three to five scents in one visit, let each sit on the skin for 20 minutes to reveal its full “dry down” effect, and be patient with shop staff — say hello on entering, and wait to be guided rather than touching products unprompted.

Despite enduring loyalty to Chanel No 5, Dior and Hermès — along with staples like Jean Paul Gaultier’s Le Male and Coco Mademoiselle — Pelle points to a growing appetite for lighter, “clean” scents that smell “like laundry… slightly soapy, skin-like, not too powerful,” citing Musc K by Ella K and BDK’s Gris Charnel as current favourites alongside buzzier names like Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rouge.

Where to go

For breadth and rarity, Pelle recommends Jovoy near the Louvre, where a team of staff help navigate a mix of vintage and modern fragrances. For something more old-fashioned, Officine Universelle Buly resembles a wood-panelled apothecary selling water-based perfumes alongside soaps and personalised kits. Shoppers wanting a crash course in fragrance should seek out the tiny Marie Antoinette boutique near Le Marais, where staff member António Figuereido “will tell you how you’re going to feel [when wearing it] and the storytelling behind it.” For something more current, Pelle suggests Univers Parfumerie, known for curating selections around lesser-known niche brands, or immersive “concept” shops like Kilian, which serves cocktails, and L’Orchestre Parfum, where customers listen to music paired to their chosen scent before mingling at a fragrance bar.

Source: BBC News