For the last few weeks, every time I walk into a store, I tepidly ask our local retailers how they’re doing; how is the economy affecting them; how are their clientele reacting? For the most part, I get the same answers. They are all doing fine, hoping for the moment when things turn around, and are in the meantime refocusing their concepts and strategies on the classic, safe investment and comfort items that people cling to during times like these.
I am among the people who are freaked out. Although I have yet to seriously curb my spending, the constant loom of student loans, a car payment, and my credit card bill have encouraged me to stop going out on the weekends, trade my soy cappuccino for drip coffee, and pick up extra shifts at my second job. But try as i might, one place I haven’t really cut back is with shopping. In fact, with the economy tanking like it is, I am taking safe haven in some of the stores that are my happy places.
You couldn’t not stop into one of my all time favorite stores, Cherie Boutique. If you haven’t been to Cherie yet, you must go ASAP. It is a haven of beauty products in beautiful packaging. I love the beautiful smelling perfumes from Serge Lutens, Fragonard, L’Artisan, Miller Harris, Bond No. 9, and Annick Goutal; I love the candles from Kai, Burn, and Diptyque; I love the beauty products from Fresh, The Art of Shaving, and Kiehls; I love the handbags from Longchamp (the same ones Kate Moss and Claudia Schiffer carry everywhere); and I love the selection of boutique chocolates. But beyond the actual products, it is the ambiance of Cherie that keeps pulling me back. The feeling I get when I walk into a store full of wonderful smells, beautiful things in stunning wrapping, and merchandise that inspires. It instantly takes me out of Wayzata and onto the street of Paris. Seriously, if you haven’t been to Cherie in awhile, or at all, I highly recommend stopping in as soon as possible, even if it’s just to breathe it all in.
Although I was looking for something spectacular to feature in our upcoming gift guide (I found a few items but will be keeping them secret; pick up our December issue on newsstands November 20.), I ended up leaving with a little something for myself too.
I am not necessarily a beauty product junky, but I love a good perfume, and my life has been defined by what scent I’ve chosen to wear at different times. While I have most recently been wearing either the Tuberose heavy Fracas by Robert Piguet (which I love) or the spicier Chinatown by Bond No. 9 (when I want to feel sassy), I left Cherie with a scent yesterday that is a complete departure for me and a complete sign of our economic times.
Violetta di Parma was originally distilled by Italian monks for Napoleon’s wife, the Duchess of Parma. Cultivated from the precious Parma violets, Borsari — the legendary perfume laboratory based in Parma, Italy — obtained the secret formula from the monks in 1870, bringing Violetta di Parma to a widespread audience. The perfume success was immediate, and by word of mouth, Violetta di Parma became the first ever Italian perfume to be recognized internationally.
Upon first spray, Violetta di Parma smells exactly like my favorite Spanish violet candies — naturally sweet and lightly powdery. But as the scent wears, the violets start a dance with the iris, and it becomes more velvety, sensual, and softly floral. In and era when modern fragrances contain upward of ten different notes, Violetta di Parma is uncomplicated, simple, and comforting in its unapologetic femininity. Although it is not complexly beautiful like my beloved Fracas or dark and sensual like Chinatown, I believe it is the perfect fragrance for my life right now — simple and unfussy but undoubtedly beautiful.
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