Perfume House: Floris London
Hey Everyone,
I apologize it’s taken me longer than I wanted to write this particular blog, just because I wanted to let the experience sink in – and what an experience it was….
Last month, Andrew and I took off on our first trip across the pond, since we became parents. We were a mixed bag of emotions; excited of course, but leaving Elle and Sadie behind is never easy. We know it’s healthy to take time to ourselves, so off we went. I cried part of the drive, but once we got settled on our red-eye flight the excitement kicked in!
As the song “Good Life” by One Republic goes, we “woke up in London,” tired, but eager to explore. We had been there a few times before (I actually spent a lot of time there doing my Image, Professional Development & Personal branding certification). Thus, we had already ticked off all the touristy stuff. This time, we were looking forward to a chill vacation; checking out restaurants and cocktail lounges to get inspo for our own AND crazy thrilled for our appointment with one of the oldest perfume houses in the world: Floris London!
Scent is undoubtedly the most vivid sense we possess to evoke memory. Andrew (the bestest gift giver in the world) came up with an epic and unique Christmas gift (yet again.) He surprised me with a trip to London to create our own bespoke scents together! Anyone that knows me, knows I have had a signature scent since I was in college. I have only changed it once and it was because my friend started wearing the same perfume (I do not like smelling like anyone else – haha!).
So how perfect of a gift was this!? I would end up with my own signature scent, based on my taste preferences and no one else can copy it? Plus, I get to go through the sensory adventure with my hubby with the one andw2sz only perfume house that’s appointed by Her Majesty the Queen! (Side note: rumour has it that Prince Harry and Meghan Markel had the same bespoke experience just before their wedding!).
Nestled amongst other long-standing family businesses on the charming and historical Jermyn street lives the perfectly quaint perfume house, Floris. When we arrived for our appointment, we were ushered into a back room, which they refer to as the “Floris Museum.” It felt antique and authentic – this was where they housed the perfumery for almost 300 years!! I mean, how could it not feel authentic.
We were introduced to our Nose, Nicola (who played a huge part in making our experience so special and so memorable, I may add). He started by showing us around the “museum”, explaining the artifacts and the perfume ledgers that host the formulas created for royals, politicians and celebrities alike dating back almost 300 years. So incredibly special to think our unique formula will also go into a ledger with all of those, for only us to re-purchase!
After being better acquainted with the Floris history, Nicola constructed a laid- back, but detailed analysis of our lifestyle preferences (to better understand us). Nicola then began to walk us through the centuries of scents, as we smelled our way from spicy to floral and everything in-between. I learned so much and had so much fun during our 3-hour appointment.
One of the cool titbits of info I picked up is that one of my favourite top notes, Iris, apparently was made popular by Catharine Medici (Queen of France). She was quite influential in the fashion scene back then and introduced it to court. I have several different perfumes with Iris, I’m always drawn to it, so I purposely steered myself away to try and do something different. Andrew incorporated it into his though, because he knows I love it, which I thought was sweet.
Once we narrowed down our two favourite base scents, Nicola helped us choose one, through a series of questions, and asking us to use our instincts. From there we smelled even more scents as we added to the base, customizing our scent to suit our liking, forming a unique accord. We were then invited to choose a name for our new scents, over a glass of champagne. I called mine after Elle, Isabella Rose. Andrew named his a number after our wedding year, 2013. You can’t choose a name if it’s already taken, luckily, ours were not!
So there is my synopsis on one of the most incredible experiences ever. I honestly can’t even put into words how amazing this experience was and how much I would recommend it. It’s a memory we will cherish forever. I honestly would love to do it again someday. I feel like we could go do all over again and come up with another totally different scent. There are so many directions one could have gone, but I’m so happy with the scent I came up with – it will forever remind me of this beautiful time in my life. I also get loads of compliments on it – which is affirming – ha!
So, if you’re looking for a unique gift idea, something for an engagement, wedding or anniversary celebration or even just a fun and unique sensory adventure, I highly recommend the Floris Together Experience. It is one-of-a-kind and I promise you will cherish it forever. If you have any questions about it, please feel free to send me a note!
Thanks for reading!
