Ann Gerard

Perfume Chat Room, March 7
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Perfume Chat Room, March 7

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, March 7, and we are about to leave Barcelona after a week in Vienna and Salzburg. While in Barcelona, I stopped by the Cathedral, which is as magnificent as always.

The niche perfume scene in Barcelona has changed in recent years. I was sad to learn that the legendary Perfumeria Regia on the Passeig de Garcia has closed as of the end of 2024. The business is now completely online. I haven’t found out what will happen to the Perfume Museum that shared its location.

The Basilica Galeria, which had a huge lower level devoted to niche perfumes, has changed location and has a much more modest collection of fragrances for sale. It felt as if they’re not restocking. I was happily able to buy two discontinued Ann Gerard fragrances by Bertrand Duchaufour, Rose Cut and Ciel d’Opale. Both are lovely.

El Corte Ingles, the big department store, still carries Chanel’s Exclusifs line at their big store in the Placa Catalunya. They also have No. 19 and Cristalle eaux de toilette, which generally seem to be more scarce even in Europe. I also noticed that Guerlain’s Les Legendaires line seems to have been pruned, in terms of what one finds in stores. I was happy to see that The Perfumery is still going strong, in its location near the Palau de Musica.

We visited Montserrat for the first time — what a beautiful and interesting site! I can’t imagine how people imagined, all those centuries ago, that they should climb those heights and build a basilica. I can’t imagine how they did it, either.

The Black Madonna of Montserrat

Altogether we’ve had a wonderful trip, and my husband’s company, which is what takes him to Barcelona for work, scored a huge success and everyone is happy. But I’ll be glad to get home to house, garden, kids (all young adults) and our elderly dog Lucy. Time for my garden to wake up!

How was your week? Any new fragrance discoveries? And hugs to alityke, whose DH is undergoing serious medical treatments.

May Muguet Marathon: Perle de Mousse
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May Muguet Marathon: Perle de Mousse

When I was lucky enough to visit the Scent Bar last fall, on my first visit ever to Los Angeles (which you can read about in Fragrance Friday: S(c)en(t)sory Overload), I asked the lovely sales associate to show me some lily-of-the-valley fragrances. One of those she selected for me to try was Ann Gerard’s Perle de Mousse, which means “pearl of foam” but can also mean “pearl of moss.” (In French, oakmoss is “mousse de chene”). The name conjures up lovely images of the pearl-like white flowers of muguet against a dark green background, which is one way gardeners and florists like to force lilies-of-the-valley in pots and planters covered in moss, through which the flowers grow. I came home from LA with a sample of Perle de Mousse from the same lovely sales associate.

Lily of the valley plants growing in moss in a planter

Lilies-of-the-valley grown in moss; photo http://www.growingwithplants.com

Here’s the copy about Perle de Mousse on Scent Bar’s website LuckyScent: Continue reading →