Review: Honore des Pres' We Love New York Perfumes

I'll admit I'm no expert when it comes to scents and base notes, but I love perfume as much as the next girl, I'm always excited to try a new scent and I know what I like, so I was quite excited when I was sent three just-launched new scents from Honoré des Prés to try. I'm a sucker for a good package and I'm not ashamed to say that the first thing I noticed about the company's new We Love New York line was the packaging (I think artistic designer Christian David did a great job with this and so did Wallpaper, awarding its 2010 Design Award to the line). The Starbucks-esque cups and paper trays speak to the coffee lover in me and I think they're a cute way to package this thankfully non-literal ode to the Big Apple. Tagged as "truly organic, terribly French" the three scents, created by Olivia Giacobetti, are said to be inspired by the fictional Honoré des Prés' trip to New York, but were more likely the product of Giacobetti's own move from Paris to NYC.

From what I've been able to gather, white flowers and tuberose in particular are big in perfumes right now. Vamp à NY features tuberose and rum head notes, a bourbon vanilla heart note and base notes of benjoin, perou balm and tolu balm. It is the sweetest of the three scents to my unpractised nostrils and perhaps the most feminine. Appropriate that this perfume's tag line is "love at first sight." The literature goes on to describe Vamp à NY as "extreme, never lived before, French couture...addictive, sophisticated and futuristic." My husband liked this scent and I did get quite a few compliments while wearing it, but overall I think it's too much of a sweet scent for my personal taste. That said, I'm sure there are tons of floral and tuberose scent lovers out there who will go gaga over this one.

I Love Les Carottes (or I Heart?) was the first scent I smelled when I opened the package sent to me from Honoré des Prés. What does it smell like, you wonder? Well, carrots, of course. Literally. Which was quite interesting to me and had me wondering if wearing it would make other people's mouths water or if it would just make them as hungry as the first sniff made me (I was all, Homer-like, "Mmmm...carrot cake"). I must admit that there was something irresistible about this fragrance to me, although I think I like it better when it settled into a more spicy scent while still managing to be very light. Could I wear it all the time? Only if I wanted to go on a carrot cake binge daily.

From the first spray I fell for the "enigmatic sensuality" of Love Coco, which is described as a "liberated fragrance...it's a greedy duel, just like the stimulating cross between a poison and an antidote." The duel in question is between the scent of pure white coconut milk extract and coriander; one that the latter seems to win over time, leaving you smelling more fresh than sickly sweet (I didn't notice much of the vanilla in this one, thankfully). Fragrance is such a personal thing so I can't promise that anyone else will enjoy Love Coco like I do, but if you love the smell of coconut (I personally love it) then I suggest at least trying this one out.

"Magic is just like a shower of truth." ~ Olivia Giacobetti

So, while I don't really know what carrots or coconuts have to do with New York, I thought the concept and packaging of these fragrances was genius and I think I've found a new scent for yours truly in Love Coco. Have you tried one of the We Love NY fragrances? Let me know what you thought!

The line is now available for purchase in the U.S. (50mL - $98), select stores abroad like Colette and online.




Testers were provided, but I was not compensated for
this review and the opinions state here are strictly my own.