An example is ParfuMaria in IJsselstein. Located in a small village south of Utrecht (more like a suburb) in the centre of Holland in a somehow industrial area, you wouldn't expect a perfume store there.
Located in a multifunctional building. Maria's husband runs a business in the back of the building. They live in winter in the Penthouse of the building. In summer near the river. And the perfume store is on the first floor. You cannot just walk in, but have to make an appointment to visit the store. You already feel this is special and you ask yourself, how can she manage? What is the concept?
But lets first talk a little bit about the ParfuMaria collection of fragrances. ParfuMaria has over 100 niche Brands in Stock. And a great website to order from.
Albert Fouquet, the son of a Parisian aristocrat, was part of the elite French society of the early twentieth century and a perfume connoisseur. Fouquet created and perfected various essences for his own personal use aided by Philippe, the family butler. Fouquet continually rejected proposals to market his fragrance.
One night during his summer vacation in 1937 on the French Riviera (Cote d’Azur), Albert got on very well with a young American student who was touring France in a convertible: John F. Kennedy. Kennedy’s charm and congeniality persuaded Albert to leave him a sample of his cologne. On returning from his vacation, Albert received a letter from Kennedy in the U.S. thanking him for the kind gesture and informing him of the success his perfume was enjoying among his friends. He requested that Albert send him eight samples, “and if your production allows, another one for Bob.”
Without fully understanding the request, Albert decided to send a box with enough extra samples to offset the transport costs. He didn’t fill the order until Philippe finally found some beautiful glass jars in a Parisian pharmacy. Albert considered them suitable for his cologne and labeled them with John's amusing request: "Eight & Bob."
Albert couldn't believe it a few months later when he began receiving letters from the U.S. with requests from various Hollywood directors, producers and actors such as Cary Grant and James Stewart. Everyone wanted the "Eight & Bob" cologne they had apparently discovered through Joseph Kennedy, John's father.
In the spring of 1939, Albert died in an automobile accident near Biarritz (France). Philippe, the only person who could handle the orders, would only continue with that work for a few months longer, since the start of World War II forced him to leave his job with the Fouquet family. In the last shipments he sent, Philippe hid the bottles inside books that he carefully cut by hand to prevent the Nazis from seizing the perfume.
Decades later, thanks to the family of Philippe the butler, the formula for “Eight & BobB” has been completely recovered, along with its carefully crafted production process. Once again, it has become one of the most exclusive colognes, preferred by the world’s most elegant men.
The main note of Eight & Bob is a closely-held secret. The fragrance is based on a rare aromatic plant from Chile. In January 1934 Albert Fouquet traveled to Chile and returned to Paris with several sprigs of a plant he called "Andrea." Andrea is a wild plant in short supply due to the altitude and the limited area where it grows; it can only be picked during the months of December and January. The total plants gathered undergo a very exacting selection process of which only 7% are chosen. This process ends between March and April and it is only then that one knows the how many units of Eight & Bob can be bottled.
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| Part of the ParfuMaria store |
This kind of stories make me curious. And ParfuMaria has more curious making fragrances. Just check out the perfumes on the bottom of this article. And what is the secret of ParfuMaria? How does she do it?
From childhood Maria is addicted to perfumes. Visiting people with her mom, she sneaked into rooms to smell perfumes. She bought her first fragrance (Mitsouko) when she was twelfth. And soon she started saving for Shalimar and then came Charlie and much more. At one point she had saved a lot of odors (over 700) and her mind got kind of encyclopedia of fragrances that she already knew all. The first niche perfume that really cached her nose was Annick Goutal's (2005) Songes (a romantic fragrant poem, rich and soft fragrance based on luminous jasmine note).
Maria has a vast knowledge of owning stores. She was working in the cloth business, owning many stores. She also was responsible for one of the first Rituals (in Utrecht). At one point she decided to radically change from owning all this stores with lots of responsibility and problems to just learning about niche perfumes and work with people who know everything about it. After all the research and with help form others she finally started her salon some years ago.
Because Maria is a very spontaneous woman who makes contact very easy and likes to tell about her passion for perfumes, she can make people curious and let them discover new fragrances. She tests fragrances when she goes to bed herself. And she uses different fragrances every day. Just depending on her mood. It seems like an adventure for her every day. And she can advice you because she did all the testing herself.
She does free perfume consults. You can just send her a message and she will take time (up to 1,5 hour) just for you to find the right perfume that fits you. That is a great service and so different from walking into a perfume store where people seem to decide in less than 30 minutes without any knowledge about niche perfumes. Because she has such a big collection you can also just go to discover new fragrances.
After that she might ask you to order the fragrance on the website, so your in the system. One of her strongest points is her delivering service. Your order she will ship directly. You don't have to wait very long on your beloved fragrance.
When you want something new, just make a new appointment and let your perfume wardrobe grow slowly with some gorgeous fragrances.
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| Dorin - Un Air d'Amour |
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| Beautiful Nicolai fragrances that where quite new to me |
So if your ready for a new experience make an appointment to smell fragrances.
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| Unique Jovoy fragrances |
ParfuMaria's Brands
ParfuMaria
Tinbergenlaan 5,
3401MT IJsselstein
Holland
info@parfumaria.com
(send a mail if your interested)
