I wen to Paris while I was in uni. I made this collage in remembrance; the hearts are cut out of Fauchon choclate wrappers! Being asked to write about what a dream weekend in Paris would be, I immediately had the song Susan Boyle's "I Dreamed A Dream" from
Les Misérables popped into my head. My mother received her CD as a gift and it's been playing in the car the past two weeks. She does some jazz numbers and I bet she could sing a version of "Vie En Rose". Anyways, I never really quite made it to Paris while I was living in Britain. Though I've been there about seven years ago.
My recent interest has been studying and making natural cosmetics. I love products from Dr. Hauschka, Weleda and Jurlqiue. I would love to design a product line that could be a North American mainstay like those lines are in their respective countries. Paris is not only the fashion capital of the world, but the perfume capital as well! I would love to make a trip to Paris and hit the spa at
Espace Weleda (the first and only Weleda spa of its kind!).
Then I would love to go explore perfumery at
Fragonard Perfume Museum. Did you know that up until the industrial revolution, that all perfumes were made from natural essential oils? This meant that perfumes were harder to reproduce because natural oils can vary from batch to bath making it harder to reproduce the same results every time. Once they learned to manipulate molecules of synthetic substances, they were able to create new scents not found in nature and even imitate natural oils! However despite being able to do this, a natural oil's properties cannot be replicated entirely. Something that might smell like lavender does not carry its healing properties with it and nor does the body recognize and properly metabolize a synthetic fragrance! To learn the artistry behind perfumery would be fascinating. I'd go have a look at
Le Diptyque. They make fragrant candles and perfumes.
I think because of the first time I went to Paris, I didn't go to see Versailles. After seeing the Sofia Coppola movie, Marie Antoinette, I wished I had gone to see it! If I ever make it to Paris again, I would definitely make the trip out there.
A weekend in Paris is really not enough! But to me, no trip to Paris would be complete without a visit to
Colette, the French fashion temple of all things new, novel and cool. Maybe I'd get a customized perfume made by
Le Labo. I love their stark packaging and that they make their fragrances from essential oils. Colette carries the latest in womenswaer, menswear, music, beauty, books, an ongoing gallery and a water bar/cafe. To me, this is one of the most inspirational shops to explore.
If you ask me, one can never quite get enough of Paris. One always desires to return once they've left Paris!
The first time I went to Paris, we took the Eurostar from Waterloo station in London. It was a pleasant trip, easy and restful. And with all the hassle of taking a flight nowadays, a train trip is preferred. Check out all the wonderful things you can do in Paris on the Little Break, Big Difference
website! It's an excellent guide to just about every aspect of Parisian culture.
