Les Senteurs

Anyone who has followed my blog for any length of time will know of my attempts to bring attention to, and give praise to local or not so local perfume stores that carry good lines and more importantly, offer good service and knowledge.

Les Senteurs is such a store, and while I haven't had the opportunity to visit for some time, I presume is still the case. What does disappoint me about Les Senteurs is that I received an email from them a few months ago stating that they no longer offer free samples in store. For a long time they have charged for posting samples, and I had no problem with that, particularly as they are very generous samples. However, I don't personally think it is right that potential customers should be charged for wanting to sample in store what is very often highly price perfumes. I realise that there is the potential issue of people who visit the store purely to score free samples, and I'd be lying if I said I had never done that myself, but still.

I was interested to note that Les Senteurs is also selling their remaining Annick Goutal stock at up to 50% off, being end of line. A quick look at their website shows that Annick Goutal is no longer listed, hence my presumption. This makes me slightly sad, for I recall Les Senteurs  making quite a big deal about how when they opened as the only niche perfume shop in London in the eighties, they were the first to stock and promote Annick Goutal. I realise that this perfume house is no longer that niche, but neither is Serge Lutens or Creed for example, both both are still stocked. I'm certain Les Senteurs has its reasons for discontinuing the line, but still, I am slightly sad about that, particularly in light of what was stated above.