If, however, you harbor an abiding love for the magic of perfumery, if you are happily haunted by the background fragrance of your first kiss? If you are fascinated by "niche" perfumery, those artisan-crafted formulas turning heads on the fringes of mainstream perfume industry? If you're addicted to a fragrance you fell in love with half a century ago... or if the bottled beauty of perfume not only enhances your wardrobe but brings a smile to your spirit, then I'll happily point the way to the Parfumerie (parfumerieky.com), one of Louisville, Kentucky's all-too-hidden treasures.
Some background for you...I've always had a bit of a fascination with Fragrance. Seventeen years ago, however, i popped into a tiny shop in Oxmoor Mall, the Parfumerie's original location, and from that first visit, my longtime lust for Scent blossomed into a full-blown love affair of epic proportions.
Let's start with the face behind the 'Parfumerie' name. The owner, Ruth Wuerth, is as unique and striking a woman as the vintage bottle of Shalimar i strolled past to meet her. This lady would teach me to love Perfume for the rosaceous bouquets, the crush of exotic spices, the warm resins that constitute fine fragrance, rather than for the celebrity or designer names emblazoned on a bottle. But in case such a comment could lead you to determine this elegantly offbeat shop to be reserved for the Perfumista, a place-to-be for the olfactory snob, you should know that while its' undeniably knowledgeable owner certainly knows her stuff, she carries an attitude towards fragrance that's of equal importance to the value of her store. Ruth knows that a customer's beloved perfume is a profoundly personal affair, a unique synergy between what perfumer's call the "juice", and the chemistry of the skin, and last but not least, the memories and emotions that result may invoke.
You may choose a scent, wear a scent, or purchase a scent for many reasons, but whether or not you LOVE a scent and claim it for your own has little to do with price or prestige. It may also, or instead, have everything to do with a cherished memory, the spark in a loved one's eyes upon breathing you in, or simply an unexplainable sensation that takes hold of you one second after unstopping your favorite bottle of liquid magic. For this reason, at the Parfumerie, a request for a drugstore scent by Coty will be treated as reverently as one for a vintage Guerlain or Chanel.
This notable virtue for the boutique-style shop I've had the privilege of being a part of over the years is enough to recommend it to many... sadly, there is barely a sprinkling of stores in this state where your personal, perfumed favorites will be not only respected and valued but OBTAINED... and even less, a shop run by a woman who has spent a good portion of her life making treks to those areas of the world that are held by the masses to be the Jewels in the crown of modern perfumery... such as Grasse, the jasmine-scented, Parisian Mecca of fine fragrance. The stories this lady could tell!
Well, as she's surely kept busy running the store that is the home-away-from-home for my olfactory senses, I'll tell them for her, and share as well her talent for procuring rare and discontinued fragrances. Fair warning, I'll also be shamelessly promoting myself as one of her helpers in crafting custom fragrances for any who'd love a scent to call their own. More in my next post! If I've piqued your curiosity and you just can't wait (and why should you, right? says the blogger who's never quite mastered that virtue called patience) take some time to peek in and say 'Hi" to Ruth, always exuberantly welcoming to a fellow lover of scent...check out Ruth's Internet presence at parfumerieky.com where you can benefit from Ruth's unfailing commitment to procuring whichever fragrance your heart happens to desire; To stroll through the store itself, visit St. Matthews Avenue, Suite 1, Louisville, Ky, 40207....enjoy!
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