It is my steadfast belief that even people on an embargo should be well aware of their options. 😉
Also in the interest of public service I took it upon myself to investigate a new online-store located in Antwerp, Belgium. Parfuma.com carries many niche and hard-to-find perfumes brands as well as many cosmetics and skincare lines.
Among many interesting perfume houses like Armani Privé, Tom Ford, Amouage and Serge Lutens, they carry harder to find lines like Byredo, Odin, Juliette has a Gun, Donna Karan Collection, Van Cleef& Arpels Collection and even Atelier Cologne. Most interestingly for me at the moment is that they also carry the entire Parfum d’Empire line.
For my birthday I ordered Equistrius (yes, and Ambre Russe, but don’t shoot me, okay?) from them and mentioned my interest in the entire line. When my box arrived safely a few days later I was extremely happy to find samples of the entire line in there, including travels sprays of the three most recent perfumes (Wazamba, Aziyadé and Fougére Bengale).
Parfuma ships throughout Europe.
I was very happy with the customer service and the choice of products is not huge, but very good, one can hope that they will expand their line-up over time.
Olfactoria's Travels 
Congrats on your purchases Birgit! I own Eau de Gloire and Osmanthus Interdite myself, plus a decent of delicious Ambre Russe. Parfum d’Empire is still an underrated line, although they make very high quality and reasonably priced fragrances.. I feel that they get you more bang for your buck and more originality than Tom Ford for instance. Glad you’re giving them some airtime 😉
Btw, if you ever find yourself in the actual city of Antwerp, their Santa Maria Novella boutique is very nice as well.
A review of Eau de Gloire and a few others of the line are in the works. I think it is a very well edited line.
I would love to see Antwerp one day. Thanks for the tip! 🙂
Looks like a fine new watering hole 🙂
I received the sample kit from Parfum d’Empire this past week with a courteous handwritten card thanking me for my trust in the company – I love that kind of thing.
It’s a bit overwhelming to sit here with 12 samples of great perfume – where to start?! But I chose one at random and that was Aziyadé. Spiked fruit punch and after the party sweatiness – wow 😉 The cumin over-cumins Rochas Femme – by a lot of cumin.
Obviously, I’m very curious about Equistrius after your beautiful swooning review – only, it’s been summery and hot here these past days, so I think I’ll keep it for a day where temperatures are a bit lower. But perhaps that’s just me being a scaredy cat?
Oh, you started with Aziyadé, lol. That is quite a baptism with fire! 😀
I think you have got the worst out of the way!
After Aziyadé Equistrius will have you swooning as well! 😉
Yes, I know how to pick’em! 🙂
But it was an interesting experience, if not necessarily a must-have experience.
Equistrius might be next in line – I sense that I’m in for something good.
I hope I am right and you love Equistrius as much as I do! 🙂
Equistrius is BEAUTIFUL 😀
Testing on skin as I write.
Suave. Elegant. Laissez-vous faire, Madame.
It reminded me of another fragrance, so I went and sprayed on a bit of Lancome Hypnose Senses on the other arm. They are not similar, of course, HS has rose and is sweeter, E is more powdery, but they share a classic feel that I love. Chic.
I know why you love Equistrius.
I would wear it again and again and again if I owned a bottle.
I’m grinning like the cat that got the cream! I love it when I can facilitate a new perfume love! 🙂 Thank you for letting me know, Marie!
The cream on your whiskers says it all 🙂
Your satisfied grin is well deserved.
I don’t mind in the least to be hooked up with a class act like Equstrius with its nostalgic kind of beauty.
Thank you Birgit a very nice link. I feel a sample shop coming on.
My pleasure, Angie! I hope you find some great things there.
This is indeed a public service B and I for one am very grateful! So pleased to see they do the 30ml Ateliers for a great price. I will definitely be making an order. Hopefully they will stock Vanille Insensee soon as I feel an unsniffed purchase coming on! How great they sent you all those lovely samples, It will also be great for us to read the resulting reviews in the coming weeks so everyone’s a winner!
You really have a gift making my purchases seem utterly necessary and for the greater good! Thank you so much for that! 🙂 I am glad you’ll be treating yourself to the Atelier set, it is a great value. I’ll send some Vanille Insensee in your next package!
Thanks very much, B! 🙂
Vanille Incensee is my favorite of the Atelier Colognes, it is SO beautiful, and perfect for warm weather, I think.
Wazamba is killer! I love it. It sounds like you’ve found quite a nice shop to patronize, that’s excellent. Thanks to Dee, I found a new place too- one that’s local to her in Portland. It’s the kind of place that seems to hold many secrets and can produce miracles, apparently, so I shall keep them on speed dial. 🙂
Oh yes, I have heard about the miraculous Perfume House! I wish I could be locked into their vault over night, with you and Dee for company, we would have the night of our lives! 🙂
And Wazamba! Wow! I love it! Good stuff! 🙂 And it makes me use these !!! all the time! :)!
WHOA Wazamba! If that doesn’t sound like a proper exclamation to declare a perfume sublime, I don’t know what does. Wazamba will replace certain curse words for me now, when I get over-excited. 😉
You, me and Dee locked in a perfume vault overnight. That sounds like heaven to me! As long as we have whatever we want to eat and drink, and some ventilation. 😉
Lol, yes! A fragrant feast and open windows. I think Dee should make an appointment for us! 😉
Just wanted to pop back in and say I got my sample of Equistrius today, Birgit- mostly because of your high praise of it, I am terribly excited! I will let you know what I think, but I predict a slam dunk.
Oh great! The triumph of Equistrius! 🙂 I am very curious what you think, because it is a lot more floral than what I know you usually like.
I’m not as afraid of florals as I used to be, I think it just took the right perfumes to change my mind and let me be more experimental.
We are all branching out over time, I am trying to get fit for the new Amouage Honour, a massive white floral, by training with softer ones now. 😉
Christopher Chong has warned me far away from Honour, and I would tend to agree, it’s not going to be my thing. But I LOVE the idea of you “training” with other white florals, that is so cute! ❤
I hope I love Honour despite everything. I want that white bottle beside my black Memoir bottle. (That is stupid, I know!) 😉
Thank you for the tip. 🙂 It’s always good to know of new (and generous) European perfume shops.
Not that I need another place where to spend money… 😉
Not that you need that, of course, but as you say, it is always good to be informed! 🙂