It was a contest.
Paris vs. London.
And Paris won.

What inspires the creation of a new fragrance? Of course it almost always starts with a marketing company's need for sales — a new perfume to generate new revenue. And so the games begin.

What should our new fragrance be? How should we describe it to the person who will create it? What type of woman are we targeting? What are her demographics? What are her price points? How much can we afford to spend on a bottle to meet our profit goals?

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Of course, in a very small company, creating a new perfume is a rather helter-skelter matter. Our compounder can work on themes that we find appealing and, if we get a little sidetracked from the original idea, the result may be (and in this case clearly is) an improvement.

What we have been given, and what we now offer to you, is a fragrance based on lilly of the valley (muguet) with barely discern able touch of rose. And of course, there are all those other ingredients that stick it together, balance it, give it depth, (remarkably) long life and nice silage. And, if all this cost a bit more for materials that a mass merchandiser might spend, so be it. The pleasure of the result, to us, is worth the extra cost, as we hope it is to you.

Secrets of Paris

You might think the 'Paris' name is a bit overdone in perfume naming. There is 'Paris' by Coty, 'Paris' by Yves Saint Laurent, 'Evening in Paris' by Bourjois, 'Spring in Paris' by Celine Dion, and a string of Paris Hilton fragrances, courtesy of the marketers at Parlux.

So please bear with us as we explain why we appear to have been so lacking in imagination that we too have used the 'Paris' name.

Now we really shouldn't be telling you this but Code Name 'Paris' is a simple perfume. Very basic. Very focused. (Very long lasting, but that is another matter.)

When we were developing the formula and thought we had the job finished, our compounder had a moment of doubt.

His doubt concerned a common rose aroma material that he had been using in all of his tests. While all seemed perfect, he wondered if perhaps a very slight improvement could be recognized by swapping out this one material and replacing it with another, a slightly more complex odorant that would give the formula more depth.

Well ... why not test? Make up both versions and see which one our consumer test panel (my wife) preferred.

In 1920, when perfumer Ernest Beaux presented his first samples to Gabrielle Chanel, he gave each trial bottle a number: 1 through 5 and 10 through 24. Chanel selected the bottle numbered "5" — and "No.5" went on to become the best selling perfume every made.

Our compounder was feeling a bit more imaginative than Ernest Beaux. Instead of a number ... or a letter ... he labeled the two versions of the new fragrance "London" and "Paris."

"Paris" won.

By now our creative energies were exhausted so we just continued to call the winning fragrance Code Name 'Paris'. It has become our favorite and I personally take pleasure when I notice it on a woman. We present it to you for your enjoyment.

Code Name 'Paris' in 20 ml designer bottle ... $85.00 One bottle Code Name'Paris', $85.00 2 for $160.00 (you save $10.00) 3 for $225.00 (you save $30.00)

Click on image to enlarge Sample Offer Try Code Name 'Paris' for yourself. 5/8 dram bottle, boxed as shown, $5.