The rains delayed the launch of a most scintillating fragrance and coffee crawl at SM Aura, which means you have just until August 5 to catch this twin promotion. As any perfume addict knows, SM Aura is a fragrance haven because all the top perfume brands, whether designer or niche, can be found here.
If you don’t make it before then, not to worry because most of the shops that carry these amazing scents and serve these delicious coffees are a permanent part of the mall. Others, like Maison Margiela, Coty and Jo Malone are pop-ups.
Those lucky ones who did make it, like me, enjoyed an informative fragrance tour conducted by perfume expert Bernadette Lim. As we literally walked through a pretty garden set up where the “blooms” were various scents from Maison Margiela, Jo Malone, Look At Me, Tom Ford, Clinique, Dior, Marc Jacobs — just to mention a few — Bernadette provided a lot of tips that are very helpful for those whose passion is perfume.
While we enjoyed breathing in different citrus scents, I asked her how to make fragrances last. Her answers surprised all of the lifestyle writers and content creators.
“Avoid the pulse points,” said Bernadette, which, of course, is where we all dab our precious perfume! And from where they will evaporate most quickly.
Instead, she said, “Go for the shoulders, your hair or the back of your arms.” She added, too, that to extend the longevity of your expensive bottles, avoid putting them where you have oxygen, heat or sunlight. That would be most bathrooms! Choose instead to “hide” them in your cabinets.
We had a wonderful time meandering from table to table, sampling on slips of paper or directly on ourselves the sweet range of scents, from the woodsy to the floral, the fresh to the citrus. I loved Maison Margiela’s warm By the Fireplace and clean Bubble Bath.
Estee Lauder selections include the bestselling Dream Dusk.
From the standalone shops I thoroughly enjoyed Estee Lauder’s classic scents Dream Dusk and Tender Light (need to come back for these!) and the younger Aerin line, while Christian Dior lured us in with a gelato cart featuring delectable raspberry, orange and pistachio flavors.
Miss Dior is actually the perfume bottle always in my bag, but after this tour it may be joined by quite a few others!
Then no fragrance hound can skip Look At Me, our (better) version of Sephora, now carrying the highly coveted Mona Kattan line, whose fragrance collection Kayali is perpetually sold out. Her unique Yum Pistachio Gelato 33 is a winner and I just had to take a bottle of it home.
The Jo Malone pop-up at SM Aura
You can’t go to SM Aura to shop fragrance and not visit the SM department store itself. This is because their merchandising is so spot-on when it comes to the latest, most covetable fragrances. Cases in point include the newly available Tory Burch, favorites Acqua Colonia and Clean. Hands down my super pick of the day was Narciso Rodriguez’s Musc Nude. For this last item I will bring the hubby here so he can do some advance Christmas shopping.
Speaking of shopping, I asked Bernadette about ideal perfume sizes and she answered what I suspected to be true — smaller bottles can be better and not just a little more affordable!
Lastly, I asked Bernadette about when to purchase perfume, since I’ve noticed that it tends to change once applied to the skin. She answered that a perfume’s true scent on your skin will come out after an hour or an hour and a half. So best to apply, then go have some coffee, and come back for your purchase later!
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For coffee, the participating shops are Deuces, Est Japanese Cafe and Yardstick, plus the pop-up Subtle. If you come to SM Aura on or before August 5, every purchase of a full-sized perfume bottle will entitle you to macarons from Kevin Ong Patisserie, pastries from Panaderro and a cup of coffee from any of the shops mentioned.
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