Serge Lutens Bell Jars Paris Exclusives Now Available in the US

If you’ve ever plotted to mail order a coveted Serge Lutens bell jar from Paris, you’ll be happy to know that starting this month, you can simply order the perfumes from Barneys in New York. The Serge Lutens Palais Royal collection will be exclusive to the Madison Avenue flagship boutique.

Getting your hands on one of Lutens’ glowing cloche bottles used to entail cross-Atlantic travel to his store in the Jardin du Palais Royal in Paris. But as of today, Barneys brings them a bit closer—to the Madison Avenue flagship—with the exclusive Palais Royal collection. No passport required!

Update: the price of bell jars at Barneys is $290-300 (in Paris they cost 125 euros in Paris/~$155-160). Barneys will ship to any US destination.

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36 Comments

  • Alyssa: No! Way! I almost feel a little sad. But not sad enough that I won’t order some Boxeuses ASAP. August 13, 2012 at 8:20am Reply

    • Victoria: I know exactly what you mean, Alyssa! They were the ultimate “jump through the hoops” perfumes, and as much as I disliked not having the instant gratification of the purchase, I loved the ritual. It made each bell jar in my perfume wardrobe more valuable.
      But at the same time, I’m so glad that they are going to be available more widely to give more women a chance to discover these special perfumes. I just hope that the expansion will not ruin the integrity of the house and its creations. August 13, 2012 at 8:27am Reply

      • Alyssa: Well, a single outpost in the U.S. that requires you to phone instead of ordering online is hardly opening the floodgates. 🙂 By modern standards that’s almost like a trip to Paris. (But what is my excuse to go to Paris, now? Ah! It must be to meet you there….) August 13, 2012 at 8:43am Reply

        • Victoria: I want the floodgates or whatever to be opened though, for more people have a chance to try these perfumes without much difficulties. In small towns in the US the perfume shopping opportunities are so limited. In small European towns, for instance, Serge Lutens (the regular collection) is sold at Sephora and Sephora-type perfumeries right alongside shampoos and skincare. There are fewer brands, but more choices and more diverse choices. Whereas in the US, some brands refuse to be sold at the mall for the fear that it might undermine their so-called luxury status. August 13, 2012 at 8:55am Reply

          • Sara: I agree with you, Victoria! Unless I want to wear Someday and Beyonce Heat, I really have to struggle to find some decent perfumes in my town. Even our Lauder counter doesn’t carry the full collection of their classics. Finally, Hermes pulled out of Sephora, so I now need to mail order my Caleche and Hiris. I mostly shop online these days. August 13, 2012 at 9:04am Reply

            • Victoria: Ironically, I started getting more interested in perfumes when I lived in a small town where the only perfumes within a reasonable distance from my house were the ones sold at Duane Reade! The malls were much help either, as Alyssa mentioned. Besides the limited selection, the lack of helpful SAs made the shopping experience very difficult. Especially when you are a perfume newbie! August 13, 2012 at 9:33am Reply

          • Alyssa: I agree things should be more readily available everywhere, but I’m not sure the mall is the answer, or not the whole answer, anyway. (Once they’re there, how will they will be sold and who will sell them? How will people find them and learn about them? And malls themselves are not doing so well these days.) Perfume really, truly needs a new business model that combines the availability of Bath and Body Works with the slow-down-and-pay-attention of a luxury boutique. Sephora used to be something like that, but they are not everywhere, and in Austin they are increasingly leaning toward the BBW side of things, even as little indie-luxe shops pop up all over town. And I’m afraid we’ll never get over the tyranny of organizing things by brand instead of smell–though websites like LuckyScent have made some strides in that direction. A dilemma. August 13, 2012 at 9:21am Reply

            • Victoria: Changing the business model would be ideal, but while we have the big brand dictating how the products are positioned and sold, it won’t happen.
              I like the Nordstrom model of educating their sales people. I recently got a hold of their perfume education course, and it’s impressive. No wonder that my best department store experience has been at Nordstrom. Even if the SAs are still forced to push the products by the big brands, their advice on other fragrances they stock is very helpful. August 13, 2012 at 9:29am Reply

            • Annag: Another perfumista in Austin? Excellent!! August 14, 2012 at 8:17pm Reply

        • L.: Hi Alyssa, I get what you are saying but a store in the US with the exclusives is totally opening the floodgates in the sense that now if you want one you can get it. Before, unless you had a connection with someone in Europe, you couldn’t. This is big. August 13, 2012 at 11:38am Reply

        • L.: Whoa, my comment got posted before I finished, WTHeck? Anyway, was saying someone like me who likes the ritual of going out of my way and defying the odds and finding the unfindable still had that barrier of actually needing someone who was not only going to Paris but was willing to buy and carry perfume back to the States and who would be willing to drop that $$$$ for you and there was mutual trust about getting the transaction done. That kind of uber exclusivity adds to the SL mystique but it also makes people like me have to settle for some tone poems b/c we can’t get at the masterworks. Big diff between the exports and the non-exports.

          But agree, agree that exclusivity needs limited availability and I like the hunt. Are these Lutens perhaps going to be too easy to get? POssibly. Still, up until now while I could buy and receive something rare and current like the Guerlain Deserts were I so inclined, the bell jars were a no. August 13, 2012 at 11:50am Reply

  • Emma: You’re welcome 😉 August 13, 2012 at 8:25am Reply

    • Victoria: Thank you again! 🙂 August 13, 2012 at 8:29am Reply

  • Michelle: Yea!!!!!

    And who needs an excuse to Paris? But just in case you do I can help : 1) Pierre Hermes’ pastry shop, 2) Fauchon, 3) Cafe Angeline’s, 4) The Louvre, 5) The D’Orsay, and Uncle Serge’s boutique, just because…
    See? Now you’ve got some excuses. 🙂 August 13, 2012 at 9:22am Reply

    • Victoria: Michelle, Alyssa–lots of excuses to go to Paris still! 🙂 Even the walk through the Palais Royal, where Lutens’ boutique is located, is worth the trip for me. Whenever I feel down, I imagine walking through those beautiful galleries. It’s my favorite place in Paris, Lutens’s boutique notwithstanding. 🙂 August 13, 2012 at 9:37am Reply

  • slinkypanther: Hi Victoria–Does this mean the entire collection–I’m after Iris Silver Mist and De Profundis–are now available in the states? I have been lusting after those two for ages and was earmarking them for my Paris trip next spring. August 13, 2012 at 11:55am Reply

    • Victoria: Based on what I read, yes! But it might be worth calling. I’m in Europe, so anyone in the US willing to give Barneys a call and let us know? August 13, 2012 at 12:26pm Reply

  • RusticDove: My eloquent comment regarding this turn of events is: I’m in beeeeg trouble. But, so what?! Squeee! August 13, 2012 at 12:14pm Reply

    • Victoria: 🙂 Trouble, here we come! August 13, 2012 at 12:26pm Reply

      • RusticDove: I just got the scoop on pricing: the bells that are also available as exports (50ml spray) are $275…..bells that were non-exports are $290 – $300. I’m sorry, but that just doesn’t seem right. Kind of took the wind out of my sails. :/ August 13, 2012 at 12:37pm Reply

        • Victoria: I nearly fell off my chair! That doesn’t really seem right to me either. August 13, 2012 at 12:38pm Reply

        • L.: Ah, the lamentedly-lost exclusivity rears its head – aspirational pricing! These are 120 euros in Paris, right? Perhaps, in order to get them to the States, they get their own seat on an international flight? August 13, 2012 at 12:54pm Reply

          • Victoria: L, you crack me up! Ha, that must be it. So much for opening the floodgates… August 13, 2012 at 1:16pm Reply

          • Alyssa: Yes, was coming back to say just this. No bell jar for me! I prefer to spend my extra $100 on an airplane ticket… August 13, 2012 at 8:03pm Reply

        • Tara C: That is highway robbery! I was excited to hear about this new development, but I refuse to be gouged. August 14, 2012 at 12:04am Reply

  • Lisa: I *so* did not need to know this … ! August 13, 2012 at 1:28pm Reply

  • Carla: This is big news, but I hope the pricing rumors are wrong. When I lived in Hamburg, I could wander into a corner perfume shop and spritz Ambre Sultan. You can do that throughout France, too. The Lutens exports are widely available in Europe. Now I live in a small-ish town in Pennsylvania, and the perfume choices in shops are dismal. All the shopping is depressing, actually. My perfume passion started in Boston where I lived in walking distance of Barney’s or Sephora. I learned a lot lurking in both places. Nordstrom and Saks, too. Anyway, I’m not sure I like the bell jar format. I love Lutens’ perfumes more every year, though, and that says a lot! August 13, 2012 at 2:11pm Reply

    • Carla: I do have to add that my absolute favorite thing to do in Paris is to visit Lutens’ boutique and perhaps buy a bell jar. It feels like a pilgrimage. Just walking there makes me so happy. It’s in such a beautiful spot. Much as I miss city life, I know I am so lucky to get to go to Paris every year – my husband is French. Paris is magical and I hope every perfume lover can visit sometime. August 13, 2012 at 2:14pm Reply

    • Victoria: Your story sounds familiar, Carla. I was in Aachen not long ago and saw Serge Lutens line at some tiny, hole in the wall perfumery. Brussels is not like Paris or New Yokr as far as perfume shopping is concerned, but there is enough choice to keep one busy.

      I love the look of bell jars, but I usually transfer perfume into the spray atomizer. I don’t like the idea of rubbing on the stopper on my skin. August 14, 2012 at 5:41am Reply

  • Dl: does anyone know whether they’ll have une voix noire in September or later? August 13, 2012 at 7:40pm Reply

  • Undina: Oh… Does it mean Barney’s NY will have all of them for testing at the store as well?

    Great news! (I’m not telling it to my wallet yet 😉 ) August 13, 2012 at 7:41pm Reply

    • Victoria: Looks like it! At least, you can go to the store and play with the perfumes. 🙂 August 14, 2012 at 5:34am Reply

  • Carla: I’m afraid Lutens is indeed using price to communicate exclusivity. At $300 he does not at all reduce the image of the brand with wider distribution. August 14, 2012 at 7:59am Reply

    • Victoria: I agree, Carla! The price is way too high, especially since you can buy these fragrances for somewhat less in Paris. But then again, one needs to get to Paris.

      At least, those who are in NYC can now sample them. August 16, 2012 at 11:04am Reply

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