I will be in Paris next week (at last !). I want to buy a 1/2-oz bottle of this perfume as a very special gift. I understand the cost of this perfume will be about $300.00 USD. Where can I go to get the best price?. On another post, Ursula recommended "Sephora" shops for perfumes, I don't know if the Paris stores carry such an expensive product. I checked the Sephora shops in California and they do not carry it. <BR>Thank-you <BR>Lisa <BR>

I get it at fragrancetown.com for about $175 American. If you pay more than that in France it would be a mistake! It's probably available at the major department stores: Bon Marche, Printemps etc. Have a great trip!

You did not mention you were looking for "Bal à Versailles", Lisa. <BR>However, check "Sephora" before you buy at any dept.store. If they have it, it will be cheaper. No question. I cannot remember if it's Guerlain which is normally not sold in discount shop. So, go to Guerlain directly (also on Champs-Elysées). Bought "Eau de Cartier" and best price was at "Sephora".

Lisa: It's not Guerlain but Desprez. Anyway, check at "Sephora" before you buy at any dept.store, their choice is huge! And make sure you get some samples, you will, just smile ))

I don't buy perfume in Paris as I have never found it any cheaper than in US and I don't want to carry own something heavy and breakable like that, but I've heard Michel Swiss has good discount and duty-free perfumes, including luxury brands. There are many of those shops around Paris, most on the Right Bank (one is at 16 rue de la Paix). Here is a French beauty products site that lists perfume stores and beauty institutes (ie, salons) around Paris and they have a lot of listings for Michel Swiss: www.manage-sante.com/parfumentier.htm. Print that page as it gives you discount coupons for a lot of the places listed, although the 5-10 pct reaction for Michel Swiss says it's only for beauty care products (soins), not perfumes, as I recall. Catherine at 7 rue Castiglione (1st arr) and the Franco-American Parfumerie at 49 rue d'Aboukir (2nd arr) are also reputedly discount perfume stores which are good about handling the VAT refunds, if necessary.

Thank you all for the great ideas. <BR> <BR>Christina - I will check out the various places while I am blissfully wandering the streets of Paris. <BR> <BR>Ursula - Samples are a great idea. <BR> <BR>Janice - fragrancetown.com looks like a great site. Thanks for the tip. Not knowing a realistic price, I would have overpaid. <BR> <BR>

It seems to me that all fragrancetown.com sells is spray. This is the least advisable form to purchase, since the propellants eventually "turn" the fragrance, and in any case you lose half the perfume into the air. And even though it seems less expensive than non-spray parfum or eau de toilette or (best) oil or cream, it's really a poorer value and usually weighs more because of the pump-top. <BR> <BR>Consider getting well-sealed samples in Paris. <BR> <BR>

Thanks Liz, I never thought about "loosing half the perfume into the air". Then again I've never purchased a bottle of perfume as expensive as Bal a Versailles. I appreciate your good advice. I will be collecting as many perfume samples as I can, as they will make great stocking stuffers for my nieces.

If you can, as soon as you arrive in CDG, check out the duty-free shops. I always stock up on my Hermes "Caleche" there, and the price is at least 40% less than what I'd pay at Saks in NYC. And now, with such a fabulous exchange rate, the prices might be even better. If you can't get to the duty-frees before you get into Paris, I wouldn't wait until leaving, because they might not even carry it. Bonne chance.