What We Do In Paris Is Secret

I've been searching for a specific sort of woody-tonka-vanilla oriental for a while now. I want the notes to be airy and separate, sweet but also dry (not syrupy) and unisex but leaning feminine. I don't know why this is hard to find but it has been for me. Recently I purchased Biehl eo01 and this is nice but it's a bit too bland and mostly a sandalwood fragrance that becomes a skin scent within an hour. I figured I'd try my old fave Dominique Ropion to see how he did with this Lab on Fire brand. Turns out What We Do in Paris is Secret is really close to what I've been looking for, and I do love it, but it's literally a dupe of Joop! Le Bain. I mean, not just similar, but it smells like an actual duplicate of the Joop which can be had for so cheap. I looked up Joop Le Bain to see if Ropion is the perfumer and it doesn't list a perfumer on that page. I mean this is EXACTLY like Joop Le Bain. I happen to love Joop but I already have it and I bought it for $20! What We Do In Paris is Secret is a nice, easy going, effortlessly gentle tonka-almond-vanilla-heliotrope fragrance. It's Classic Doll Head or Play Doh in the best way. I really like it and I will happily wear it. I guess the other house it reminds me of is Guerlain. I can smell a Guerlainade type vibe from this - you know that sweet-vanilla-woody-slightly fruity base blend that Guerlain uses in almost all their fragrances. The longevity is better than the Joop so I guess there's that going for it, although it is still moderate, not super long lasting and the sillage is minimal. This is definitely an everyday, every situation, can be worn in the office but could also be sexy too, kind of fragrance. I do love the smell, I just can't get over how it is an exact duplicate of Joop Le Bain! Someone below wrote "just get Joop," and I wish I had really taken her comment to heart. Except this is truly quite beautiful and I will definitely wear it so all is not lost. UPDATING to say I do love this but wish it had much better longevity and more sillage (it’s abysmal and mostly just pisses me off at this point). Also this is a relative of Dior Addict scentwise. UPDATING AGAIN: to say that when I marinate in this (6-8 sprays) there is definitely better longevity and a little bit of moderate sillage for about 2-3 hrs. UPDATING YET AGAIN: to say that this really isn’t anything like what I was looking for back when I initially wrote this review BUT it’s a bloody amazing scent that is just so delicious and sexy in a not even trying kind of way. It’s not gourmand but it’s still a delicious heliotrope-vanilla kind of special sauce. In the end, Ropion always makes magic ✨💥💫

This is probably going to sound bizarre; WWDIPS has a story to tell me. But I don’t think it needs to be a secret. When I wear this it takes me on a journey to an early spring afternoon; asphalt is drying from a morning storm. There is a breeze as I walk unhurriedly along the sidewalk window-shopping in an old town square. The breeze carries traces of the damp asphalt and ozone. The air is crisp, and the sun offers warmth when it peaks out of the clearing clouds. Bees are humming around flowering planters and the trees lining the street are starting to bloom with puffy white and pink flowers. Shops are opening their doors now that the rain has passed. And as I walk the air currents mingle all these smells together. The square starts to bustle with people a bit more but it doesn’t interrupt my tranquility. WWDIP opens in unassuming and effortless layers. There is definitely nothing pretentious about it. I know this is odd but I really do get an ozone-ish and drying asphalt vibe that lasts less than a minute. This has to be the Tolu Balsam and it seems to give this fragrance a solid base or platform on which to perform. Then a rich vanilla honey moves right in with hints of creamy almond from the Tonka and Heliotrope, but not in a gourmand way. It’s a floral fragrance, which is thankfully not overdone. Heliotrope dominates and the rose I find is light. This all seems to meld into the sweet billowy powderiness of Amber. An earthiness vibe sneaks in and out which keeps things centered and balanced to me. Now with that all being said, WWDIP might sound like a warm and cozy fragrance. And it is warm and cozy, but I do not find it heavy. It also manages to be very cool, crisp, airy, light, balmy. I find that I can wear this from fall through spring. The poweriness might blossom a little too much in the southern heat of summer for my taste. I personally favor this as more daytime wear. It lasts about 6 hours on me and silage stays about arms length until hour 4 before becoming a solid skin sent. I really am enjoying wearing this and find it uplifting. Personally, I do not get a va va voom factor, but that’s just me. I can see it leaning that way on other people. Also, I wanted to say that I really enjoyed reading evesoho’s review.

Turns out I now have a signature fragrance. I wasn't looking for one. Don't believe in them anymore for myself. And yet here we go.....I made a blind buy and the absolute perfect perfume for my chemistry and sensabilities showed up at my door! What are the odds? Since 2009 when I started on this site there has been no signature fragrance on the shelf in my Frgrantica wardrobe......and now there is. How is that even possible??? Enter What We Do In Paris Is Secret~she is absolutely irresistable! She is honeyed perfection through and through. This note weaves and wraps itself around every nuance of her development. She starts off with a bit of a cherry tobacco meets heliotrope wrapped in powder drenched in honey vibe. The next thing you know you realize you're drooling all over yorself with your nose stuck to your wrist! Extremely unattractive~but this gorgeous little perfume makes up for it! I have received the most poetic compliments from men and women alike since I've started wearing this. Seriously......dream compliments! She has amazing longevity as she partners with the wind to create the perfect amount of sillage and projection. I for real had a man ask me, "Did you just walk behind me?" I said "yes" and he said, " I wasn't sure. I just felt this light breeze and the most amazing smell all at the same time." Yep, that's WWDIPIS! She is both light and complex. She develops into this unintimidating draw me closer, please God show me where that smell is coming from aura, that makes you not only feel confident as you wear it, but it makes you look forward to smelling it yourself! If you are afraid of commitment....tread lightly. WWDIPIS will steal your loyalty before you even know what happened!!

What we do in Paris is a study in fragrance marketing. This has an alluring name, suggestive of a passionate rendezvous or perhaps secret espionage in the French capital. Already, you may be speculating that this is the smell of lust, or perhaps fear? Combine that with a bottle thats 'too cool for school', and you have a yourself a cult following. So really, does it matter what the perfume is like? Well, yes. In fact it does matter! The opening is fairly generic and almost immediately had me wondering where I had smelt this before. The opening was dominated by the honey and fruit and heliotrope which was pleasant in a feminine way and created a sweet/ powder effect. Fortunately, the heliotrope here was well contained, as it can be a problem for me. After about an hour, the middle and base notes came through. Heliotrope was still evident, but now it was combined with a strong vanilla. I'm happy to report that this phase has good longevity. About three hours after application it occurred to me that I was reminded of YSL cinema. I don't know if other reviewers have noticed this? Overall, this is a very pretty perfume for those wanting a vanilla powder bomb. It is clearly well made, but I do think the cool marketing is necessary for this to stand out from the crowd. EDIT: After this review I realized I was a little harsh on this perfume. The contents of the remaining test vial won me over to the point I began a 6 mth journey to own this beauty. You see, it is currently very hard to find except for a handful of stores. Anyone wanting a bottle can get it through MIns New York.

Baby powder mixed with powdered sugar. Leather, rubber, lots powder and animalic musk here for me. I could see how someone would like this, but it is not sweet or creamy to my nose (as described on luckyscent). Glad I sampled, this is unique, but not my cup of tea. The drydown is more pleasant, but not FB worthy for me. It is flat out weird but intriguing. I will finish my samples because if nothing else, this is interesting. UPDATE: I tried this again and went through my entire sample and decided to buy it. It is very different to me now than my first impression. I get some creaminess and lots of sweetness in the form of a honeyed sweet powder aura. The musk is detectable along with what I believe is the tulu, and although it is powdery and sweet it is nothing like Loukhoum Pouderee. The powder in this is more like sweet baby powder. I got a bottle because it is limited and I think I would be bummed if I did not have it in my collection. Update 2: I got my bottle from LS yesterday and I like this better sprayed on (as usual) than the sample. I wasn't sure if the bottle had a spray, but I know it does now. It is the most INTERESTING fragrance I have ever smelled. It lasts all night. I really cant describe it, I am happy I got a FB but I would not stock up and hoard this. The verdict is that it is very different, like a true niche perfume should be and I totally adore it.