Beverly Hills Perfumery exterior
For my third, WE LOVE THIS STORE, I went West, to the Left Coast, specifically my hometown, Beverly Hills (90210), to pay a visit to Beverly Hills Perfumery.
Beverly Hills Perfumery interior©
Conveniently located one block over from Rodeo Drive on Beverly Drive in the heart of Beverly Hills my first introduction to Beverly Hills Perfumery was on a prior business trip. I discovered the store quite by accident while heading to a meeting from my hotel.
Amouage collection, Montale collection,Roja Parfums collections collage by Michelyn
Firstly, I was surprised that I was unaware of the store and secondly, by the large selection of vintage men's and women's fragrances. It is a niche lover's paradise with a glorious selection of some favorite brands, Amouage, Caron, Montale, Ormonde Jayne, Etat Libre d'Orange, Roja Parfums (an impressive collection of 100 different Roja Dove perfumes and products are carried here), and Tiziana Terenzi, along with a few I had yet to experience. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to take it all in on the trip.
"vintage fragrances displayed at Beverly Hills Perfumery including Guerlain bottles signed by Roja Dove (bottle shown is Guerlain Metallica
Alan Berdijis Owner/ Store Manager of Beverly Hills Perfumery
Returning recently I got that chance to go deeper. I met up with Alan Berdjis, Owner/ Store Manage of Beverly Hills Perfumery, an expert on vintage fragrances. I spent a couple hours with him over two days.
NY Times article
Besides our passion for fragrance, we bonded over both having been raised in Beverly Hills, our parent's having had businesses with Beverly Hills in the name (in close proximity to each other on Wilshire Blvd)., and both of our families having being touched by cancer, his mother a Breast Cancer survivor, and my mother passing to cancer when I was in high school.
Jila and John Berdijs with Kenzo, Valentino and Puffy (Alan's dog)
Alan's parents, John and Jila, both Jewish and Bahá'í, left Iran prior to the revolution in 1977 and settled in Vancouver, Canada where Alan was born in 1980. His family then moved to Beverly Hills in 1985. His father a doctor by profession also comes from a long line of doctors in Iran.
Mural from the original store
As I was sampling I had some questions on the history of the store. I found out that his mother opened the original store, Beverly Hills Perfume Center on Camden Drive in 1990. His father a wholesaler at this point opened the second shop on Wilshire Blvd. in 1992, just a few blocks from his wife's. Why did his parents have dual stores blocks from each other? Did they carry the same products? Yes. Were in competition with each other? No, not at all. I wondered if the stores conflicted with each other. Alan stated that they even with the close proximity to each other they had a different clientele. Alan worked at both stores before they were both closed in 2010 and re-opened in the current location.
Display case at Beverly Hills Perfumery
Over the last five years, Alan has transitioned the 2,500 square foot store over to niche brands. Beverly Hills Perfumery has a knowledgeable and wealthy Middle Eastern, Mexican, Russsian and European clientele. They carry over 100 Oud products alone! The majority of the stores business is brick and mortar purchases. We spoke on the state of fragrance shopping in Beverly Hills which gives consumers have no shortage of options from Barney's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora, Diptyque, Creed (just opened), and Jo Malone. Beverly Hills Perfumery stands alone by offering a very different experience to fragrance consumer from their unique collection of vintage fragrances to the impressive tightly curated niche brands they carry (over thirty).
Vintage fragrances displayed at Beverly Hills Perfumery including Guerlain bottles signed by Roja Dove (bottle shown is Guerlain Metallica) courtesy of Alan Berdjis
I asked Alan to suggest six new scents based on the parameters of my fragrance profile I shared with him from houses I was not familiar with. He suggested three lines I knew only by name and reviews (and was looking forward to discovering them here) since many of the brands they carried I knew well. Alan recommended choices that he felt I would appreciate and were also some of his favorites.
Royal Crown
Alan recommends Royal Crown which Beverly Hills Perfumery is the sole stockist in the US as of this date. I asked, "how did you come across the brand"? From Roja Dove fans that posted about it on social media, he knew that they were buying them at Harrods. He chose HABANOS a slightly boozy oriental woody and CELEBRATION an elegant citrusy aromatic, both signed by Antonio Visconti the owner.
House of Matriarch ( CaFleureBon introduced the line in 2010 to our readers and Christi has worked with Michelyn camen on three perfumes)
Next was perfumer Christi Meshell's Seattle based natural perfumery house House of Matriarch. Beverly Hills Perfumery is one of a couple stores that carry their full line. Alan suggested TOUKKA TA TAO, a floral fruity mixture, and DESTRIER, a dark leathery almost animalistic powerhouse. Alan recommended Mancera's SO BLUE (Piere Montale) a gorgeous Oriental floral and Red Tobacco a woody spicy frag which both performed well on me. I would give the nod to SO BLUE (even though I am no fan of aquatics).
Ombré Rose
The heart and soul of Beverly Hills Perfumery are their vintage collections. The store stocks one of the most comprehensive collections of vintage perfumes for sale anywhere. The designer fragrances are arranged in a perfume timeline by decade starting with the 1960's through the 2000's in trays. Over one hundred in total. They will certainly bring back your childhood and is a must for collectors. These are to be experienced when you visit the store and are not sold online. I'm not aware of a store that can rival their vintage collection. Their Arabic clientele alone will buy 20-30 bottles over the course of a week just from one of the vintage trays.
Photo by Gail Gross©
I ask Alan to give me an idea of the best-selling vintage fragrances (both women's and men's in no particular order). Glad to see that Giorgio is still a steady seller!
Top 10 vintage for women:
1. Bill Blass Nude
2. Rochas Femme
3. Arpege by Lanvin
4. Ombre Rose by Jean-Charles Brosseau
6. Giorgio Beverly Hills
7. Safari Ralph Lauren
8. Must de Cartier
9. Van Cleef First
10. L'Air du Temps by Nini Ricci
Top 10 vintage for men
1. Paco Rabanne pour Homme
3. Zino by Davidoff
4. YSL Kouros
5. Carolina Herrera for men
6. Halston 1-12
7. Grey Flannel Geoffrey Beene
8. Bijan Beverly Hills
9. Polo Ralph Lauren
10. Drakkar Noir by Guy Laroche
In addition to fragrance, Beverly Hills Perfumery also carries candles and body creams from many in the lines stocked here.
Thank you, Alan and Beverly Hills Perfumery for my fabulous scent filled journey over two days, many conversations, and samples which made my stay in Beverly Hills that much more special.
–Hernando Courtright, New York City Event Contributor and Brand Ambassador (with additional information from Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief)
All photos Hernando for Cafleurebon unless otherwise specified
Beverly Hills Perfumery, 264 North Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 310.888.8807
Website: https://www.beverlyhillsperfumery.com/
Email: bhperfume@aol.com
Store hours: Monday-Friday 12:00pm-8:00pm and Saturday from 2:00pm-8:00pm Pacific Time. Closed on Sundays.
Free shipping on all orders within the United States, and ship outside of the United States only to Canada.
courtesy of Europerfumes
Thanks to the generosity of Beverly Hills Perfumery we have a very special giveaway for a CON US registered reader, (you must register to be eligible here) for EITHER a 50 ml bottle of Roja Creation-R parfum for men
or
Roja Innuendo photo courtesy of Europerfumes,
To be eligible please leave a comment on what you enjoyed about Hernando's visit to Beverly Hills Perfumery, please give an example of why you would love this store, what exact fragrance from the site you would choose that was not mentioned,(go their website) and which perfume you would choose should you win. Draw closes 11/14/2018
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We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like ÇaFleureBon and use our Blog feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.