The House of Guerlain: The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift
Shopping for Mother’s Day? This one’s for you!
Showering my mother in gifts is not a difficult task. Maybe it’s just my mother, but anything I give her makes her smile. Most of the time, it’s just a hug that she’s after. I have to say, as a mom, I know exactly how she feels. My kids don’t have to do much to make me feel special. Whether it’s a handwritten card or breakfast in bed or just a hug that lasts a little longer (and tighter) than usual, I feel celebrated and loved. Mother’s day is just that extra day when we stop our busy lives and take a moment to spread the love.
After visiting Holt Renfrew Ogilvy a few weeks ago, the perfect token to offer our moms just clicked and I’ve been holding out on you ever since (sorry!). While I was at the House of Guerlain beauty and perfume counter, I thought to myself how each scent is unique and custom-made to reflect a person’s individual taste and personality. I loved how special it made me feel to go through the process of picking out my own scent, choosing my ribbon, and engraving my bottle. As the House of Guerlain says, the experience is the embodiment of fragrance; luxury at its finest. That’s when the click went off – every mom deserves luxury at its finest!
This Mother’s Day, if you are looking for that perfect je ne sais quoi to make your mother feel like the queen that she is, try walking on over to the Guerlain perfume counter at Holt Renfrew Ogilvy. The experience is a-mazing. When I walked in, I was first handed an iPad where I had to complete my olfactory profile (hint: olfactory means relating to the sense of smell). I answered all kinds of questions about things I liked and disliked. The profile narrowed my choices down to 3 possible perfumes. As you all know, I wear Guerlain perfume, so I was excited to see if this Cosmo-style quiz was really going to pin me down, and guess what? It did! Out of the 88 fragrances from their library, the top choice that was recommended for me was Mandarine Basilic… the perfume I own and wear! There were two other incredible choices that I discovered because of the profile, so that allowed me to venture out of my comfort zone.
From there, I got to choose the colour of my iconic Bee bottle. On top of that, I chose my ribbon colour to wrap around the neck of the bottle and then there is the option to engrave your name on your bottle. The process is highly customized and obviously from my experience, quite accurate. The Guerlain service is incredible: you go from shopping for perfume to becoming a perfumer! Montreal is the only city across Canada that has a Guerlain Parfumeur Counter, which makes the experience that much more exquisite.
Taking a few moments to step away from the hustle of daily life and thinking about your mom and what would make her happy is kind of the point of gift-giving. It’s basically what being thoughtful means. I think that’s way I really believe that a Guerlain custom perfume is the ideal gift: it gives you a chance to think about your mom, answer questions with her mind, and offer her a one-of-a-kind gift that she can wear with her every day. You’ll have created something just for her. It takes DIY to a whole other level (lol!).
Photography by PATRICIA BROCHU