It's
cocktail hour in Rome's posh shopping district, but women at one
trendy bar are trying a new kind of aperitif: perfume.
"This is a fresh mix of mint, lemon and basil," the
barmaid explains as a well-heeled client sniffs at the perfume
sample offered in a kind of champagne glass.
Welcome to "L'Olfattorio," Rome's one-of-a-kind perfume
bar a couple of blocks from the fashionable Spanish Steps, where
women and men test scents for free.
The bar boasts a wide range of perfumes, especially from small,
exclusive French perfumeries like L'Artisan Parfumeur, and more
than 200 essences or raw ingredients used in free perfume "tasting"
courses.
"We're trying to promote a kind of perfume culture that
is founded more on smells than on brand names and marketing,"
the barmaid, Stefania Zuccotti explains.
Perfumes are displayed on steel shelves according to the kind
of scent, be it fruity or flowery or like wood or leather.
There is one small catch.
The bar, created by perfume importer Cithera, only displays the
perfumes. Barflies drunk on the heavenly scents are sent away
with a list of the stores at which they can buy them.
(Agencies)
Updated: 2002-11-08 01:00
香水吧的特色是應有盡有的各類香水，尤其是象阿仙蒂之香那些小型的、獨一無二的法國香料作坊。并提供200多種香精或香精原料供客人免費品味。