My Current Favorites – [August 2024]: Shopping
I’m taking advantage of our stop in Vietnam and France to stock up on my favorite products and try new ones. I didn’t buy all this in two weeks but over nearly 10 months, allowing me to snag good deals. My parents and sister were kind enough to receive and store the packages at their place until I came. Thanks!
Cosmetics
Let’s start with cosmetics. At a certain age, I no longer chase after new products and just repurchase my favorite perfumes. I use three perfumes:
- Chance Eau Tendre by Chanel (pink bottle; I switched from eau de toilette to eau de parfum, and I prefer the eau de parfum version—it’s pricier, but you use less each time)
- Un jardin après la mousson by Hermès
- Une Nuit magnétique by The Different Company.
Un jardin après la mousson by Hermès is perfect for heatwave weather; wearing it feels like the coolness of rain, exactly as its name suggests: the scent after rain in Asia. The trick to not spending too much on this perfume is to opt for the 30ml size, which is only sold at Hermès (not at resellers).
Next up, for Une Nuit magnétique, one day I received a surprising email from a weird address, announcing an exclusive private sale at 50% off on a selection of The Different Company perfumes. The email turned out to be authentic, as the brand confirmed the sale. I jumped at the chance because such a price was exceptional. I hesitated a lot about also getting the 100ml refill, but these niche perfumes are so concentrated that it took me years to finish the 50ml, so 100ml plus a refill would last me a lifetime.
The packaging of the 100ml perfume is different from the 50ml one; it comes with a velvet pouch and a funnel to transfer the refill. The perfume still smells divine. Fun fact: The Different Company asked Christine Nagel, who wasn’t yet a perfumer at Hermès, to create the best perfume she could, with no cost, time, or ingredient constraints. The result is absolutely incredible. I discovered it during a “no packaging, no name” test at Jovoy Paris and I highly recommend you experience it there.
The Rouge G by Guerlain: In my mind, Guerlain is a somewhat old-fashioned brand, and I wasn’t interested at all until I came across this Instagram video by its designer: Lorenz Bäumer. I found the object so ingenious, so incredible that I treated myself to one.
You need to buy a case plus a refill. I opted for an older silver case because the new ones are gold and I don’t think they’re anything special. You can have multiple refills and just one case if you want, as each refill has its own cap. So when going out, you just pop in the refill you want. The object is heavy and has two small mirrors, but it’s a beauty! As soon as you pull out the lipstick, the mirror opens automatically via a spring system. Simple but effective mechanism. A bit heavy but so luxurious.
I don’t know how the lipstick performs, and I honestly don’t care because what I want is the object. Unfortunately, the velvet attracts cat hair like crazy! I didn’t break the bank, though, since everything was bought on Vinted—count 32 euros for the whole thing vs. 75 euros in store.
Clothing
After a big mistake, I put my pashmina scarf from Dubai in the dryer (I was sick and not paying attention), and it shrank to the size of a handkerchief (slight exaggeration). I wanted to replace it with vicuña Peru but seeing the $1000 price tag, I quickly changed my mind. Luckily, I spotted a pashmina scarf by Princesse Moghole, brand new and half price on Vinted. I jumped on it.
This scarf is woven tighter than the one from Dubai; it’s a diamond weave, so it uses more wool. It’s super warm, light (100g), and I loooove it! I’d have hated to pay full price, but at half price, it’s fine.
I love Vinted; I find amazing deals there. I buy almost all my clothes on Vinted because I target old collections (better quality, smaller sizes). And people buy so much stuff without using it that you find plenty of nearly new clothes for not much money. For example, this little dress from “Comptoir des cotonniers” in wool and cotton from an old collection. 12 euros.
I even found a lady who knits sweaters by hand, using the best wools possible. I bought a mohair cardigan from her (100% mohair) to replace my completely shrunk cashmere cardigan. I’m pleasantly surprised—it’s soft, doesn’t itch, and keeps you warm. This cardigan needed 9 balls of yarn. You know, yarn sold to knitters often has a better composition than the synthetic wool (acrylic) they sell in stores. The lady knits for fun because she doesn’t make much selling these cardigans at around 65 euros. Plus, she accepts custom orders, so don’t hesitate. Here’s her Vinted: https://www.vinted.fr/member/13666658-patriciamangon
Speaking of custom orders, a few years ago, I bought a silk nightie from this Vietnamese supplier and when the nightie tore, I slept badly for a long time… I couldn’t take it anymore and contacted them to make me two more. Except they only had white silk then, so I waited for the new colors to arrive to order two nighties. They’re the best in the world. I wear them all the time and hand-wash them to make them last longer.
Even in Vietnam, real traditional silk is rare and suppliers jump on it, it all goes very fast. It’s very difficult to find real quality silk. These camisoles cost me only 50 euros each (Vietnamese prices). I love their silk so much that I ordered two pillowcases, one for me and one for mom. When you use real silk (handwoven at that), there’s no static electricity, and you lose less hair. The risk is becoming addicted and only wearing silk ahahha.
Since they gave me two scrunchies, I also noticed that when I use a silk one, when I take it off, no hair comes with it, whereas the cotton ones always rip out 4 or 5 hairs. Here’s their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lualang
At my other favorite supplier https://www.facebook.com/aochanbong, I combined the design of two of their creations to create this linen dress, hand-embroidered. The embroidery pattern is 3D and requires two needles. They loved my little creation so much that they now offer it to other customers.
Jewelry & Leather Goods
It’s not new, but JB gave me a solitaire ring that I designed and chose the diamond myself. I told you about it here.
As for leather goods, I spent more long hours at my teacher’s place and made all by myself at home my second leather bag.
Books
Now on to books. Unfortunately for my bank account, I’ve recently become interested in books for bibliophiles and special editions.
I loved The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, and when they released the graphic novel version (only in French I think, but what luck we have!), not only did I buy the ebook but I also bought the Black and White version in a special edition. It’s much larger than a normal graphic novel and there are bonuses that the special Fnac version doesn’t have.
I really like the color version too, but the B&W version allows you to better appreciate the lines. The paper is also of better quality. I love it! A total of 6 volumes are planned. I hope they won’t release a special version for all 6 volumes because it will ruin me (35 euros per special album) ahahah.
I got interested in the “Limited Editions Club” editions, a book club that was super super well done in the 1930s in the United States. The books are all illustrated and the boss (George Macy) always tried to have an element related to the author (French paper, French illustrator when it comes to Proust, Russian printer for a Russian novel, etc.). Unfortunately, there is very little information about this book club. There are only 2 books that talk about it, and I had to have one of these books shipped from the United States, ruining myself of course. The bookseller had warned me it was a big book and I was surprised when I saw its size: as big as a graphic novel.
It’s a book about beautiful books, so the book itself is very polished (without being fine press either): font, layout, paper, binding… I love it! And it’s a joy to learn more about a fine press, how each book was designed, delivered. The Limited Editions Club is well known for having invited Matisse and Picasso to illustrate their books. They also have a book signed by the real Alice of Lewis Carroll’s novel + a Fahrenheit 451 whose binding is supposed not to burn. In short, a lot of creativity. For bibliophiles, Limited Editions Club is cheaper than Folio Society while having a far superior quality. These books were printed on a press, illustrations printed manually, before computers arrived. Equivalent modern books would be worth $600-$800 new today, while LEC are often resold between $30 and $100.
I managed to get my hands on 3 books from The Limited Editions Club :
- Swann’s Way (Du côté de chez Swann) by Marcel Proust: this book interests me only for the illustrations and because the fabric used for the binding has exactly the same pattern as the wall of Marcel Proust’s bedroom. I will part with it after reading.
- The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain: the illustrations are printed using the old technique, i.e., one color at a time, it’s very pretty. It’s a sort of travelogue ahead of its time, very funny, and the layout is exceptional, as fine presses know how to do well. I will part with it after reading.
- Gone with the Wind: the novel has been “cancelled” in recent years for its use of the “N-word” and its pro-slavery vision, but it must be placed in its historical context. The illustrations are very very beautiful and numerous, the paper is nice, the layout makes reading easy. Unfortunately, I opted for a cheap version so I’ll have to rebind it myself. I will part with it after reading.
To find out how I receive packages from the United States, check out my article here.
Speaking of beautiful books, I treated myself to “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, Suntup edition. It’s one of the rare bibliophile books I buy at the original price ($195, ehem…). The seller also gave me a dust jacket protector prized by Americans, I really like the concept!
The book is really beautiful. Too bad I’m not rich enough to buy all of Suntup’s “Numbered” versions, they have a vision of the beautiful book that matches mine. The “artist” version of Animal Farm (the one I have) is the cheapest, so the binding is indeed neat but remains industrial. I bought this book because the printing is still done like in the good old days, with metal letters and a press to “press” the ink-filled letters onto the paper. The paper must be thick and of good quality so as not to tear. There’s an exclusive introduction written by George Orwell’s son, Richard Blair, for this edition.
My Pléiade collection is complete. It’s official, my favorite novel is “In Search of Lost Time” and I’m going to reread it several times. I already have the “pure text” version from Pléiade, and I treated myself to the version with annotations and sketches, which I call “notes by the kilo.” The sketches don’t interest me much, except the passage about the madeleine and the encounter with Mme de Putbus’s chambermaid (which aren’t kept in the novel). So my collection consists of 6 Proust & 1 Voltaire. That’s enough, I think, except when they release the 2 volumes of Tolkien 😀
All of this was bought second-hand – because people don’t buy Pléiades to read, as everyone knows – except for volume 3, which was impossible to find used, and which I had the immense pleasure of buying directly from the Gallimard bookstore. So the 4 volumes of Proust cost me 200 euros (instead of 300 euros) and Voltaire 20 euros, I think. It’s more economical to buy a volume here and there from individuals on Leboncoin or Vinted than to buy the new box set from Gallimard.
These are books I’d describe as “luxury paperbacks.” Not necessarily for bibliophiles, but prettier than average, with a bradel binding that’s not super sturdy but shines from the bookshelf.
At the Gallimard bookstore, the Pléiades are inaccessible and hidden behind the counter. You have to ask for them when you want to buy them. And I also left (I’m ashamed because I couldn’t resist) with a tote bag that looks like an NRF book. Ahhhhhh
I had to buy books not available in ebook, namely:
- Technical binding and rigor (the best book on bookbinding, this one, I’m keeping). Since it’s rare, prices are crazy, but with a lot of patience, I found a copy for 160 euros on Amazon, instead of 300 euros.
- Bradel binding (keeping this one too)
- Illustrating Proust (2 books on this subject), I’ll resell them after reading.
- Proust voyant: exceptional book! I’ll resell it after reading.
- Pop-up manual élémentaire by Anne Goy and Nadia Corazzini. Out of stock, I had to scour the entire internet to find a copy in a small Belgian bookstore. Pop-up books are another love of my life. This one, I’m keeping.
- and a ton of Vietnamese books
To fund all these purchases, I had to work (normal!) and resell quite a few things on Vinted, and I’m happy.
Apart from a few exceptions and the Pléiades, these books will be resold after reading, so if any of the books interest you, feel free to reserve them. I’ll finish reading by the end of September, I think.
