Sephora

Paris loves the ladies, or at least appreciates them at their best – and expects it. For many visiting dames, Paris has an air of class that we want to emulate or at least get close to and for that reason Sephora on the Champs-Elysees is something a bit more than a store selling parfum and beauty products. Scents mingle in a not unattractive way, drawing passing girls in towards the walls lined with deliciously coloured bottles in all manner of appealing shapes.

Women’s scents are on the right wall, the men on the left and in the centre are a thousand promises of a more beautiful you – unguents, creams, potions, powders, polishes, all packaged delightfully – and when you’ve finally decided which item you’re least able to leave behind, they’ll package it up for you in a bag that’s practically a fashion statement in itself with a few testers to keep you wanting more next time.

What could be more perfectly wonderful than bringing a little bit of Paris back into your everyday life by wearing it on your wrist? The only thing better is knowing your precious elixir or glamour came from this mecca of loveliness.