What We Do In Paris Is Secret A Lab on Fire for women and men

What we do in Paris is a study in fragrance marketing. This has an alluring name, suggestive of a passionate rendezvous or perhaps secret espionage in the French capital. Already, you may be speculating that this is the smell of lust, or perhaps fear? Combine that with a bottle thats 'too cool for school', and you have a yourself a cult following.

So really, does it matter what the perfume is like? Well, yes. In fact it does matter!

The opening is fairly generic and almost immediately had me wondering where I had smelt this before. The opening was dominated by the honey and fruit and heliotrope which was pleasant in a feminine way and created a sweet/ powder effect. Fortunately, the heliotrope here was well contained, as it can be a problem for me. After about an hour, the middle and base notes came through. Heliotrope was still evident, but now it was combined with a strong vanilla. I'm happy to report that this phase has good longevity. About three hours after application it occurred to me that I was reminded of YSL cinema. I don't know if other reviewers have noticed this?

Overall, this is a very pretty perfume for those wanting a vanilla powder bomb. It is clearly well made, but I do think the cool marketing is necessary for this to stand out from the crowd.

I have to confess that I am rather disappointed by A Lab on Fire WHAT WE DO IN PARIS IS SECRET, which I have worn now a couple of times. The perfume opens like a dozen different sandalwood-vanilla designer frags. Shockingly banal, actually. It does get better, but the memory of the opening is a tough hurdle to clear. I kept thinking of the slogan of which the name of this perfume appears to be a permutation: "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."

I took a look at the house's website, which introduces itself thus: "We are an ingenious niche limited-production fragrance house..." Huh. Not sure that I accept their self-ascribed ingeniousness--certainly not based on this creation, by the usually masterful Dominique Ropion. Even the subtitle of the name of this house, "The Unlikely Company" sounds like a rip-off of The Different Company. I wonder whether this house is like Linari: designer frags made with expensive ingredients for people with squeamish physiology?

In any case, as WHAT WE DO... dries down, the tolu balsam and ambergris become more pronounced, at which point there is quite a bit more depth. The honey adds a nice touch, but never does this perfume approach the brilliance of Ropion's Kenzo JUNGLE L'ELEPHANT. Désolée.

lots of sweet honey, vanilla and powder!
honey > vanilla > heliotrope in that order.
drydown, warm, sweet, ambery and musky.
nice romantic evening perfume, the name definitely suits it.
It blends well with skin warmth and lingers for a while too. something different in a good way.

Initially, I was really confused by this fragrance. My earliest review was a harsh first impression that simply did not last long. I find myself reaching for this more often than anything else these days. It is unique, sweet and rich while still having a powdery quality. Honey, musk, tulu balsam and amber are the most present to my nose, although the creamy vanilla and sweet powder make themselves known as well. I have gotten backup bottles because it is in my top 10 out of 200+ fragrances now. My fiance really likes it and asks me to wear it often. Really well blended, not a simple perfume by any means, but perfectly executed. I think the 100ish dollar price range for a 2 ounce niche perfume of this quality is a good deal. This is not something just anyone could replicate, it is not simple and the notes are tricky. Try it a few times, it might grow on you like it did for me! Wish it weren't limited, but it is worth hoarding for me.

UPDATE: No projection, whatsoever. So sad. Longevity okay, but I'll have to keep my nose buried in my wrist to confirm it is still there.

This scent is turning out to be disappointing. It's certainly not the best thing in my collection by far, a nice scent....not that unique, however. As I said earlier, it's reminiscent of other things in my collection. This could be a twin of Kenzo Amour...except KA is more enjoyable by far.

To my nose, this doesn't smell like YSL Paris at all as WWDIPIS is spicier and more resinous, but it does share notes with Paris.... It seems WWDIPIS may actually be rather redundant.

Also, the bottle is COMPLETELY lacking in imagination. I realize A Lab On Fire is going for the sterile, lab sample look with the bottle, but REALLY???!!!!! This is the most unattractive, cheapest looking bottle I have ever seen. Looks horrid amidst the beautiful bottles in my collection. For the high price tag, you would think ALOF could have created a bottle with just a little something with which to mesmerize the buyer, a little something to oooh and aahhh about....just a teensy little bit if nothing more than to offset the price tag. Alas, not even a smidgen of attractiveness. (Sorry, but this is reminiscent of a container for urine samples.)


Overall: NOT IMPRESSED

I've passed this on to my youngest daughter.
She sprays it on her pillow at night which is brilliant because you see she's asleep before she realizes this whisper of a potion has all but vanished!

I ordered a bunch of samples from LuckyScent to help with my ongoing search for a new signature scent. I started my experiments yesterday with "What We Do in Paris is Secret." I loved it in the vial: a warm, modern version of YSL's Paris, a scent that I wore for years in the late 80's /early 90's.
I was worried about the description of the smell as powdery, as that has been the death knell for most scents for me. My body chemistry tends to take that powder and run with it.
Not so here. It was sweet upon application to my elbow creases ( my preferred test spot) but soon ( within 5 minutes) warmed to a sexy skin scent. No real throw, but a lovely "hugger" type of smell.
Cheered that my chemistry hadn't wreaked it's usual havock on the scent, I went about my day running errands.
The sad thing here, is that I love the scent and it works well on me, but it does not last. There was no trace of the smell after 3 hours. I can't justify the money on something I'll have to reapply mid-day. :(

WHAT WE DO IN PARIS IS SECRET by A Lab On Fire is a very spicy (and pricey) creamy accord with a bit of honey which decadently sweetens this potion. LOVE that part...it's the best part but not lasting.

Then, more creaminess appears in the form of jasmine rice pudding. Yummy and enthralling at the same time.

There is a strange note in this one. I keep getting wafts of Play Doh! I didn't realize what that was at first. I think it's the litchi and the tolu balsam combination. I like it though. It smells very familiar, too, like something else in my collection.

To my nose, I think it resembles Kenzo Amour.....but Kenzo Amour has better sillage as well as longevity.

I have Kenzo on one wrist and What We Do....on the other and after the dry down, I can't tell them apart! Except that Kenzo has way more lasting power.

Baby powder mixed with powdered sugar. Leather, rubber, lots powder and animalic musk here for me. I could see how someone would like this, but it is not sweet or creamy to my nose (as described on luckyscent). Glad I sampled, this is unique, but not my cup of tea. The drydown is more pleasant, but not FB worthy for me. It is flat out weird but intriguing. I will finish my samples because if nothing else, this is interesting.

UPDATE: I tried this again and went through my entire sample and decided to buy it. It is very different to me now than my first impression. I get some creaminess and lots of sweetness in the form of a honeyed sweet powder aura. The musk is detectable along with what I believe is the tulu, and although it is powdery and sweet it is nothing like Loukhoum Pouderee. The powder in this is more like sweet baby powder. I got a bottle because it is limited and I think I would be bummed if I did not have it in my collection.

Update 2: I got my bottle from LS yesterday and I like this better sprayed on (as usual) than the sample. I wasn't sure if the bottle had a spray, but I know it does now. It is the most INTERESTING fragrance I have ever smelled. It lasts all night. I really cant describe it, I am happy I got a FB but I would not stock up and hoard this. The verdict is that it is very different, like a true niche perfume should be and I totally adore it.

I ordered a sample of this because I was so intrigued with the name of the scent. There is something about it that reminds me of Bvlgari Black, yet the notes are not similar. I get this hot rubber smell, just like in Black. Maybe it is my chemistry! I prefer Black actually much better. I believe the heliotrope combined with the honey just makes this fragrance way too sweet for me.

OH. MY. GOD. This is the most wonderfully intoxicating thing I have ever smelled in my life and I'm not even kidding. Go ahead, read all my reviews, I'm very fair and never vague and do my best to descibe the facets and feelings of each fragrance. Which is why its so wierd that I'm so inarticulate when describing this masterpeice. It has literally taken my breath away, but I will do my best here:

Warmth, leather, dollops of honey, sweet tobacco, vanilla, a soft breeze, memories and a pink and golden sunset all resting on top of warm, sunsoaked skin, in the middle of an enchanted forest. Aka, pure magic. This, to me, is the very definition of "if sexy had a smell."

I have never been more enamored by a fragrance and I'm still sort of in disbelief that this is really happening. Will be buying this in bulk, since now that it's in my life, I never want to be with out. Ever.