If there’s one thing I love other than beauty (naturallement!) is travel. Its what keeps me going at work, knowing that what I do helps fund my wanderlust. And when I travel, I rarely carry my favourite scents with me, because a) I don’t have miniatures of them; b) some if not all bottles aren’t travel friendly and c) I don’t decant anything much less fragrances. So, when I received a surprise gift of the J’adore Purse Spray for my birthday, I could not contain a little squeal of delight. Here finally, was one of my favourite scents in a travel spray!
As you can see, the regular J’adore bottle isn’t conducive to travel at all. The long neck and cap, albeit elegant does not lend itself well to packaging, and the glass bottle would be a disaster if it broke. When I travel I tend to carry with me random perfume miniatures I pick up here and there but some scents aren’t something I particularly like. I realise there are travel perfume sprays available, where you can decant your favourite perfume to take on the go but lets just say I don’t quite like doing because I’m a klutz and perfumes are expensive things to make a mistake with, and the design is lost. Call it a personal quirk.
This one from Dior comes as a case, with 3 x 20ml refills. Its very handy, because its small enough to fit in your handbag, yet large enough to hold comfortably in your hand.
The case itself is very sleek with the distinctive cannage print in gold around the bottom of the case, contrasted with the signature deep blue Dior packaging. As you can see, the size isn’t terribly large, yet sits comfortably in my hand and has a decent heft.
When I first received it, I almost broke the case, trying to separate the top half from the bottom half. I mean, its only natural to do that to get to the spray right? 😛 No? Well, don’t. The case operates on a twist mechanism, rather like a lipstick.
So, you twist the case and the gold cap will reveal itself as the spray. Twist it back, and it goes back to being a sleek case again. And as you might expect, the thought that went into the packaging was really something. The lines of the square tube are hardly disturbed, because by the time you fully expose the spray pump, the lines of the top half will realign with the bottom.
Did you see that? On the left, the line is all off, but on the right, once the pump is fully expose, the line of the tube is all sleek and smooth again. I appreciated that!
There are instructions in the box on how to replace the perfume refills, but I had a tough time initially too. The key here is not to be rough with the packaging (unlike me 😛 ) To change the perfume refill, twist up to expose the spray, grip the gold spray bit and gently but firmly, tug on it.
Do it right, and the whole glass bottle will slide out of the case. Then, remove the cap and replace the new bottle, slide it back and voila! Done. If you are a bit rough with it as I was, then I initially ripped off the whole spray cap. I thought I’d broken it at first, but soon realised that I hadn’t, but without the cap, you can’t get the bottle out of the case.
I like the idea of having one of my favourite scents with me so I fully appreciated this gift. J’adore wasn’t a scent I liked off hand many years ago because I found it too strong and floral; but I think perceptions of scents change now and again and these days, despite it being a floral scent, I find I wear it quite often. I wonder if age has anything to do with it *gasp!*
The EdT is light enough for the day, and it lasts long enough for a work day. Its quite useful that although its an “old” scent, having been around for years and a classic in Dior’s fragrace stable, I don’t smell it on many women around me, which is always a good thing 🙂
It turns out that Dior does the refillable Purse Sprays for J’adore, Miss Dior and Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet and the cases come with a gold (J’adore) or silver (Miss Dior) band. Refills of a pack of 3 are also available separately. I truly appreciated this gift and if you know someone who enjoys the scents and travel too, it makes a great gift. Gift-giving season is at hand! 😉
Do you take your favourite perfumes with you when you travel? Do you decant your perfumes or use miniatures or travel sizes?
If I have my favourite scents in miniatures, I take those along. But if I don’t then I make do with whatever samples I have. I don’t decant, as I have said above for my own reasons. But I guess I don’t have to think about that now 😉
Paris B
Dior Purse Sprays come in J’adore, Miss Dior and Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet refills Price: RM245 (EdT J’adore), RM285 for 3x20ml refills Availability: Dior counters
Thinking of my future travels/purchases definitely gets me through the day too! Work to live, not live to work 😉
I tend not to take my favourite perfumes away, but buy more where I’m going! So naughty!
Not naughty, Sam – smart! 😉 Some people buy perfumes when they travel so it serves as a momento of their holiday.
this is such an awesome idea! i do decant fav perfumes into those tiny spray bottle, but the trouble is the refilling part. just get a good quality bottle and it never spills
I’m a little afraid of decanting to be honest but I hear the Travalo bottles are good. I was always curious though – what happens if you want to change perfumes?
I use 2 Travalos for daily wear because perfumes don’t seem to last on me (even EdPs!). I find that it’s really easy to refill and not all perfume houses do purse sprays. I’m currently wearing Clean’s Skin (a very unique barely there perfume which smells like you have clean skin LOL) and Paul Smith’s Rose (which I always get complimented on).
I sniffed Clean’s Fresh Laundry (I think that’s what its called) and it totally smelled like fresh laundry so I get what you mean by clean skin! So many people recommend Travalo. Looks like I’ll have to give it a go 🙂
Some people had problems with their Travalos leaking in-flight but I haven’t had the chance to test it out yet. I just keep mine in my handbag for on the go touchup.
I did sniff Fresh Laundry and cotton T-shirt but they didn’t smell as good on me.
You lucky girl! I did think it’s a lipstick to start with. What gorgeous design!!
I guess I am, Tammy! It sure does look like a lipstick doesn’t it? So sleek!
I like the case… classy. Good for you Paris. Now you can travel with your favourite scent! Usually when I travel, I’ll bring my favourite scent with me. If I have the miniature/travel size at hand, I’ll bring it. Otherwise… hehe, I’ll just bring the regular bottle :p I don’t have the confidence to decant, haha! Too expensive to make a mistake with.
Wow Rin, you actually pack the full bottles? I’m always so afraid of them breaking so I tend to just use the sample vials LOL
I bought a Travalo set because my favourite scent is discontinued and I only have the large bottles stocked up. Nowadays, I tend to look out for smaller sizes too because they are so much more portable. Too bad I’m not a fan of Jadore, else I’d be all over this new travel kit.
Yay for Travalos! I think they’re very handy 🙂
Ok looks like I have to check out Travalo. How do you handle changing different scents? Or do you use one per scent?
I haven’t tried changing scents yet so I’m not sure how easy it would be to clean out. But I’ve checked the Travalo website and it seems pretty straight forward. My set came with 2 bottles and I think I purchased from an airport or flight.
Oh I read about this. I think there’s another for Miss Dior too. I have 2 Travalos so I don’t have a problem with bringing perfumes with me…. even though they’re really not the same compared to yours here. It’s gorgeous!
So many people talking about Travalos I guess I’d have to take a look at them! 🙂 How do you switch scents with those though? Or do you just use one per scent? That’s what tends to bug me too LOL!
Such a lovely and thoughtful gift! I don’t bring perfume when I travel simply because I don’t have a miniature in my favourite and the fact that when I travel, I am really dressed up like one and perfume is optional. Personally I’ve always loved Ralph Lauren perfume and my true love is Romance 🙂 I only have a gigantic bottle which is a hazard to travel with. J’adore is enticing when it was first launched, somehow it reminded me of the tribal long necked women and I think I have long neck too…
Ahh Romance! I remember that I really loved it when it was first launched. I managed to get a miniature but for some weird reason, a few months later, it didn’t smell as good on me anymore. Its so frustrating when that happens! 😛 I tend to travel really grungy too, but I keep a little bottle of perfume on hand because it helps you smell good if you don’t, and if you have a nice place to go to in the evenings, you need a nice scent to go with that 😉
I never buy miniature or anything like above,eyh,why I never think about it? I should buy one for travel because bringing the full sized perfume in my handbag is quite troublesome (too fragile,sometimes when Im searching for keys,or tissues,I have the tendency to drop it out of the bag,happened once,cried and regretted). If Im running out of secured space in my bag,I only bring spray deodorant that smells nice and long lasting such as Adidas for Women. Otherwise,I would dump everything into my bag for the sake of ‘just-in-case’.
Wow, you carry your full sizes with you? I salute you! 😉 A friend I know carries a miniature in her bag so she can freshen up throughout the day. I thought it was genius. Sometimes, a little spritz of perfume can make a difference between a good day and a bad one 🙂 I have to know this, Juanneth – what bag do you use? It must be huge! LOL!
Agreeable! Too many to mention Paris,but you’re right,they are all huge. Anyone who knows me would knows that I’m abusive towards my handbags and they’re often called ‘poket Doraemon’. Somehow,I think oversized ones is a practical handbag. It can be double up as a weapon or emmm….. a pillow. Ooops!
“Poket Doraemon” LOL!! I was quite taken by the big bag trend once, but my back couldn’t take it anymore.
Very clever traveler … Sleek too… I wonder do they sell the case for public?
Hmm… not that I know of, Shija. You have to buy the first set, but I suppose once you are done with the scents, you can wash out the bottle then use it for your other fragrances? I’m just guessing, really… but that’s an excellent idea 😛
Oh, this is nice!
Eyeing either of them? 😉
Yep, love the travel one. Think it’s really genius of Dior to hide their perfume in the Addict Extreme kind of packaging, pulling the tube out… =D
Oooh! This is much larger than I had expected — I think, with the packaging, I was anticipating something almost lipstick-sized? I am absolutely loving the design of these, though; very purse-safe and portable.
(P.S. I don’t decant, either. I’d like to be able to, but I’m just not coordinated enough for it! Anything worth travelling with would be too headache-inducing if I made a mess of it, but I’m not against taking carded samples or Sephora-decanted samples with me instead :P)
I know right, Rae? I originally thought it would be smaller too but I like this size. Its big enough yet small enough, if that made any sense at all. Like you, I’m afraid of my poor motor skills. Emptying a bottle of perfume all over my table isn’t my idea of a home scent 😉
I’ve never tried that scent before but now you’ve peaked my interest. Love the container!
Do take a sniff the next time you’re at a counter, Marla and see if it suits you 😉
I use Travalos as well as its so convenient. It does run out pretty quickly though as you can’t fill right up n changing a scent is a bit of a pain but otherwise I love it!
Love your new travel set 🙂 I have one for Dune and its pretty as well ( but sadly I don’t use Dune).
Ooh Petrina, you mention changing scents. How do you do that? I mean do you have to wash it out after every perfume or…?
Thats a great idea! It looks great, very elegant. I wish more brands made something like this (Yes, Jo Malone!)
Me, when I travel I take miniatures, even if they re not of my favourite scent. This way I save space and maybe discover something new 🙂
I think its a great idea for more brands to pick this up too! I saw that Annick Goutal does a special one for Petite Cherie and it comes as a GWP here. I may have to splurge so I can take my favourite scent everywhere with me 😛 – what an excuse >.<
When I was a uni student, I had only 1 perfume and it was Romance. I found the aluminium casing glass spray bottle in muji, so I just transferred some Romance into it. In those times I didn’t have travelos so I sprayed directly into the tiny glass bottle… It worked quite well. Problem is when it’s used up and I thought of changing to a different perfume, the smell of Romance just couldn’t be rid off no matter how long I aired it dry. In the end I just put the bottle in my underwear / bra drawers which infused a little smell to my lingerie. 🙂
These days I don’t travel as often. So when I do, I’ll buy new perfume to remind me of my trip. 🙂
“I just transferred some Romance into it” Best quote of the day LOL! 😀 I used to see the travel perfume bottles but they all looked so fiddly which is why I never wanted to try using them. It looks like Travalos come highly recommended so I might give those a go 😉 I am however worried about changing perfumes because I’m too fickle to just use one all the time.
I’m a sucker for sleek packaging and this screams out yay to me. What a great thing that this came in your favourite scent, eh?
Hey, just out of curiosity, is it Miss Dior or Miss Dior Cherie you were referring to? I don’t recall a Miss Dior scent and on googling it, it’s one of the older ones. If it’s Miss Dior Cherie (squat, fat bottle with a bow on its cap and coral-y coloured juice) I might be tempted since this is on rotation as my winter scent too 🙂
Also, you HAVE to try a travalo one day. It’s found a permanent spot in my bag in summer because a quick spritz always refreshes me 🙂
I think its Miss Dior – Can’t keep up with all the perfumes available but I love Miss Dior Cherie too! I’m thinking once I’m done with this set of J’Adore scents, I can reuse the bottles 😀
Oh man, these look amazing! *___* Should note this down on my Christmas wish list.
Yes! Practical, chic and absolutely gorgeous 😀
Heart the travel bottle! 😀
Do you know Chanel has a very similar travel bottle design for their fragrances too? I was that close to getting sucked into buying the Mademoiselle because of the travel bottle design. Luckily the husband was there to keep me grounded. Haha. Too bad my favorite scent doesn’t have a travel bottle like this. Now I might need to invest in one or two Travalo. Hehe. 😛
Hmm I didn’t know that about Chanel! I can’t seem to be able to wear Chanel fragrances although I seem to remember quite liking Chance. Not that I can remember how it smells like now…
I rarely use perfume anymore nowadays… but wouldn’t mind getting this as a gift ^.^
Might just prompt you to start again eh? 😉