Created by : Raphael Haury

Date : 2005

Genre : Rose wood

Concentration : eau de parfum

When Gertrude Stein said, “There is no there there” she was talking about her home in Oakland, California but she might as well have been talking about Clarins’ Par Amour.  Launched as part of a mother-daughter set along with Par Amour Toujours edt (which I loved) Par Amour never seems to show up… and when it does, it outstays its welcome.  It’s similar to PAT but without the citrus notes and with the cedar note turned up loud.

For me, it smells like an infinished work… a sketch of a perfume that was perhaps the least offensive of a group and is missing a very important note… the beauty note.  I’m wondering if they ran out of money during the development phase because Par Amour Toujours (the “daughter” scent) is so beautiful and this one is so flat.  Think of cedar.  Then… add cedar.  Then… add more cedar.  Give it a rose subtext… I think.

I don’t know any women who would wear this kind of composition.  For that matter, I don’t know any men either.  It smacks of those hideous mother-daughter matching outfits… when it’s always mom who ends up looking ridiculous.  The daughter scent, Par Amour Toujours, is fabulous.  Par Amour, the “recut and resized” mother version, is well… not so fabulous.

This sad story ends with good and bad news.  The good news is that Par Amour has been discontinued.  The bad news?  They’ve discontinued Par Amour Toujours as well.  If they were smart, they would relaunch Par Amour Toujours, give it a new name and lose the little girl, pink valentine theme.  The juice is great.

P.S.  Both are still widely available on discount perfume websites.