Everything I Packed - and Bought - on a European Perfume Pilgrimage
How to pack for 4-5 countries, 3 weeks, in a EU-airline approved carryon
Hello friends. I just got back from a perfume pilgrimage through a bunch of different cities and countries. It was so good; I am so grateful I went. And I want to share what I got and how I packed for it!
I am very good at packing, and I am decent at not dressing like a tourist when I travel. I say decent because I will always look like a tourist in some places that don’t have a big Asian population - I will always be othered in European countries, the difference in acceptance stems from if I look like a European tourist or an American one. I used to be the kind of traveler that simply always looked like I flew in from New York - all black Issey pleats and a NYC baseball cap, rinse and repeat, regardless of the weather. I think, lovingly, that this is dumb when you are going to be somewhere hot where wearing black will melt you and you aren’t acknowledging the humidity or the weather where you’re going. It is one thing to be proud to be from somewhere; it is another to become a mark.
With this in mind, I have adapted my wardrobe over the years to be more inclusive of where I’m actually going - and it has made a big difference in my level of comfort, safety, and reception wherever I go.
An IG from Tokyo 7 or 8 years ago - I used to always travel with a leather jacket? They are so heavy, yes they had plenty of pockets, but my back - I don’t travel with it anymore for the most part.
The Stuff I Bring Now:
No thick fabrics, only sensible layers as required. I don’t bring fuzzy or heavy textiles even if the weather is cold; I pack a Uniqlo Heat-Tech undershirt and leggings and similar thermal Thinsulate as necessary for chilly days, 1 single cashmere cardigan or pullover sweater, and/or a pashmina shawl for AC and colder breezes. This all packs down into virtually nothing, a small compression cube’s worth of stuff. Most importantly, they’re all fast and easy to handwash and re-use during travel.
When using packing cubes, you layer in sheets to size, you don’t roll things up. You can pack more that way and the compression cubes zip up easier. Roll in the spaces around packing cubes to maximize your luggage - but rolling up and then shoving them into cubes is a poor use of space.
I pack simple classics that pair easily and 2 statement pieces in case of fancy things, and those fancy things have to take up minimal space and ideally not require ironing or steaming. For me, this means I just pick whatever Issey Miyake dresses make sense for the trip and call it a day (lol). I have a drawer full of real Issey, campy dupes, and the Uniqlo pleat alternatives; given that people have stolen my dresses off of my clothesline before (may the thieves rot in hell btw) I mix and match with no guilt or preference. Pleats Please is an ideal travel wardrobe: it condenses into nothing, handwashes and dries quickly, looks stylish, and is breezy and forgiving to wear in all kinds of scenarios.
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I made a shoppable list of the actual items I packed you can peruse here - the suitcase I use, including the other packing materials. I have never been sponsored by these brands, nor have they sent me anything for editorial consideration. The cosmetics bag is the only thing I did get for free at a CLEARSTEM event. It would not work for international travel requirements for liquids, but it’s still a perfectly nice bag for other things, and if you’re doing a weekend trip and can bring full sized products somewhere.
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Before I travel anywhere, I pre-research and populate a Google Map of vintage, consignment, and local artisanal designer places to check out, but I prioritize locally made pieces suggested by locals themselves. There are only a few cities I’ve been where I’d say the vintage or thrifting scene is truly remarkable; a lot of vintage is imported from America to other countries, so I’m not going to go out of my way to pay a markup for Americana fetishism or, god forbid, a “vintage” Forever21 skirt at a Gen Z run boutique in a cute alley. A lot of souvenir shops and consignment stores have a kind of global placelessness about them now - you can get their stock anywhere, so why bother going out of your way? And to be honest, I have a wardrobe I’m already happy with - so any additions have to hold true sentimental value to me.
The Stuff I Bought
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This trip I went to Lisbon, Porto, Marseille, Monte-Carlo, Grasse, Antibes, Figueres, and Barcelona - all places I’ve never been, and Grasse is somewhere I’ve been wanting to go for many years, as it is the birthplace of *European* perfumery. I wanted to go to the place where my own perfume love stories began, so I did, and I touched the walls in which the perfumers lived. I smelled the originals; the entire town is so fragrant. It meant a lot to me.
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I’ve been holding out for some assignment to send me to Grasse on someone else’s dime for years, but I gave up on that and decided to go on my own and pay myself back later through budgeting and work commissions. Since this trip all came out of my own pocket, I had to be mindful of my budget for perfumes I’ve brought home - I didn’t find many I wanted in the small perfume shops sprinkled in Grasse, and the ones I really liked in niche perfume stores in Barcelona and Marseille were mostly ones I could get back in the States anyway.
I did buy several in the end, of course. At Galimard in Grasse, I bought the entire rollerball line of the Muscs, above, because I’d actually wear them. This is the one I bought - you can buy it online as well, if you want a set for yourself too. Oud Jasmin and Sensuel Saffron were instant decisions for me.
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The International Parfum Museum in Grasse was one of the highlights of my trip - I think I’d tie it with Salvador Dali’s Theater and Museum in Figueres, which I’m still thinking about and talk about later. The Fragonard Parfum Factory in Grasse is very fun and you can walk through the production floor for free without scheduling anything in advance. You see them distilling, soap making, bottling products, and you can build your own fragrances or discovery set as well. Well worth the trip, IMO!
I’ll break down my visits in each place in future posts but wanted to share this stuff first, since people have been texting me asking what I brought home since I landed back home a few days ago. Now I can send them all here! I hate texting!!!
And of course - I’ve made a Google Map of the places I went and will link to that in future posts too - I just have to clean it up a little before sharing it. :)
Perfumed Pages Summer Sessions will feature creative prompts that inspired this trip and include answers from perfumers I met on my travels. It’s open to international participants, of all scent levels, and can be experienced asynchronously. Booking is open and will close July 1st. Writers, illustrators, perfumers, video creators - all kinds of creatives are welcome to join and respond to the prompts as they see fit! I hope you will join us.
Talk to you soon,
Arabelle