Unique Destination Experiences: France’s La Belle Ecole Does It Right

The company offers classes in six categories: gastronomy, art of tasting, floral arranging, etiquette (includes table setting), elegance (makeup, hat decoration, jewelry design) and decorative arts and design (charcoal portraiture, trompe l’oeil painting). New this year is French gallantry and savoir-faire for men, explaining that “Gallantry is the number one weapon in the Art of seduction.” (It would be interesting to know what nationalities sign up for that one). One can take a several hour class starting at 60 Euros depending on the class subject or for a week in the case of floral arranging for 2500 Euros. I took their perfume making class together with an English translator sent by the school and five French women of all ages. We went through all the steps, from choosing a perfume base from 14 families of scents to doing the same for the “heart” of the fragrance and then for the “topper”. We took our creations away in a perfume bottle with atomizer complete with a label announcing our own brand name.

It’s tough to completely get away from one’s life’s work, so when one of the other students, a twentyish attractive brunette, said she couldn’t come up with a name for her creation, I offered up the name of “Seducion por Karen”, Karen being me (that way she’d have a story to tell her friends about taking a class with an American). They keep a record of each participant’s ingredients so it’s possible to reorder the same fragrance. The perfume turned out to be just the right present for my husband. And as luck would have it, I also found a gift for my teenage son in the same shop. The class was an unforgettable experience and I can’t wait to take more next year. Here’s hoping La Belle Ecole thrives and expands to other destinations.