Photo of Best of France  Entrance Sept 27-28 in Times Square by Hernando 

The Third Best of France (formerly Taste Of France) Event was held September 26 & 27 in New York City.  The event brought French Elegance and Luxury to the heart the city…Times Square, which was closed to traffic.   A Francophile’s delight, NYC was tres francais for the weekend.  The event was organized by the New York French Community in partnership with many prominent French brands. Brands attending included notable names from the Culinary Art, Fashion, Beauty, Fragrance, Tourism, Art, Culture, Performing Arts and Technology.  The mission was to promote all things French and many ex-pats and visitors attended so the vibe was of a pop up private French club.

Best of France Times Square NYC 2015 (Photo by Hernando)

Beauty exhibitors showcased the elegance and sophistication of French beauty rituals through such notable companies as L’OREAL, LANCÔME and CLARINS.   Fashion Shows during both days were set in a spectacular space around a central giant Runway with GALERIES LAFAYETTE and MOULIN ROUGE coming to life. Makeup artists, hair stylists and beauty professionals were presenting their models out in the open for the public.  French cuisine was highlighted with cooking demonstrations by top chefs from Maitres Cuisiniers de France and Académie Culinaire de France. Throughout the weekend, French singers and artists performed contemporary and classic French music which included French artists, DJ's, Parisian dancers and Francois Damide's Claude Francois Tribute Show. Those in the industry may not know his alter ego, the French entertainer Claude François, best known for co-writing "Comme d'habitude" (which became Frank Sinatra's "My Way").  Saturday night’s performance was attended by Karen Dubin (founder of Sniffapalooza).  “Francois comes alive onstage and is amazing to watch, full of energy and enthusiasm. With a wink of humor… he has the soul of a true entertainer”, she said.

At the MANE booth Best of France 2015 (Photo by Hernando)

The Best of France Fragrance booth was presented by Crafting Beauty and MANE, who presented their collaboration, 6 months in the works, a fragrance and candle. Francois  Damide, Founder/ President Crafting Beauty) and Michel Mane, President of MANE are the foreign trade advisors of the French government.

Francois Damide  of Crafting Beauty

The Best of France fragrance created for the event was composed by master perfumer Ralf Schwieger (House of MANE). Featuring natural citrus oils from the South of France the lemon, lime, mandarin and orange essences from this year’s harvest blend softly with extracts of orange blossom petals and fresh green leaves. The coriander and spearmint impart an herbal freshness and the musk with warm vetiver give it a gentle sensuality. Price: $59.00   3.4 oz / 100 ml. Customers can also choose their favorite bottle from a selection of four different styles.

Let Perfume Talk MANE

The Best of France candle was created by perfumer Jim Schmitt (House of MANE). This commemorative candle captures the crisp, sparkling aroma of a fresh ripe apple. A tribute to the Big Apple, and apple picking season of NY State. Price: $65.00   16 oz / 450 gr.

The Best of France fragrance and candle are available for sale on http://www.parfumeriedefrance.com/. 

–Hernando Courtright, NYC Event Contributor

Thanks to Francois Damide of Crafting Beauty/Parfumerie de France we have a  Registered reader’s choice in the Con USA ONLY of either

 

The Best of France 2015 Limited Edition EDP

or

Best of France 2015 candle.

To be eligible please leave a comment with something French you adore that is NOT perfume, your choice of fragrance  with your choice of bottle style UN, DEUX TROIS OR QUATRE) or the candle. Draw closes 10/6/2015

We announce the winners on our site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume