Sometimes life in Paris feels like living a dream. This was the case when I was invited on a private art tour of a closed Louvre Museum. The occasion was to discover the artful inspiration behind eight new limited edition Buly 1803 fragrances, each one created by a leading French perfumer. Ready for this exceptional tour?

Two weeks earlier I met with Victoire de Taillac who in 2014 along with her husband Ramdane Touhami, opened their all-natural fragrance emporium Buly 1803 first in Saint Germain and soon after in the Haut Marais. Read more about the brand in my Luxos feature. Now back to the Louvre tour, starting with “the most feminine woman on earth” Venus de Milo. What does she smell like, you wonder? According to the perfumer inspired by this femme fatale, an exhilarating blend of mandarine, jasmine and amber.

Walking around an empty Louvre was surreal! Joined only by a handful of fellow journalists from around the world, we were led through the stillness of centuries-old chambers by Victoire and our expert guide.

The next stop was to a personal favorite, La Victoire de Samothrace, the Greek goddess symbolizing victory.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, a Hellenistic marble sculpture of Nike, dates back to the 2nd century BC. I was completely taken by the majesty of this Greek goddess as we shared a moment in quietude. And her scent? A mix of tuberose, magnolia and jasmine with a hint of myrrh.

Our sensory tour continued to La Grande Odalisque, an oil painting by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres from 1814. As interpreted by the perfumer, her fragrance exudes incense and pink pepper along with musky notes.

Discretely hidden in the corner of the Louvre was painting Conversation in a Park by Thomas Gainsborough. As Victoire explained, this scent exudes notes of peppermint and bergamot along with Ottoman roses.

All of my senses were engaged as the tour continued from one empty room to another, the only other personalities present being those captured in frames upon the walls.

Our last stop was to Nymph with the Scorpion by Lorenzo Bartolini. This sculpture inspired a scent composed of heliotrope and jasmine with a touch of amber and musk.

While a tour of the closed Louvre isn’t available to the public, you can take a treasure hunt with THATMuse to discover many remarkable artworks, and have great fun while you’re at it. Trust me, I’ve been on a few!

Before leaving the Louvre we stopped at the Buly 1803 pop-up shop. Here I was able to sample all eight art inspired scents, along with their first collection of alcohol-free fragrances.

Obsessed with fragrances, my chosen scent was La Victoire de Samothrace. It brought me right back to Greece!

These Louvre inspired perfumes are available now until January 6th. In case you can’t make it to the Louvre Museum for your own sensory tour, these eight perfumes are also on sale at Buly 1803 and online.

Next time you encounter an artwork wherever you are in the world, imagine what it would smell like.