Plisson - Adventures in Int'l Commerce
Feb 16, 2015 22:17:54 GMT -6
norfolkdick and drumzalot like this
Post by spidey9 on Feb 16, 2015 22:17:54 GMT -6
A few months ago I purchased a L'Occitane Plisson synthetic brush and quickly realized that it was the most amazing brush I had ever used. Despite being unbelievably soft it was capable of making great lather with just about any soap I tried. I think I could make decent lather with it from a damp rock. All that softness made for an incredible face feel.
I could go on (and on and on), but the virtues of this brush are well documented in numerous other threads.
The only thing that did not wow me was the wooden handle. It has a light cheap feel, and there have been reports of the finish bubbling and knots separating.
I considered a custom handle, but then I discovered that while Plisson only marketed the one brush through L'Occitane, they market an extensive line of synthetic brushes in addition to the high quality badger brushes they have sold since 1808.
The problem is that Plisson apparently does not have a US distributor, requiring me to order my brush directly from blaireauxplisson.com and have it shipped from France. This proved to be a bit of an adventure (I speak no French at all). I will detail my experience in case anyone else in the US wishes to give this a try, especially since L'Occitane is no longer selling the brush.
First off, anyone considering doing this should use the Google Chrome browser. The reason for this will soon become evident.
I went to blaireauxplisson.com/ where the site detected my location and displayed in English. I clicked on “Fiber Brushes” and was shown 37 brushes with a variety of handles from mild to exotic.
Prices were displayed in Euros, but clicking on the dollar sign in the upper right corner took care of that. Prices are displayed in dollars, although the brushes are still actually priced in Euros. In other words, dollar prices will fluctuate day-to-day depending on the current exchange rate.
I clicked on “My Account” and created an account. I'm not sure if this is required, but it makes things easier later.
I selected the brush I wanted and added it to the shopping cart. Prices shown include the French VAT and no additional taxes are charged. I clicked on the cart icon in the upper right corner and selected “Checkout.” Here I learned that shipping was going to cost me roughly $30. Oh well.
The next screen calls for the shipping address. This is where creating an account pays off, as the address fields will be pre-populated. Next, the shipping method is selected, “La Poste - So Colissimo.” French Postal Service? I have no idea, but it doesn't matter since this is the only option offered. I also accepted the terms of service, and on to the next screen to select the payment method.
Again there is only one option, “Pay with your card or your PayPal account.” This is where things get interesting, as I was taken to a PayPal website that is entirely in French, and I could not find a way to make it display in English.
This is where Google Chrome comes in. Simply right-click on the page and select “Translate to English” and the Chrome browser will translate the page. Google Translate is far from perfect (“Your secure way to pay” comes out as “Your Reflex Security to pay”), but the page is mostly intelligible. Again most of the fields are pre-populated.
Next problem: I could not log into my PayPal account, possibly because this is a French PayPal website. No worries, I simply entered my credit card information directly. Since direct credit card billing is also handled by PayPal, I felt reasonably secure doing this. I clicked on “Pay Off” and my order was placed.
I placed the order on a Friday evening (Saturday morning in France). The following Monday I received an acknowledgement, and the next day a notice that my order had been shipped, although no tracking information was provided. Six days later my brush arrived.
My new brush has an acetate handle in a faux horn styling. It is considerably heavier that the L'Occitane brush – 2.2 oz (62 gm) vs. 1.8 oz (51 gm), has a more slender profile, and feels great in my hand. While the L'Occitane brush felt sort of cheap, this one exudes quality.
The knots in the two brushes appear to be identical, and the performance is mostly the same, although the additional weight seems to help when whipping up a lather in a bowl. It was definitely worth the shipping cost and fumbling through the website.
So far my AD has been limited to RAD, and I have avoided SBAD. That may change. The Plisson website shows a “palisanderwood and solid brass palladium plated” . . .
--Bob
I could go on (and on and on), but the virtues of this brush are well documented in numerous other threads.
The only thing that did not wow me was the wooden handle. It has a light cheap feel, and there have been reports of the finish bubbling and knots separating.
I considered a custom handle, but then I discovered that while Plisson only marketed the one brush through L'Occitane, they market an extensive line of synthetic brushes in addition to the high quality badger brushes they have sold since 1808.
The problem is that Plisson apparently does not have a US distributor, requiring me to order my brush directly from blaireauxplisson.com and have it shipped from France. This proved to be a bit of an adventure (I speak no French at all). I will detail my experience in case anyone else in the US wishes to give this a try, especially since L'Occitane is no longer selling the brush.
First off, anyone considering doing this should use the Google Chrome browser. The reason for this will soon become evident.
I went to blaireauxplisson.com/ where the site detected my location and displayed in English. I clicked on “Fiber Brushes” and was shown 37 brushes with a variety of handles from mild to exotic.
Prices were displayed in Euros, but clicking on the dollar sign in the upper right corner took care of that. Prices are displayed in dollars, although the brushes are still actually priced in Euros. In other words, dollar prices will fluctuate day-to-day depending on the current exchange rate.
I clicked on “My Account” and created an account. I'm not sure if this is required, but it makes things easier later.
I selected the brush I wanted and added it to the shopping cart. Prices shown include the French VAT and no additional taxes are charged. I clicked on the cart icon in the upper right corner and selected “Checkout.” Here I learned that shipping was going to cost me roughly $30. Oh well.
The next screen calls for the shipping address. This is where creating an account pays off, as the address fields will be pre-populated. Next, the shipping method is selected, “La Poste - So Colissimo.” French Postal Service? I have no idea, but it doesn't matter since this is the only option offered. I also accepted the terms of service, and on to the next screen to select the payment method.
Again there is only one option, “Pay with your card or your PayPal account.” This is where things get interesting, as I was taken to a PayPal website that is entirely in French, and I could not find a way to make it display in English.
This is where Google Chrome comes in. Simply right-click on the page and select “Translate to English” and the Chrome browser will translate the page. Google Translate is far from perfect (“Your secure way to pay” comes out as “Your Reflex Security to pay”), but the page is mostly intelligible. Again most of the fields are pre-populated.
Next problem: I could not log into my PayPal account, possibly because this is a French PayPal website. No worries, I simply entered my credit card information directly. Since direct credit card billing is also handled by PayPal, I felt reasonably secure doing this. I clicked on “Pay Off” and my order was placed.
I placed the order on a Friday evening (Saturday morning in France). The following Monday I received an acknowledgement, and the next day a notice that my order had been shipped, although no tracking information was provided. Six days later my brush arrived.
My new brush has an acetate handle in a faux horn styling. It is considerably heavier that the L'Occitane brush – 2.2 oz (62 gm) vs. 1.8 oz (51 gm), has a more slender profile, and feels great in my hand. While the L'Occitane brush felt sort of cheap, this one exudes quality.
The knots in the two brushes appear to be identical, and the performance is mostly the same, although the additional weight seems to help when whipping up a lather in a bowl. It was definitely worth the shipping cost and fumbling through the website.
So far my AD has been limited to RAD, and I have avoided SBAD. That may change. The Plisson website shows a “palisanderwood and solid brass palladium plated” . . .
--Bob