We are all for the trend for smaller perfume bottles. Easier on the shoulder. (Less to lug around.) Easier on the wallet, too. And they also make it easier to build a ‘wardrobe’ of fragrances: we live by Aerin Lauder‘s observation that ‘you wouldn’t wear the same pair of shoes with every outfit – so why the same fragrance…?’
We recently marked the launch of new 30ml sizes of three of Clive Christian‘s bestselling fragrances with a customised ‘How to Improve Your Sense of Smell’ workshop for bloggers and journalists, and got to revisit these sublime scents – which include ‘The World’s Most Expensive Perfume’, the famous, Guiness Book of Records entry Clive Christian No.1.
In its beautifully gilded bottle – as always, topped with a crown (as a nod to Clive Christian’s Crown Perfumery roots), No.1 for Women showcases some of perfumery’s priciest and most precious ingredients. Utterly feminine and oh-so-elegant, it intoxicates with jasmine, ylang ylang, musk and smooth sandalwood (alongside bright touches of pineapple, plum and lemon), ultimately subsiding into an ambery-vanillic warmth.
1872 comes in a beautiful green glass bottle, protecting the exquisite Rose de Mai flowers inside – it takes 170 heads of this flower for just one drop of 1872 for Women! It’s bright in the opening, with citrussy bergamot, lemon, tangerine, bursting forth ‘as if popped from a Champagne bottle’, as they put it. On the skin, over time, its sophisticated Chypre qualities emerge, revealing that fragrance family’s traditional signature of patchouli and moss alongside cedarwood, sandalwood and musk. As with all Clive Christian fragrances, its ‘sillage’ is fantastic, lasting for hours and hours…
X, meanwhile, is showcased in sexy black – a soft and sensual fruity Chypre,, in which jasmine is sharpened by fruit elements including tart rhubarb, peach and pineapple. Labdanum, vanilla and a white flower essence of karo kirundi also feature in what is indubitably the sexiest of Clive Christian creations.
These darling downsized bottles are available in the men’s and women’s fragrances, for each of the trio. Complex, deep, sophisticated: this is perfumery at its most ‘grown-up’ and beguiling. If you have not yet explored them, take your time – it’s worth the investment.
What’s more, to celebrate the debut of these smaller bottles, founder Clive Christian himself has signed a copy of the history of this unique British perfume house for one of our VIP Subscribers to win. If you’d like that to be you, make sure you’re logged in to the site and click here…
These new 30ml sizes are priced from £110 for 30ml
Buy them at Selfridges
www.clivechristianperfume.com
