Sometimes we all need some extra comfort, the protection of a reassuring hug. So, if you’ve been feeling particularly anxious, over-worked or just more than usually stressed (and frankly, who can blame you?!) we suggest reaching for one of these recently released scents to help soothe your cares away in fragrant form…
INITIO PARFUMS Musk Therapy
Initio fragrances ‘initiate perfume as an object of power’ – a concept we very much connect with. We could all do with some therapy after the past year, and the feather-soft white musk here fluffs around the edges of magnolia (we told you last year this flower would be blooming!) Blackcurrant provides a piquant edge, immediately smoothed and soothed by the assuring purity of sandalwood. Spray whenever you need a ‘me-moment’ of escape.
£205 for 90ml eau de parfum
harrods.com
ISSEY MIYAKE A Drop d’Issey
Almost 30 years on from the launch of the iconic l’Eau d’Issey, it’s still blazing a trail. This exquisite droplet-design bottle is created from recycled glass, the outer box with 70% recycled paper, many ingredients are sourced via ethical and sustainable partnerships – and oh, did we mention that Ane Ayo’s creation smells sublime? A gauzy, feminine veil pairing lilac and orange blossom, star anise and jasmine, resting on creamy musks, biovanillin and Ambrox.
£56 for 50ml eau de parfum
boots.com
AMAN Haru
Aman’s sculpturally-bottled scents are inspired by their peerless, understated luxury destinations around the world – in this case, Aman Tokyo. ‘Haru’ translates as ‘spring’; Tokyo is renowned for its cherry blossom festival, thus perfumer Jacques Chabert (who has applied his talents across all the Aman scents) layers the floatiest petalled floral notes with apricot and green tea, fluttering towards a dry-down that whispers with tobacco and maté tea, delivering a sense of calming harmony.
£220 for 50ml eau de parfum
shop.aman.com
BVLGARI Splendida Patchouli Tentation
We happen to be fully signed-up members of the filthy patchouli fan club at TPS, marvelling that many are still put off by the ‘hippy headshop’ legacy. Fear not, naysayers, this contains a patchouli accord exclusively designed for the house – but it’s a gauzy shimmer of orris-dusted white peach on a sumptuously soft caress of white musk. Enough to convert anyone, we feel, and fresh enough for the most humid of days.
£78 for 50ml eau de parfum
selfridges.com
PARLE MOI DE PARFUM Haute Provence / 89
Endless vistas of Provençal lavender fields and their ‘glorious explosion of purple, mauve, lilac and blue’ were the inspiration behind this wonderfully soothing, aromatic ‘memory of France in high summer.’ Until we can wander those fields first-hand, this cool, dry and immediately nostalgic scent spirits us there with every spritz. Refreshing watermelon and hypnotic narcissus only add to the bucolic charms, and once again we praise the nose of Michel Almairac. Mais oui!
£98 for 50ml eau de parfum
lessenteurs.com
By Suzy Nightingale
