Following the whirlwind of festive treating that’s gone on, we’re betting you’ve been at the very bottom of your own ‘to do’ list (if you appeared on it at all!) It’s time now to stop and treat yourself for a change – perhaps use up some of those vouchers or consider at least making the time to wonder what you want to wear, next, and who you want to be? Perfume can be a dressing-up-box of possibilities, so try these on for size…
KYLIE MINOGUE
Darling
If this is ringing bells, you’re spot-on: Kylie debuted Darling in 2006, acquiring quite the following, who grieved when their favoured fragrance was discontinued. Darling’s making a comeback – but with a modern spin; Firmenich perfumer Ilias Eremendis has captured the ‘architecture’ of the original in a vegan formula that offers up a bouquet of freesia, lily, boronia flower, topped by juicy fruits, with a curtain call of sandalwood, vanilla and amber.
£22 for 30ml eau de parfum
theperfumeshop.com
NISHANE
Favonius
Romantically inspired, the mythology and olfactory intelligence of this niche house radiate with every spritz of their floral-swagged invitation to dream. The Roman goddess of flowers is invoked via a clarion call of bright bergamot flecked with sparkling pink pepper; a ribbon of incense twirling to the geranium heart, twisted with a dash of herbaceous clary sage. This hint of verdant greenery soon segues to a dry-down that’s grounded in sweet, musky patchouli.
£295 for 100ml extrait de parfum
harrods.com
PACO RABANNE
Pacollection Blossom Me
Pacollection has been making quite the packaging splash, via innovative, patented ‘Airmetal’ pouches, comprised of 50% natural origin materials. We now welcome three additions to the line-up: fruity oudh Major Me (Emilie Coppermann), irreverent Dandy Me, and Marie Salamagne’s Blossom Me, an ‘eccentric’ floral infusion in which soft orange blossoms, cool vetiver, mandarin and mint combine to offer a first-of-its-kind harmony, in the intriguing form of a ‘solar vegetal’ splash.
£65 for 62ml eau de parfum
pacorabanne.com
TOM FORD
PRIVATE BLEND ÉBÈNE FUMÉ
Palo Santo is a purifying, sacred incense wood, used in ritual, that has curled smokily though many recent creations. Here, this woody-amber incarnation is deliberately meditative; as Tom Ford says, it has ‘an almost spiritual sensuality that uplifts your mood.’ It smoulders alongside dry cade essence, resinous cistus absolute, roses, guaiac and ebony woods. The trick it carries off? This would be equally at home in a yoga class or on the dance floor.
£178 for 50ml eau de parfum
tomford.co.uk
BRIONI
Eau de Parfum Intense
A Lusciously luminous duo of citrus oils first beguiles the senses, radiant bergamot and juicy mandarin studded with highly aromatic pink peppercorn in cool opening notes. A deeper plunge into the suave world of this sophisticated fashion house’s aesthetic, Michel Almairac suffuses the base with patchouli, oudh and Ambroxan, threads of suede-like saffron woven with a swoosh of crisp apple, a fragrant flash akin to the silky moiré that lines their wool jackets.
From £85 for 60ml eau de parfum
brioni.com
