The Jasmine Awards list (and why we couldn't be more pleased, even though we didn't win this year!)

We were thrilled to be among such prestigious company at the Fragrance Foundation‘s Jasmine Awards, this morning. Standing in a roomful of friends, colleagues and contemporaries and with a particularly diverse list of finalists, this year, our hearts really did swell with pride…
Held annually at BAFTA, each year a new panel of judges is recruited to narrow down the nominations and decide the eventual winners – with designers, fashion experts, professional writers and representatives of the publishing world and leading retailers all having their place. Chaired by an expert in the fragrance industry, Joanna Norman has spent nearly 30 years working in fragrance – and the panel read through literally hundreds of submissions before making their final decisions.
We were particularly delighted to see utter legend James Craven win a well-deserved award for his writing, and to see such important issues as mental health addressed so boldly – Laurin Taylor‘s piece for Basenotes website was brave, inspirational and (we hope) really gave readers pause for thought. We have long known and embraced the fact that fragrance journalism of all kinds can and should be exploring people’s personal relationships with scent – from reporting ground-breaking scientific research to heartfelt emotional pieces: it’s where food and wine writing was perhaps ten years ago and the more artfully conceived and thoughtful features we see, the better. Finally, readers and the industry at large are taking it as seriously as we do!
And here’s that list of winners – we urge you to read their features (linked where possible below) along with seeking out all the finalists’ features – because honestly, a more genuinely passionate group of perfume writers you’d be hard-pushed to find…
CUSTOMER/HOUSE MAGAZINE AWARD
Les Senteurs: The Wearing of the Green – James Craven
DIGITAL AWARD
The Pool: A Scent for Self Appreciation – Lizzie Ostrom
DIGITAL EXPERIENCE AWARD
The Candy Perfume Boy: Six Scents to Put Hairs on Your Chest – Thomas Dunckley
LITERARY AWARD
Good Housekeeping: Every Scent Tells a Tale – Joanne Harris
SOUNDBITE MAGAZINE AWARD
Harrods Magazine: Midnight Garden – Jan Masters
SOUNDBITE NEWS PRESS AWARD
The Times: Real Men Wear Scent – Lesley Thomas
INDEPENDENT SOUNDBITE AWARD
The Candy Perfume Boy: Eau so Masc – Thoughts on Gender in Perfume and The Rive Gauche Rebellion – Thomas Dunckley
PRACTICAL GUIDE AWARD
Basenotes.net: The Top Ten Niche Fragrances Every Beginner Should Try – Claire Vukcevic
VISUAL AWARD
Harrods Magazine: A Perfume Paints a Thousand Words –Jan Masters & Roberto Greco
CREATIVE VISUAL AWARD
Harrods Magazine: All of a Quiver – Jan Masters, David Newton, Barney Pichard & Rebecca Baio
INDEPENDENT LITERARY AWARD
Basenotes.net: Scenting My Mental Illness – Laurin Taylor
RISING STAR AWARD
The Perfume Shop SCENTS Blog: The Year of Milk Notes – Laura Carbran

Also recognised at the Awards were the winners of the ‘Junior Jasmines’ the ‘Mighty Nose Awards’ A creative writing competition which challenges primary school children to pen smell-inspired poems specifically written on the subject of smells. The judging panel comprised of Chairman of the Judging Panel Josh Lacey – Children’s Author, Nicky Cox MBE – Editor of First News and Mary Hooper- Young Adults and Children’s Author.

Years 3 & 4

First prize went to Year 4 Bella Barlow for her poem called ‘Smell Seasons’ from Shiplake Primary School and the runner up was Year 3 Aoife Lynch for her poem ‘The smells’ from St Mary’s School.

Years 5 & 6

First prize went to Year 6 Isobel Young for her poem ‘The things I see with my nose’ from Peppard Primary School and the runner up, Year 5 Lena Akil for her poem ‘Smells of Santa’s Workshop’ from Sheffield Girls’ Infant and Junior School.

Written by Suzy Nightingale