Sultry nights and lingering glances, this week’s latest launches hit the hot spot for summer evenings. YSL Black Opium Neon is a new take on the much loved original, whilst Elie Saab Le Parfum Essential comes in a bottle to swoon for. Narciso Rodriguez Bleu Noir adds a touch of midnight cool under the stars.
ELIE SAAB
LE PARFUM ESSENTIEL
Can there be too many iterations of orange blossom and patchouli? Absolutely not! Here, a new interpretation of the modern classic, by perfumer Maïa Lernout, adds the sumptuously creamy floral of notes gardenia to the mix, which feels like the height of summer, somehow, on the skin. To wear this is to bask in the afternoon on a balcony and feel your eyes close with drowsy dreams – to relish the serenity of a perfect moment of quietude.
£45 for 30ml
houseoffraser.co.uk
OLFACTIVE O
AMBRÉE
Olfactive O’s Ambrée promises to be passionate, mysterious and seductive – and, we can promise you, this juice does not disappoint. A scent that makes you dream longingly of sultry evenings in exotic destinations, its heart is a powerhouse blend of peppery rose, skin-soft orris and ambered frankincense. The base, meanwhile, is softly hypnotic, fusing ambrette seed, aromatic vanilla and earthy patchouli in a sensual cloud that clings impressively to skin.
£60 for 30ml eau de parfum
olfactiveo.com
SERGE LUTENS
AMBRE SULTAN ZELLIGE EDITION
Our Editor Jo Fairley once trumpeted Ambre Sultan as ‘the sexiest scent ever made’ in a Sunday supplement, triggering something of a retail stampede. It remains seriously, resinously smoochy, pulsing with amber, patchouli and vanilla, and here available as a limited edition adorned with a zellige pattern inspired by Serge Lutens’s stunning Marrakech villa. Check out the other two scents in the same Zellige edition: Fleurs d’Oranger and La Fille de Berlin.
£110 for 50ml eau de parfum
harveynichols.com
YSL
BLACK OPIUM NEON
Black Opium’s signature Java jolt for which is reworked in this new version, co-created by Nathalie Lorson, Olivier Cresp, Marie Salamagne and Honorine Blanc. Inside its glittering black, elongated flacon, the heart of Neon is lit up by orange blossom and a luscious, vibrant dragon fruit accord, enfolded in white musk and vanilla. It’s edgy as ever (evidenced by the choice of Zoe Kravitz as its ‘face’), but fast becoming a modern classic.
From £56 for 30ml eau de parfum
yslbeauty.co.uk
NARCISO RODRIGUEZ
BLEU NOIR
An urban kind of spirituality is evoked, we feel, with the wafts of soft, incense-like signature musk in the heart. Graced by the green freshness of mandarin and the herbaceous scent of basil, this extrême iteration of the original manages to be both sheerly invigorating and sensually inviting. Dry cedar and dark ebony swirl for attention in the base, and we don’t quite care who wins, as long as we can join the dance.
£48 for 50ml eau de toilette
johnlewis.com
SERGE LUTENS
DES CLOUS POUR UNE PELURE
Serge Lutens is always so playfully mysterious with his names – according to Google, this translates as ‘nails for a peel’ (!). It’s inspired by the medieval tradition of carrying fragrant pomanders for good health. This unusual summer-fresh pairing of mandarin and clove absolutely bursts forth with uplifting spiced citrus. Gazing deep into the emerald-hued juice, we do feel somehow purified, ready to face whatever may come while wearing this invigorating blend.
£110 for 100ml eau de parfum
escentual.com
