As February looms, and we edge ever closer to Spring, we’re ready to don our scented armour to see us through. What better way to boost flagging spirits than with Giorgio Armani My Way? Perhaps you want to hit your stride with Valentino Voce? Feel-good orange blossom leads you to Anne Flipo and Carlos Benaim’s YSL Libre Intense whilst David Beckham smoulders with Bold Instinct. Tommy Hilfiger has the final say with Tommy Impact. Spoilt for choice? That’s the way we like it.
GIORGIO ARMANI
MY WAY
The venerable Carlos Benaïm and Bruno Jovanovic gathered armfuls of exquisite white flowers for Armani’s biggest launch in years: light-filled, radiant, contemporary . But it isn’t just the free-spirited, gorgeously feminine fragrance itself that is of note, but the way it reflects Giorgio Armani’s commitment to sustainability, not least through an innovative refillable and recyclable flacon and the sourcing of the Madagascan vanilla through a programme that benefits local communities. We believe we’ve smelled the future.
From £55 for 30ml eau de parfum
armanibeauty.co.uk
VALENTINO
VOCE VIVA
Celebrating unique femininity expressed through individualism, this evanescent bouquet is radiant with white flowers. A burst of instant happiness with the golden orange blossom is borne aloft on a fresh breeze of bergamot and mandarin, the gilded gardenia beckoning us further to a mossy base that’s redolent of soft woods, transparent musk and a feeling that you can accomplish anything. One to spritz when the doldrums hit hard and you need prettiness, pronto!
£110 for 100ml eau de parfum
valentino.com
YVES SAINT LAURENT
LIBRE INTENSE
The original Libre intentionally ‘retailored’ for women a traditionally masculine construction, the fougère – just as Yves Saint Laurent tore up the gender rulebook with his couture. For this tawny-hued new spin, Master Perfumers Anne Flipo and Carlos Benaïm return, intensifying the fragrance’s orange blossom and lavender facets via an orchid accord which now blooms at its pulsing heart, adding a drift of smoky vetiver in the base. Cool yet hot, all at once.
£84 for 50ml eau de parfum
yslbeauty.co.uk
DAVID BECKHAM
BOLD INSTINCT
Powerful, elegant, self-assured, charismatic – those words could equally be applied to the legendary David Beckham as his latest signature scent, which swirls with earthy, whisky-like, spicy power. Juicy pineapple and herbaceous laurel notes deliver the first hint of boldness, before the spicy warmth of nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom is unveiled in the heart. Bold Instinct’s dry-down is seriously masculine, an interplay of musk, amber and deep, dark patchouli. We’re hoping for extra time.
From £19.95 for 30ml eau de toilette
superdrug.com
TOMMY HILFIGER
TOMMY IMPACT
‘For those who dare to dream and those who strive to do so’, to empower ‘the next generation of visionaries.’ So the halls of every uni in the country ought to be filled with the scent of this woody-aromatic launch: fruity red apple, grapefruit, bitter orange, bergamot, pink peppercorn and coca leaf fade to an aromatic fusion of clary sage, labdanum, cypress and elemi, before a strong, woodsy dry-down of three cedarwood notes, amber, musks and Akigalawood.
From £41 for 50ml eau de toilette
theperfumeshop.com
