This week’s latest launches will tempt you into a world of opulence and wonder. With incense, woods and more than a touch of mystery, these smouldering scent heroes are just what you need in the cold depths of January. Dive into Versace, Perfumer H, Bottega Veneta, Prudence and Creed and wrap yourself in the luxury of exquisite eaux de parfums.
BOTTEGA VENETA
ILLUSIONE FOR HER
‘A suspended moment between dream and reality’ is how the Italian luxury house – which was first born in Venice – describe this feminine floral-woody. Illusione for Her has a distinct Mediterranean feel, thanks to bright bergamot and blackcurrant, orange blossom and cool, green fig leaves, tethered by an unusual note of olive wood and a flourish of tonka’s sweetness. A team effort by Amandine Clerc-Marie and Annick Menardo, with Antoine Maisondieu creating the men’s counterpart.
£89 for 75ml eau de parfum
johnlewis.com
CREED
ANGELIQUE ENCENS
Incense traditionally smoulders, but Creed’s party-worthy latest is shot through with a surprising, champagne-like airiness. Sheer and transparent in the opening (definitely more organza than velvet, at this stage), Angelique Encens’s warmth emerges on the skin, kindling notes of pepper, sandalwood, patchouli and cinnamon. You shall not only go to the ball wearing this, meanwhile, but perhaps find yourself partying way beyond midnight wrapped in its enduring musk, vetiver and incense embrace.
£275 for 75ml eau de parfum
creedfragrances.co.uk
PERFUMER H
GOLD
The twice-yearly unveilings of Lyn Harris’s newness are a highlight in the perfume writer’s calendar. Autumn/winter’s accomplished quintet includes Angelica, Rose Oil, White Smoke and Tobacco – all exquisite, whether or not you swing for the £200 Michael Ruh blown glass flacons in which to house them. If we could choose just one, though, it would be Gold, which contrasts shimmering, fresh citrus with smouldering patchouli and frankincense, via a geranium and lavender heart.
From £110-350 for 50ml eau de parfum
At Perfumer H
VERSACE
ATELIER VERSACE SANTAL BOISÉ
Opulence personified, in sculptural bottles within hand-made, hand-painted, mirrored boxes, each of the six Atelier scents showcase a precious ingredient. Here, the supreme silkiness of Sri Lankan sandalwood is obtained from both the roots and heart of the wood, delivering cool, milky notes and a balsamic richness. Cypriol, a delicate flowering herb, adds gentle curls of smoke with a darker but still delicate note of oudh as the lasting trail. One for the lust list!
£320 for 100ml eau de parfum
versace.com
PRUDENCE
MIOBOR
Prudence Elizabeth Gray was born in Queensland, studied design, worked in fashion around the world (including for Brown’s) then settled in France. After a 2005 trip to Grasse, Prudence felt compelled to launch a fragrance collection, initially sold via her own boutique in Beaumont de Périgord. This latest is an ultra-masculine pine and cedarwood woody tribute to a creative Serbian friend – but can we nudge you Harvey Nichols-wards, to try them all…?
£185 for 100ml eau de toilette
harveynichols.com
