Ah, the seductive allure of not quite telling the truth when it suits you far better to weave a little lie. Swedish niche brand AGONIST revel in the olfactory exploration of literary and cultural themes that play a large part in our lives, and with their latest fragrance, White Lies – which we were lucky enough to smell at Pitti Fragranze earlier this month – the truth may not always be out there…
AGONIST say: ‘Like a white lie it entices you yet holds a promise of a deeper truth. With a fresh and tempting top of lemon, rasperry and lychee, it drags you in to a heart of jasmine, tuberose and heliotrope. The deep and sensual notes of patchouli, orcanox and vanilla in the base makes the composition truly unique and impossible to forget.’
Top notes: Lemon, rasperry, lychee
Heart notes: Jasmine absolute, tuberose absolute, heliotrope
Base notes: Patchouli, orcanox, vanilla
Founded by perfume-obsessed couple Niclas and Christine Lydeen, they share a love for fragrance, intrigued and fascinated by its power. As Niclas muses, ‘We started to think about themes and ideas. We wanted to show another side to this perception of clean Swedish design. We were more inspired by a poetic, darker and melancholic side of the Swedish culture and heritage.’
Continuing this darker exploration of poetic themes, White Lies takes you on a journey, slowly unravelling its multi-faceted nature as it warms on your skin. Explains Niclas, ‘White lies is a joyful and playful fragrance that doesn’t reveal itself at first, just like a little lie. It is a smooth sensation that becomes stronger. We wanted to create a scent that takes you to another dimension where dreams, stories and fantasies come to life. In the end it keeps its promise and becomes a symbol of truth, yet with some intriguing shades.’
Sweet at first – an Eton Mess of meringue swirled through puffs of whipped cream and sprinkled with tart fruitiness, like the lie itself, the further it goes the deeper it gets. As the floral heart blooms, so too does the base, reaching up and grabbing the blossoms with tendrils of resinous earthiness mellowed by the darkest, most delicious vanilla beans. You might say we found it rather difficult to resist…
AGONIST White Lies £115 for 50ml eau de parfum
Buy it at Avery Perfume Gallery
Written Suzy Nightingale
Tag: Agonist
Pitti Fragranze 2016 – our fragrant journey to the Florentine perfume trade fair…
An annual affair dedicted to showcasing artistic and artisinal fragrance houses to buyers, distributors and press from around the world, it’s always an eye (and nostril!) opening experience to visit glorious Florence and the Stazione Leopolda – an old train station repurposed as a huge and atmospheric conference and event venue.
©PittiImagine
Pitti Fragranze 2016 took place last weekend and marked the 14th successive year of the trade fair, with visitor and exhibitor numbers greater than ever, and we plunged into the seehing crowd with noses twitching to discover what was on offer this year…
We were thrilled to see many of our fragrance friends there, bumping into 4160 Tuesdays floral-bedecked founder and perfumer Sarah McCartney spritzing her Mystery of the Materials (scents with a story to tell) into teacups (how wonderfully British) for eager sniffers to discover, and causing much swooning by revealing the photograph of her much-admired helper Arthur McBain – an actor when not helping out at her Ealing studios, and currently starring as the model in her just-shot advertising photos. Sarah says customers have been known to write him fan-letters and apparently come over all peculiar when they receive a package with a note in from him. We couldn’t possibly comment…
Just around the corner, ‘fiercely independent’ Beaufort London were causing something of a buzz – appropriate given the honeycomb-themed decoration of the area – with their five uniquely maritime-inspired fragrances, including the latest launch, Fathom V – a fantastically other-worldly salty, ultra-green scent that puts us in mind of a Pre-Raphaelite Ophelia surrounded by flowers and giving herself up to the embrace of the icy depths…
In the same golden-hued area was dear friend to The Perfume Society, Andy Tauer, on great form as ever and here showing two new fragrances: Tuberose Flash (an iridescent and totally sparkling tuberose with zero screechiness) and the much-anticipated Au Coeur du Désert (think bestselling Air du Désert Marocain in extrait beauty!)
It was also a joy to bump into the lovely Atelier Des Ors founder and Artistic Director, Jean-Phillipe Clermont – you may recall we were rather excited when they launched in the UK – and sniff the exqusite new Iris Fauve – softly suede-y with a distinctly addictive edge.
We thought it was really interesting seeing a Japanese natural fragrance brand showing at the fair – Di Ser – not a culture historically known for their perfume brands, this one uses unsual oils and essences from around the world blended with fabulous quality native natural ingredients, thoughtfully composed and beautifully presented. Interesting, too, to learn that Japanese ladies have long scented their kimonos with delicate fragrances – as Middle Eastern cultures have wafted their robes with highly scented smoke…
Intertrade‘s room is always a must-visit, with their fingers on the perfume pulse of cool, edgy and just beautifully curated brands that carry genuinely interesting but always totally wearable fragrances, available at Avery Perfume Gallery. With the theme of ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ they laid a huge table with coloured glasses and ‘place settings’ for each fragrance house. There we saw, and sniffed, new launches – some standouts being Blood Concept‘s gender-bending David Bowie-inspired XX and XY, AGONIST‘s incredibly evocative (and intriguingly named!) White Lies (so-new the bottles weren’t ready yet, but we snapped their previously released, soothingly smoky Hope), and the ravishingly sexy A Lab on Fire‘s cheekily named Messy Sexy Just Rolled Out of Bed…
You see absolutely everyone at Pitti, no matter where you are – and we met the marvellous Barbara Herman – vintage perfume expert and author of the book Scent and Subversion: Decoding a Century of Subversive Perfumes, in the cafe of all places! The perfect excuse for a quick sniffing session of Eris Parfums – a trio of frgrances Barbara worked with a perfumer to create, all based on interpretations of animalic ‘beasts’ (with huge glugs of beauty to balance). Irreverently opulent, glamorously modern with echoes of vintage va-va-voom. And we got a sneaky sniff of the 4th, equally show-stopping scent.
An real treat for cinephiles and fragrance fanatics alike was the private viewing of Perfume, a Certain Tradition – a film by Amsterdam-based Short Notes Portraits offering in-depth portraits of some of the greatest living perfumers – including infamously reclusive or seldom interviewed figures such as Pierre Bourdon, Michel Roudnitska, Frédéric Malle, Mark Buxton, uber perfume-collector George Stam (seriously jaw-dropping pieces!) and the iconically irreverent Serge Lutens… a roll-call of noses and creators that would intimidate many but which the Amsterdam-based company clearly relished the challenge of. A charming, witty and fascinating film, you can watch it on their website and we will be sure to keep you up to date with when the film is released on DVD – so watch this space.
With so much to see and smell, it’s really quite an overwhelming experience – and nigh on impossible to see absolutely everything – but though we were exhausted at the end, we managed to fit in a quit flit to Florence’s wonderful Sunday-morning vintage market. And – ever nosing around for interesting things – we came across a stall laden with vintage parfums, including the most humungous bottle of Lanvin‘s Arpege – sadly our of our pocket, but We Wear Perfume‘s Amanda Carr [NB watch out for the imminent issue of our magazine, The Scented Letter, featuring Amanda’s scent memories] snapped up the Bvlgari scented pencils.
Until next year, dear Firenze…
Written by Suzy Nightingale
Build a new and luxurious fragrance wardrobe with The Agonist Collection
Following the sell-out success of our Miller Harris La Collection Voyage: Les Fleurs Discovery Box (now thankfully restocked here), we are delighted to introduce The Agonist Collection.
From the Swedish perfume house driven by the will to encourage discovery of new fragrances, The Agonist Collection is an ideal travelling companion – or simply for those who want to pair their fragrance with their outfit or mood. From the amber-y core of the forest to the vibrant midnight sun in the summers of the North, this beautifully-presented box features 10 x 2 ml eau de parfum vials which promise to transport you to an array of olfactive realms.
As always, our VIP Subscribers will enjoy an exclusive discount on this – just £55.80 -v- £62 for non-VIPs – so make sure you’re logged in to take advantage! Not a VIP yet? Sign up here…
Could you wear a new fragrance every day? I Scent You A Day does – and that’s why she’s our Blogger of the Month
Even by our standards, putting a new fragrance through its paces – from dawn to dry-down – is quite a challenge. So we take our hats off to Samantha Gough, whose blog – I Scent You A Day – has documented her quest to do just that, since January 2013.
As regular visitors know, each month we showcase the work of a blogger – and this time, it’s Sam’s blog. As she explains, ‘IScentYouADay means I review one perfume a day and then tell you about it. It may be a fragrance you want to try, or it may be a fragrance that makes you run for the hills screaming with horror. My opinions are merely subjective. You may be largely lustful for Leathers or violently dislike Violets. Perfume is like poetry: there’s no right or wrong.’ (A philosophy which chimes perfectly with The Perfume Society‘s, NB.)
‘This is a true journey for me in so far as I am a passionate pilgrim, learning as I go. I would love you to share my discoveries as I explore the endless landscape of the Perfumed World, often bravely ending up in a dusty discount chemist, or epically scrolling through fragrance websites long after I should be in bed.’
‘I also want to prove that having a perfume obsession can be done affordably, without shelling out for 365 bottles. I will borrow bottles, unearth bargains, syphon samples and try not to bankrupt myself, or you, in the process. Watch me as I either repulse or attract my husband, gasp as I greet the postman with joy as another box of tiny samples arrives, and when all else fails, pity me as I trudge to my local perfume store and ask to be squirted. One day I will get to keep that Guerlain bottle…’
She also occasionally writes longer features – ‘Perfume for Paupers: How to Smell Great on a Budget’ is definitely worth a read. We got to know Sam when she began posting reviews of samples from our Perfume Society Discovery Boxes – and we really enjoy her writing.
So here’s a taster – almost literally! – via her review of the stunning Agonist Vanilla Marble, from our Scent with Love Discovery Box, which perfectly conveys its mouthwateringly seductive qualities.
Agonist Vanilla Marble: How Vanilla Should Be Done
‘Agonist is a Swedish perfume house that is the brainchild of Christine and Niclas Lydeen. With Christine’s fashion background in Paris and Niclas’s design flair, together they launched Agonist in 2008 and their popularity as a major niche house is snowballing.
This is the first Agonist scent I have reviewed, although not the first I’ve tried. I shall be revisiting the other two I have after this, since Agonist Vanilla Marble really piqued my interest.
You may know of my oft lamented vanilla ennui, but believe it or not, this new take on vanilla has won my heart. Agonist Vanilla Marble somehow manages to use the warm butteriness of vanilla with none of the added sugar.
Top notes are tiaré flower, vanilla and almond. Now despite not being a fan of gourmands, I really like almond in vanilla scents. It seems to make this one more of a liqueur and is a welcome step further away from the smell alike confectionery scent that we are currently saturated with at beauty counters. Tiare flower always smells like floral coconuts to me and in this instance, it gives Vanilla Marble a lovely hint of pipe smoke.
Middle notes are orchid, white fig, amber and patchouli. I didn’t catch orchid, but the hint of sultana like fig is in there, along with the welcome warmth of amber and the subtle spikiness of patchouli. The base notes are tonka bean, sandalwood, more vanilla and benzoin.
All in all, this is has a coolness as well as a warmth, reminding me of a milky bar straight from the fridge , but with a grown up tobacco vibe and a golden heat that makes for a cosy, unfussy, not overly sweet vanilla scent that becomes slightly addictive the more I wear it. Equally good on men or women, this is a real gem and gives me hope that a good vanilla scent, done well, will still always be worth doing. Imitators need not apply. This is how vanilla should be done.
Stockists: My sample was from The Perfume Society Scent With Love Discovery Box, available from here. You can buy Agonist Vanilla Marble from the Agonist website or from Liberty or Selfridges. The full list of international stockists can be found on the Agonist website, where they also provide a sample service and a rather nice discovery box.’
For a picture of Samantha on her fragrant travels, see below. And do, do, do follow her fragrant meanderings at:
