Essence Deluxe Discovery Box

There’s something irrepressibly joyful about discovery sets — those tiny portals into whole worlds of scent that take you from sunrise woods to glittering city nights in a single breath. But every now and then, one arrives that feels like more than a collection. It’s a conversation; a curated narrative that invites you to explore rather than just sample. The Essence Deluxe Discovery Box is exactly that: not a box, but a storybook of fragrance waiting to be inhaled.

Opening the box, there’s that first delicious moment of possibility — the promise of new signature scents, old loves rekindled, and happy accidents you didn’t see coming. What makes this collection so special is its breadth and balance. It isn’t a box of random minis; it’s a thoughtfully choreographed journey through perfumery’s many moods.

First stop: the Ataratma Discovery Set. If you’ve ever wondered how spirituality and scent can form a soulful duet, this set is your answer. Each miniature is like a meditation. The textures of incense, amber, and mystic woods are woven with the kind of calm confidence that feels personal and profound. Wear Ataratma and you don’t just smell good — you feel good, as though the world has taken a deep breath alongside you.

Orange oblong box with lid off at an angle showing 9 2ml vials in a row

And then — a classic reimagined. The inclusion of Farina Eau de Cologne is nothing short of homage to history itself. This is a scent that invented casual elegance, a spritzable piece of perfumed heritage that has stood the test of centuries. Its citrusy, brisk transparency cuts through the clutter of modern compositions with the serene certainty of a classical sonata. It’s joyful, it’s bright, and it reminds us why colognes — the real ones — will always matter.

clear round bottle with red cap.

Flip the narrative and you land in the shadowy, sensuous world of Marc Antoine Barrois Échantillons. Think of these as your olfactory evening wear: deep, slightly enigmatic and irresistibly tactile. There’s a richness here that feels like velvet, a kind of scented savoir faire that turns an everyday moment into something undeniably filmic. If you spritz any of these on, be prepared for compliments — and curious questions about what you’re wearing.

Paper coloured box with 5 2ml vials lined up next to it

And just when you think you’ve got your bearings, Boadicea the Victorious Lannosea arrives like a burst of regal audacity. This is power in a bottle — fearless, sensual, and beautifully constructed. Boadicea’s house ethos is unapologetically bold, and its intricacies come through in its complex scented storytelling. Wearing it is a declaration: you’ve arrived, and you intend to be noticed.

Round clear bottle with gold cap and gold shield

What ties these varied personalities, and the many other fragrances featured, together in the Essence Deluxe Discovery Box is harmony — each scent is distinctive, yet they converse as companions, not competitors. You can start your day with the sunlit clarity of Farina, drift into introspection with Ataratma, slide into sultrier notes with Marc-Antoine Barrois, and finish with the commanding tones of Boadicea the Victorious. It’s a perfumed playlist that makes sense from first note to last.

In a world where we often settle for quick fixes and fleeting fads, this discovery box invites you to savour, explore, and — most wonderfully — fall in love with fragrance all over again. For both seasoned collectors and curious newcomers, the Essence Deluxe Discovery Box is less a purchase and more a pilgrimage.

Essence Deluxe Discovery Box with contents displayed

Essence Deluxe Discovery Box

As Avery Perfumery pops up again on Redchurch Street, its founder shares his own five favourite smells

Summer must be here: we’ve cast off our opaques (boy, that took a while), switched to a lighter scent (or seven) – and Avery Perfumery‘s back with a pop-up at the Basics Store on Redchurch Street, in too-cool-for-school Shoreditch, showcasing many of its indie perfume houses, which are becoming increasingly widely known.

The man behind Avery, though, is less famous: Celso Fadelli, whose Intertrade Group has become one of the trendsetters of the contemporary perfume world, through a portfolio that includes Agonist, The Fragrance Kitchen,(watch this space for more about them imminently), ROADS, Andrea Maack, Boadicea the Victorious and more, more, more.

These fragrance names can be found in the best perfumeries – but also in Avery concept stores or departments in London (Avery Row, Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges Oxford Street‘s new Fragrance & Candle Space), in Florence, Beverly Hills, Modena, Casablanca, Moscow, Doha and beyond, part of a rapid expansion worldwide.

Among the highlights of the perfume calendar, for us, are Intertrade’s UNSCENT installations at Pitti Fragranze – Florence’s indie perfume show (September), which for two days is open to the public – and the trade show Xscence in Milan (March). Marrying fragrance with sculpture, artisan glass and conceptual art, they’re always a thought-provoking, fascinating immersion in their perfumed collective.

It was at UNSCENT that we caught up with Celso Fadelli (below) – and, because learning someone’s five favourite smells tells us a lot about a person, found out more about this ‘secret’ powerhouse of the perfume world.

1. Pizza – the whole package: the tomatoes, the mozzarella, that amazing magical alchemy of cheese, vegetables and bread. I love buying pizza from street food sellers, but the best I ever ate was in the Gennaro restaurant in Naples.

2. Strawberry – I am more a salty person than a sweet one; I don’t like chocolate and vanilla, in fragrance or food – and a good sandwich does it for me more than croissants. But a good strawberry is so wonderfully fragrant…

3. Clean sheets – just-washed laundry, not the scent of fabric conditioner but the smell of real cleanliness, with its feeling of whiteness and purity. It’s bad for the environment but I secretly think it would be wonderful to have clean sheets every day. Who needs a Rolls Royce…? That’s my idea of luxury.

4. Fresh bread – is that too many food smells…? I can’t help it; I grew up in Venice and food is very important to us.

5. The forest – that combination of wood, leaves, earth; a ‘dry’ forest (I’m not so keen on the scent of a forest after the rain), and I prefer a mixed forest with oak and deciduous trees to a pine forest.

Find the Avery Perfumery pop-up at The Basics Store, 42 Redchurch Street, London E7 7DB
www.averyperfumegallery.com

Written by Jo Fairley
CELSO_FADELLI