Tag: books

Perfumed Pages: Scents That Tell a Story

Because autumn is THE perfect time to get cosy with.a good book, we are celebrating the fact that literature is no longer confined between the covers; it’s seeping out, swirling through the air, and snuggling on your skin thanks to an ever-growing wave of scents directly inspired by novels and writers.

Who knew so many perfumers had a penchant for penning olfactory love letters to literary heroines, rebels, and devilishly dashing rogues? Read on to discover how these perfumes don’t just grab inspo from great prose but bottle the essence of each story. There’s simply no excuse for writer’s block when inspiration smells this enchanting!

So, if you’ve ever fancied a new chapter in your scent wardrobe, why not try weaving a little literary magic through your everyday? Suddenly, getting lost in a good book just became a spritz away. The only question is: which of these perfumed pages would you fancy leafing through in fragrant form, first…?

 

 

 

 

4160 Tuesdays Vianne’s Confession

Plunge headlong into the cobbled streets and gilded shadows of Marseilles in autumn, painted with all the chocolatier’s secrets and soul-searching from Joanne Harris’s Vianne. This isn’t a scent for those who favour sweet treats; instead, Vianne’s Confession is a brooding, confessional blend. Wisps of incense and smoky labdanum marry bitter cacao, rose and geranium, with salt and tomato leaf lending their savouriness. Oakmoss, cypriol and attar mitti (distilled from rich earth itself) root the fragrance in ancient stone and whispered mysteries. The sillage is ‘smoochy’ – a term only fitting for a perfume that seems part velvet, part ritual, all wrapped in moonlit chocolate and literary longing.

£75 for 30ml eau de parfum 4160tuesdays.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

D’Otto 2×4

In true Austenian fashion, 2×4 is less a spritz and more a slow-burn romance between conflicting hearts. Taking its cue from Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth and Darcy, each ingredient unfolds like the careful revelation of a well-guarded secret. Wisteria, Indian jasmine, and lily of the valley evoke the freshness of a countryside ballroom in full bloom, while damask rose adds an intimate blush of passion. The heart is an exotic bouquet of Thai orchid, tuberose, ambergris, and cashmeran, echoing the genre’s love for drama beneath decorum. As the novel’s tension deepens, water lily and Mexican tuberose gently melt into a woody, enveloping trail – sensual, enveloping, and designed to linger in memory the way Austen’s prose does.

£245 for 100ml extrait de parfum harrods.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marc-Antoine Barrois B683

Named for the Little Prince’s mysterious planet and the designer’s birthday, B683 wears the compelling casualness of a true dandy – and with beautiful assurance. Perfumer Quentin Bisch’s modern leather isn’t flashy; it’s the kind you’d trust for a clandestine rendezvous or hang inside a secret writing nook, richly lived-in. Spicy streams of black pepper, saffron, chilli and nutmeg tumble into violet leaf and musk, conjuring the paradoxical thrill of a story’s first page; both restrained and wild. The whole is grounded in sandalwood, patchouli and oakmoss, lending the stability and gravitas of a prized hardback spine. It’s the olfactory equivalent of finding the perfect phrase; quietly spectacular and effortlessly stylish.

£120 for 30ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Floris Wilde

Oscar Wilde (a well-known customer of Floris) had a distinct penchant for dandyism and boundary-pushing prose, so artfully rendered in this clever composition. Sparkling bergamot and citrus blossom open with a flourish, just as Wilde himself would enter a room: all charisma and cutting wit. A heart of ginger, green carnation and white jasmine thrums with theatrical passion – for romance, freedom and star-crossed lovers. The base, a warming swirl of sandalwood oil, olibanum and benzoin, cements its decadent legacy. An understated presence disguised in elegant tailoring, Wilde is just as adept at beguiling as a perfectly chosen epigram, a fragrant tribute to living and loving without apology.

£180 for 100ml eau de parfum (also available from £30 for 10ml) florislondon.com

 

 

 

 

 

Ghawali Closer Apart

Inspired by the fevered dreams and desires of Gatsby’s Roaring Twenties, Closer Apart is all about obsession and magnetic allure. It opens on a flirty burst of mandarin oil, pear and ginger, as effervescent as a champagne toast in a glittering mansion. The heart throbs with caramel, rose and lavender – think moonlit longing, whispered confessions, and the ache of unattainable love. Cedarwood, ambrocenide and musk wrap things up in delicious warmth, echoing the story’s undercurrent of yearning and complicated intimacy. Wear it and you’ll embrace Fitzgerald’s decadence with every inhale, hopelessly seduced by the tension between closeness and distance.

£175 for 75ml parfum selfridges.com

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Scented Stories: Exploring D’OTTO’s Literature Collection

D’OTTO’s Literature Collection is a perfumed paeon to the house’s singular belief that fragrance, like art, can leave an indelible mark in our scent memories, as well as treasuring the words of the classics they’re inspired by. Think of the scents as a seamless interweaving of culture and olfaction, offering scents as bold as the heroines within, and the fearless authors who wrote these iconic novels.

From its inception, and as you can read all about in our page dedicated to the house, D’OTTO has pursued a vision beyond decorative perfumery. Known for breaking all constraints, the house draws on iconic art and the elemental power of creative rebellion to craft what can truly be called ‘liquid art’. The vessels they’re housed in are important objects in themselves – offered as physical manifestations of modern perfume rituals. And the scents within, a kind of coded, sensorial rebellion rewriting rules and experiences. D’OTTO’s namesake, the figure eight, stands as an infinite talisman for the house, looping and spiralling in perpetual motion, just as art and scent bypass the ordinary and can carry us into their own dimensions.

 

 

And the perfumer for the house? Co-Founder Paolo Terenzi: A third-generation Italian perfumer, Paolo is respected for his endless creativity, as well as being a professional musician and poet.

Now, D’OTTO is pivoting from visual art towards the written word in their perfumed inspirations – having previously paid homage to painters such as Jackson Pollock, Kandinsky, and Mondrian; this time the focus is the written word, and beyond that, the seismic impact of women who didn’t write merely to entertain, but to shift the understanding of women’s voices in literature – and in history.

Let’s explore the perfume beneath the pages…

 

 

Firstly, the D’OTTO fragrance 4×2 evokes Jane Eyre with remarkable fidelity: opening in a shimmer of lily of the valley and tuberose, (that last heady bloom noting this is no nod to innocence). The heart, thrumming with bourbon vanilla and myrrh, reflects Brontë’s quietly radical spirit, while the warmly resinous, glimmering amber-y heat of the base offers a final, lingering impression of rebellious yearning. It is the restrained power of passion written in scent, mirroring Jane’s insistence on forging her own story.

£245 for 100ml extrait de parfum harrods.com

 

 

8×1 meanwhile sweeps us to the wild Yorkshire moors of Wuthering Heights, distilling its storm-tossed intensity into perfume form. A tart, exhilarating onset of rhubarb (for which Yorkshire is famed), orange and lemon yields to a floral-woody heart, with chamomile and waxy magnolia stained by intense cassis. The finishing base is all drama, with cashmere, woodlands and musks conjuring unyielding love and a sense of looming thunder. It’s unapologetic, passionate and elementally evocative.

£295 for 100ml extrait de parfum harrods.com

 

 

Completing the trio is 1×8, an earlier D’OTTO creation, now firmly re-contextualised as part of this literary tapestry. Dedicated to Jane Austen’s Emma, 1×8 is a delicate play of airy brightness, an intelligent, romantic swirl that perfectly suits those moments of wit and social intrigue. Its balance of lightness and depth sits as comfortably on a crisp autumn afternoon as the novels themselves sit by our firesides.

£295.00 for 100ml extrait de parfum harrods.com

At The Perfume Society, we’re captivated by the prospect of pairing classic re-reads with these fragrances: imagining the world of each heroine not only through words, but on the skin. It becomes possible, for a moment, to sense both the author’s own pulse and, if you will, the novel’s ‘emotional weather’ in each waft we wear…

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

The ultimate summer reading list for fragrance lovers…

When it comes to choosing the perfect summer reading, there’s nothing quite like being swept away by books that tantalise the senses as well as the mind. Fragrance, after all, is the ultimate invitation to travel – whether it whisks you away on a physical journey or transports you via memory, longing and imagination.

 

Even if you’re staying close to home this summer, these six perfume-themed books from our scented bookshelves promise the most vivid of olfactory travels. Let your nose – and your mind – be your transport, with every page a passport to new adventures.

 

 

This summer reading line-up is curated just for you – our fellow fragrance-lovers – to evoke a sense of escapism, relaxation and sensory delight to be enjoyed on sunny afternoons or sultry evenings, home or away, whenever you want to explore your senses…

 

 

 

The Perfume Collector – Kathleen Tessaro

 

Tessaro’s ‘The Perfume Collector’ is the very definition of a summer reading sensation – a luxurious page-turner full of Parisian magic, secrets and the transformative power of scent. Grace Munroe, the story’s reserved protagonist, finds her buttoned-up London life turned inside out when she inherits a mysterious fortune from Eva d’Orsey, a woman she’s never met but whose life is intimately tied to the perfume world. Tessaro masterfully weaves together two timelines, with the smoky, decadent salons and perfumer’s ateliers of 1920s Paris blooming from the page, their scents almost tangible under the heat of a summer sun.

Apart from being a gripping read, this is a book about identity and reinvention, rich in historical detail, but above all about how the memory of scent can connect lives, loves and losses across time. As Grace chases enigmatic clues through Paris and Monte Carlo, each chapter is redolent of powdery iris, earthy patchouli and the quietly heady thrill of becoming someone else – the ultimate summer reading daydream. And really, isn’t that the feeling a wonderful fragrance can give us, too?

 

 

 

 

The Secret Ways of Perfume – Cristina Caboni

 

If your idea of summer reading is to be utterly transported, Caboni’s luminous novel is a journey from the lavender-draped hills of Florence to the hidden perfumeries of Paris. Elena Rossini, the heroine, possesses a rare nose for scent, her life haunted and enriched by aroma as she tries to piece together her own fractured story. A betrayal at home sends her on a quest to find an elusive family perfume recipe, uncovering secrets stitched into the very molecules of her past.

Caboni’s writing is drenched with Mediterranean warmth, thick with the scent of citrus zest, rose petals baking in the sun, and ancient libraries hiding secret vials. Every turn of the page is like discovering a new facet of a fragrance on skin; memories and possibilities, heartbreak and renewal, all awakened by the evocative power of perfume. Absorbing, romantic and gorgeously immersive, it’s the kind of summer reading that lingers long after you’ve turned the final page.

 

 

 

 

A Natural History of the Senses – Diane Ackerman

 

For those who crave a summer reading experience that’s as intellectually stimulating as it is sensory, ‘A Natural History of the Senses’ is a wonderful (and wonder-filled) book, though can be a little more challenging to find sometimes. Ackerman is a writing virtuoso, drawing you deeply into the scientific mysteries and poetic marvels of smell, taste, touch, sight and hearing.

With prose as lush as a blooming summer garden, she explores the primal link between scent and memory, the biology behind why a whiff of fig or jasmine can make one’s heart race, and stories of perfumers, botanists and dreamers who built entire worlds around fragrance. More than a book, it’s an experience: you’ll find yourself walking differently, breathing more consciously, and imbibing the everyday with newfound delight. Ideal for lazy days under a leafy canopy, this summer reading masterpiece transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary and reminds us how – through scent – life becomes vivid, unforgettable and utterly enchanting.

 

 

 

 

 

The Scent of You – Maggie Alderson

 

If your summer reading must include both escapism and a touch of real-life heart, look no further than Alderson’s enchanting ‘The Scent of You’. Polly, a perfume blogger with an emotional life as complex as her olfactory wardrobe, leans on her beloved bottles as her own world tilts off its axis. Family fissures, a missing husband and the demands of daily living weave together into a story as warm and inviting as a favourite cashmere sweater spritzed with a signature fragrance.

Alderson brilliantly captures the rituals and comfort of scent – the little moments that make us feel safe, loved and alive – while threading in secrets and suspense that keep the pages turning long after sunset. As a perfect summer reading treat, this novel is heartfelt, witty, and an ode to the messiness and wonder of everyday life, all underpinned by the reassuring, escapist joy of perfume. [P.S: Did you know that Maggie Alderson researched this novel by working with us one summer, and coming to launches to interview perfumers? AND, that she now sub-edits our magazine, The Scented Letter?!]

 

 

 

 

summer reading

The Scent Trail: A Journey of the Senses – Celia Lyttelton

 

Summer reading often calls for armchair travel, and Lyttelton’s ‘The Scent Trail’ is a globe-spanning adventure for the nose and soul. Tracing the origins of some of the world’s most coveted fragrances, she leads readers from the opulent rose fields of Turkey to the bustling souks of Morocco, the sacred groves of India to the wild forests of Indonesia.

Lyttelton’s tale is both an engaging memoir and a love letter to the sensory world: every scent she discovers opens a new chapter in the complex histories of culture, botanics and the people who preserve these traditions. With every encounter, whether humorous, revelatory or poignant, we’re reminded just how entwined our identities are with the scents that surround us. You’ll be planning your own expedition – or at the very least, sniffing your summer reading pile with new reverence.

 

 

 

 

The Book of Lost Fragrances – M.J. Rose

 

This intoxicating novel is pure summer reading escapism at its finest. M.J. Rose’s thriller follows Jac L’Etoile, a perfume heiress haunted by tragedy, on a suspenseful chase across Paris to unravel secrets hidden within her family’s legendary perfumery. When her brother goes missing after unearthing clues about a scent said to reveal past lives, Jac finds herself drawn deep into a world where history, mystery and fragrance entwine.

From the shimmering streets of modern-day Paris to the dusty shadows of ancient Egypt, Rose paints each setting with such vivid detail you can almost smell the perfume clinging to every page. A clever blend of romance, myth, and fast-paced adventure, ‘The Book of Lost Fragrances’ is for summer reading lovers who crave both heart and intrigue – and who suspect there are stories locked inside every bottle, waiting to be discovered.

 

 

 

 

This summer, let your reading be guided not just by genre or plot, but by the scents lingering around the stories you choose. Whether curled up in a sunny corner at home or journeying afar, these summer reading gems are an invitation to indulge your senses, explore new worlds, and let fragrance guide your imagination.

Want even more scented summer reading suggestions? You can virtually flick through our fragrant bookshelves and then pack your holiday bags with perfume books!

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Eau de Austen: Regency Perfumery & Modern Interpretations

What fragrance would Jane Austen have worn, we wonder? From delving in to the world of Regency perfumery in England, and exploring the historic houses proudly still thriving today, to exploring a contemporary niche house evoking one of Austen’s most famous heroines, we invite you join us in this fascinating slice of Regency scented reveries.

This year marks 250 years of Jane Austen’s birth, and the Jane Austen Society have a number of fabulous events planned to celebrate. But what perfumes might Jane and her contemporaries (and the characters in the novels) have picked up on a shopping trip in Regency London? You can click on the links to be whisked back in time to explore their brand pages, read their full scented stories and discover some of the original olfactive treats…

 

 

 

In spring 1799, an enterprising young man named James Atkinson set forth from the wilds of Cumberland for London. In his suit pocket were recipes for fine fragrances and toiletries he’d created himself. And next to him sat a generous amount of rose-scented bear grease balm. (Yes, really.) Even more extraordinarily, next to the balm sat a real, live bear who – so the tale goes – was utterly devoted to James. Mr. Atkinson opened a shop at 44 Gerrard Street, with Atkinsons being referred to as ‘that marvellous perfume shop with the most terrifying bear’. And James’s reputation was made… thankfully with rather more fragrant offerings. In 1800 launching a ‘fearlessly English’ eau de Cologne, which was strikingly different from the Italian-style Colognes: fresh, yes – but warm and spicy, too.

 

 

 

Yardley, too, has a proud (and VERY long) perfumed heritage, and happens to be named Yardley for the similarly feisty woman The firm has its formal roots in 1770, when the soap and perfumery firm known to us as Yardley London was established by the father of a man called William Cleaver. It got its so-familiar ‘Yardley’ name after a young woman called Hermia Yardley (daughter of the wealthy and ambitious businessman William Yardley), married William Cleaver – heir to his father’s soap and perfumery business. Young William persuaded Coutts Banking House to loan the business the sum of £20,000 (astonishing for those times), with his father-in-law as guarantor. When he couldn’t repay the loan, Hermia persuaded her father pay up – and thus, because of Hermia’s determinism and belief, Yardley came to be Yardley…

 

There’s some interesting snippets of information about Regency perfumery in the always-fascinating janeausten.co.uk, and they mention one of the U.K’s most famous (and still-thriving) perfumeries…

 

 

Floris. It’s an extraordinary chapter in British perfumery – even if its founder, Juan Famenias Floris, happens to have been Spanish by birth, travelling to London to seek his fortune. Step inside the shop at 89 Jermyn Street, then, and you are truly stepping into fragrance history. This is a house first founded in 1730, which is still operating out of its original premises, run by members of that same family. Many literary luminaries have graced the shop’s infamous customer ledger [Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein and wife of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, wrote from abroad asking a friend to send in her next care package ‘two hairbrushes and a small toothbrush,’ from the store.] And in 1820 – the very end of the Regency era – Floris received its first of 16 Royal Warrants.

Meanwhile, modern perfume houses are very much infused with the spirit of literary inspirations – a subject we have often referred back to, and will certainly cover again, such is the extent of literature’s olfactory influence.

 

 

We were particularly thrilled when the always-creative house of D’OTTO sought scented inspiration in none other than Jane Austen as part of their Harrods-exclusive Literary Collection. [For reviews of the latest two Brontë fragrances by D’Otto, do see our soon-to-be-launched Summer edition of The Scented Letter magazine, and make sure you’re signed up to get your free digital copy as soon as it’s published!]

As D’OTTO explain:

‘The 1×8 Extrait de Parfum draws its inspiration from Jane Austen’s “Emma,” and her iconic quote,“Why did we wait for anything? Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!”

1×8 encapsulates the elegance, grace, and intelligence of Emma, the novel’s leading lady. Its lively notes recall the energy and vitality of youth combined with the romance and torment of a young woman as she grows up and her feelings mature.

A drop of this creation offers up lighthearted joy and the desire to discover the world. It is a testament to the irrepressible desire to experience every emotion intensely, with determination, passion, and self-confidence. 1×8 captures the essence of a daring soul, one that does not allow itself to be tamed by life’s challenges…’

Currently £206.50 harrods.com

So, which perfume might you plump for – to join in the costume parties, balls, games and literary gatherings celebrating Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary? (Or, of course, simply to wear when re-reading one of her still-sparkling novels) Might you be tempted by the modern evocation, or also want to explore the historic houses? In the spirit of Emma (and Austen herself), we say: dare to ‘seize the pleasure’ of several!

Written by Suzy Nightingale

 

 

Fragrant Winter Tales: Snuggle Up with Perfume Stories

As the winter chill sets in, there’s a delightful European tradition we can all embrace: gifting loved ones books to read on Christmas Eve, paired with cosy new pyjamas and hot chocolate or other delicious treats. This custom of literary indulgence is one we can wholeheartedly get behind, especially as we’re thrilled to see an increasing number of scent-themed books hitting the shelves.

 

 

 

 

From novels to history books and academic texts, we’ve got loads of other scented reading suggestions – for last-minute gifts, or to fill your own bookshelves, here. But this surge in fragrant literature reflects a growing cultural interest in our sense of smell – a truly exciting development for perfume enthusiasts.To celebrate this trend and help you create your own aromatic reading nook this winter, we’ve curated a list of cosy fragrance-themed books perfect for snuggling up with. So grab your favourite hot beverage, wrap yourself in a soft blanket, and let’s dive into these captivating reads…

 

 

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro transports us to the 1950s, where newly-married socialite Grace Munroe’s life is upended by a mysterious inheritance. As Grace unravels the secret history of her benefactor, Eva D’Orsay, we’re whisked through the decadent worlds of 1920s Paris, New York, Monte Carlo, and London. This richly evocative novel explores the intertwining of scent, memory, and desire, as Grace discovers Eva’s role as a fragrant muse who inspired groundbreaking perfumes. It’s a journey of self-discovery that will resonate with anyone who believes in the transformative power of perfume.

From £5.49 on Kindle amazon.co.uk

 

 

For those who experience the world through smell, The Scent of You by Maggie Alderson is a must-read. Inspired by the author’s time in The Perfume Society office, this novel follows Polly, a perfume blogger who loses herself in the world of fragrance as her personal life crumbles. With a cast of vibrant characters, including the enigmatic perfumer Guy, this gripping story perfectly captures the solace and passion found in the world of scent. Alderson’s keen observations and immersive writing style make this an ideal cosy read for fellow olfactory enthusiasts.

From £4.99 on Kindle amazon.co.uk

 

 

 

Cristina Caboni’s The Secret Ways of Perfume is a beautiful exploration of scent’s power to evoke memories. Elena Rossini, blessed with an extraordinary sense of smell, embarks on a journey to Paris to escape painful memories and uncover a secret family perfume recipe. This novel beautifully intertwines the art of perfumery with themes of love, loss, and self-discovery, making it a perfect choice for a winter evening’s read.

From £3.57 paperback amazon.co.uk

 

 

 

For those seeking a non-fiction option, A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman offers an exquisite exploration of our sensory experiences. The chapter on smell delves into fascinating topics like the connection between scent and memory, the complexities of roses, and how our diet affects body odour. Ackerman’s lyrical prose will transform how you perceive not just smell, but all your senses.

From £10.69 hardcover amazon.co.uk

 

 

Kate Lord Brown’s The Perfume Garden weaves together two captivating narratives set in modern-day Valencia and during the Spanish Civil War. Following perfumer Emma Temple as she uncovers family secrets, this novel’s vivid sensory descriptions transport readers to sun-soaked Spain. While not exclusively focused on perfumery, it beautifully illustrates scent’s power to evoke memories and emotions.

From £3.57 paperback amazon.co.uk

 

 

Lastly, for the adventurous reader, The Scent Trail: A Journey of the Senses by Celia Lyttelton offers a fascinating travelogue tracing the origins of perfume ingredients. Join the author as she explores exotic locales and ancient harvesting techniques in search of components for her bespoke fragrance. This book is a treasure trove of fragrant history and cultural insights that will inspire wanderlust in perfume lovers.

From £15.03 paperback amazon.co.uk

As the pages of these books unfold, let the power of scent transport you to new worlds this winter. Whether you’re curled up by the fire or lounging in bed, these fragrant tales are sure to enchant and delight, proving that the world of perfume is as rich in stories as it is in scents.

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Five Fragrant Reads for the Last of Summer: Perfume-Inspired Books to Delight the Senses

As the summer holidays draw to a close, there’s still time to indulge in some literary escapism, and we have the perfect selection of scent-inspired books to accompany your travels, weekends, and even sunny lunchtimes in the park…

 

For perfume lovers, the bookshelves are expanding alongside their fragrance collections, with a growing number of novels and non-fiction works inspired by the world of scent. Here are some captivating reads from the fragrant fiction section of our shelves, which will transport you to fragrant realms before autumn arrives.

Reading books inspired by scent deepens our appreciation for perfume by allowing us to explore the intricate relationship between fragrance and narrative. In a novel centred around scent, it not only celebrates the art of perfumery, but enhances our understanding of how scents can evoke memories, emotions, and atmospheres. When an author skillfully weaves scented descriptions into their storytelling, it creates a multi-sensory experience that transports readers to vividly scented scenes, enriching the overall atmosphere of the narrative.

As we delve into these fragrant tales, our love and knowledge of perfume become part of the reading experience, enabling us to connect more profoundly with the characters and their journeys. The nuances of scent can set the mood, evoke nostalgia, or even create tension within a story, making the act of reading a more immersive adventure.

These fragrant reads offer the perfect way to extend your summer of perfume, even if only in your imagination. Whether you prefer fiction or non-fiction, there’s a scent-inspired book to suit every taste. So, grab a fragrant tome, spritz on your favourite summer perfume, and lose yourself in the intoxicating world of literary scents. Now, which perfumed book would you like to peruse first…?

 

 

 

The Scent of You by Maggie Alderson

Immerse yourself in the world of Polly, a perfume blogger who finds solace in fragrance as her life unravels. Alderson’s vivid descriptions will have you almost smelling the scents on the page. The author’s passion for perfume shines through, from naming the protagonist after a beloved fragrance to creating a real Instagram account for Polly’s reviews. This novel is a delightful blend of scent, romance, and self-discovery.

 

 

The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown

Brown weaves together two captivating stories in this evocative novel. Set in modern-day Valencia and during the Spanish Civil War, it follows perfumer Emma Temple as she uncovers family secrets. The author’s sensory descriptions are a highlight, transporting readers to sun-drenched Spain. While not focused solely on perfumery, the book beautifully illustrates how scent can evoke memories and emotions.

 

 

The Secret Ways of Perfume by Cristina Caboni

Elena Rossini’s extraordinary sense of smell is both a gift and a curse in this enchanting tale. Set against the backdrop of Paris, the story follows Elena’s quest to recreate a legendary family perfume recipe. Caboni’s writing captures the transformative power of scent and its ability to connect us to our past. This novel is a celebration of the art of perfumery and the secrets it holds.

 

 

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro

Journey through time and across continents in this richly detailed historical novel. Grace Munroe’s unexpected inheritance leads her into the heart of the perfume world, uncovering the story of Eva D’Orsay, a 1920s socialite and fragrant muse. Tessaro’s passion for perfume is evident in her vivid scent descriptions. This book is perfect for those who love period dramas and the glamour of bygone eras.

 

The Scent Trail: A Journey of the Senses by Celia Lyttelton

For non-fiction enthusiasts, Lyttelton’s travelogue offers a fascinating exploration of perfume ingredients. Follow the author as she traces the origins of her bespoke fragrance, from exotic locales to ancient harvesting techniques. This book is a treasure trove of fragrant history and cultural insights, sure to inspire wanderlust in perfume lovers.

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Fragrances for book-lovers: paper & ink

Every day seems a different international celebration of *something*, but this one really resonates with me: National Book Lovers Day. Being a self-confessed book-sniffer, and a regular frequenter of bookstores and libraries, I happen to celebrate this particular every day, it’s so wonderful to see the world of fragrance similarly obsessed, in olfactory form…

 

The smell of paper – old and mysterious or newly seductive – is a huge part of our emotional intelligence, our interconnectivity, with scent and memory combined. In those ancient library type fragrances (which I still absolutely adore) it’s often the combined smell of crumbling leather bindings, dust and polished wooden tables that conjure a feeling of being in a particular space. But the smell of paper itself needn’t always be musty.

 

 

We might be in a shiny new bookshop, or have just cracked the spine of a sensorially satisfying weighty magazine. The paper might be that of an artist, awaiting the stroke of a brush, or of a writer’s virgin sheet, greedily thirsting for the first drop of ink.

And while we’re on the subject of books and fragrance, don’t forget to check out our extensive library of book reviews for fragrance fans – we’ve suggestions for everything from novels and poetry inspired by scents, to tomes explaining the history and science of fragrance and our sense of smell. Fill your bookshelves with Fragrant Reads!

 

 

In the meantime, there’s several scents to choose from that take paper and ink as their inspiration. Which of these might make your ‘must-smell’ list…?

 

 

 

Diptyque L’Eau Papier

A blank sheet, a pen, ink, ideas: the starting point for this perfumed masterpiece by Fabrice Pellegrin. Conjuring diluted ink and artistic brushstrokes, powdery mimosa and white musks are mistily ethereal, while a rice steam accord builds the textural sense of paperiness, and roasted sesame the ink-soaked pages.

From £129 for 100ml eau de toilette libertylondon.com

 

 

 

Commodity Paper (Personal)

Achingly soft, especially in the ‘Personal’ (most hushed) version, this suggestively whispers of stationery, passing a letter to someone, your fingertips barely brushing, but a gesture that says so much. The molecular wonder of ISO E Super sighs to skin’s warmth, an amber trail that lingers long after you’ve finished the book.

From £130 for 100ml eau de parfum sephora.co.uk

 

 

 

 

Montblanc Patchouli Ink

Fabrice Pellegrin (clearly a fellow bibliophile!) creates a perfect expression of the ink free-flowing from the sublime craftsmanship of Montblanc’s heritage fountain pens. The patchouli feels richly liquid, instead of the more earthy form it can take in other fragrances; here seamlessly melding ink, paper, and passion.

£125 for 125ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com

 

 

 

Map of the Heart Purple Heart V 5

Inverting the traditional perfume ‘pyramid’ of notes, we plunge straight into darkness with bittersweet black cherry and plum lapped by salty purple roses and liquorice. Deep violet begins to soar, a brightness softened by the soft almond-like powderiness of tonka beans then swathed again in the darkest of inks. It really tells a tale on the skin…

£175 for 90ml eau de parfum mapoftheheart.com

 

 

 

 

Comme des Garçons 2

Mark Buxton used headspace technology to capture and reproduce the scent of Japanese ink for this lovely play of light and shadow in a fragrance. There’s a sense of cold air from aldehydes and juniper, and drifts of incense with that liquid inkiness, emphasised by labdanum, cedar and shadowy pools of vetiver.

£110 for 100ml eau de parfum libertylondon.com

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

 

 

 

The Secret Language of Spring Flowers… (and matching scents)

Spring is a time of joyfully watching the flowers bloom and the gardens come to life again, and of course it’s also a season for gathering bouquets; but did you know there are many ways you can send a secret message via the flowers you select – and perhaps one you might play with in the fragrances you wear (or gift)…?

 

For thousands of years, secret coded ‘messages’ have been attributed to flowers, and the cultural or social settings in which they’re given as tokens or displayed. The Victorians were particularly fond of this sentimental ‘Language of Flowers‘, with a number of books and pamphlets devoted to the subject – informing the reader how they may go about creating their own secret message via the flowers they gift a loved one, or decoding what that bouquet from an admirer actually meant. Think of it as the far more aesthetically (and sensorially) pleasing alternative to emoji’s sent in today’s text messages, or shared on social media!

 

 

Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Langauge of Flowers by Jessica Roux – read our review, here.

 

We rather love the idea of making a bouquet or floral fragrance gift extra special by sending one of the various modern interpretations or reprints of charming ‘Language of Flowers’ books alongside – or simply smiling secretly as you wear your own favourite floral scent while billowing a message only those in the know (or nose? Sorry) might recognise. Meanwhile, to get you started, here’s some Spring flower’s possible meanings and suggestions of accompanying scents you might like to furtively waft forth…

Bluebell = Humility

‘If you go down to the woods today… a fragrant carpet of bluebells awaits. Breathe deep. Citrus, hyacinth, clove. An eau de toilette reminiscent of childhood escapades in the fresh, dewy spring.’

Penhaligon’s Bluebell £135 for 100ml eau de toilette 

 

 

 

 

Lily of the Valley = A Return of Happiness

‘As bright as a spring morning, this romantic floral bouquet blossoms with the freshness of lily-of-the-valley, Christian Dior’s lucky flower and the emblem of Dior Couture.’

Dior Diorissimo £82 for 50ml eau de toilette

 

 

 

 

Violet = Hidden Virtues 

The cool and green undertones of April Violets are enhanced by beautiful mimosa and the zing of citrus, a speckle of powdery orris, the creaminess of vanilla and a perfectly, smoothly-rounded sandalwood in the base.

Yardley April Violets £17.50 for 125ml eau de toilette

 

 

 

 

Lilac = First Feelings of Love

‘A stroll down a country lane where lilacs dance in the spring breeze, casting their lush fragrance into the fresh air. Elegant notes of privet blend with the delicate scent of orange flower and lilac, a dreamy memory of a long weekend.’

Aerin Lilac Path £105 for 50ml eau de parfum

 

 

Shay & Blue Black Tulip 100ml

Snowdrops = Hope, Love & Compassion

Contrasts abound as smooth white chocolate swathes gently spiced plum, bright snowdrops and creamy cyclamen hugged by drifts of fresh wood shavings, curls of chocolate falling like spring snowflakes melting in welcome sunshine.

Shay & Blue Black Tulip From £25 for 10ml eau de parfum

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Fragrant Reading for Holidays (& Long Weekends): Secrets of the Lavender Girls

For the Bank Holiday (or any travelling you might be doing in the next few weeks) we’d love to suggest you browse our brilliant Fragrant Reads shelf of scent-themed tomes. There’s truly something for every taste! But this weekend we’re sitting back and relaxing with a novel: Secrets of the Lavender Girls.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the fascinating fragrant backstory behind its creation (and the true story that inspired it…)

 

In the book, author Kate Thompson tells the tale of the women who worked at the Yardley factory during the war. But it turns out some of the stories she discovered during her research were even more incredible…

 

 

‘I love archives and libraries,’ Kate Thompson shares on her Facebook page. ‘Carefully untying the cream ribbon of an old file and catching the scent of 80-year-old dust motes is a thrill. More than once I’ve found hours can slip away leafing through yellowed newspaper reports and witness accounts from the Second World War in the silence of a reading room…’

Revealing her passion for research, and the extraordinary stories she found during her time writing The Secrets of the Lavender Girls, Kate says that ‘nothing beats what historians calls ‘Primary Sources’ and what I prefer instead to call ‘Magnificent Women’.’

 

 

The utterly charming novel follows the fragrant history of Yardley, and the remarkable stories of the women who worked there. Though a fictional account, Kate’s genuine fondness for the real life women she found (and who shared their tales with her) truly shines through.

Unravelling the stories of the real-life women who worked at Yardley during the war, she received ‘a beautiful handwritten letter in the post.’

‘I was a wartime lavender girl, I read about your book in a magazine,’ wrote Joan Osborne. ‘Yardley was the most wonderful years of my life. I am now 91.’

The letter was from Joan, who’d desperately wanted to work at Yardley, telling Kate: ‘It must have been the glamour. I remember travelling from Stratford to Ilford on the bus and the conductor opening the window so everyone could smell the lavender blowing from Yardley. Carpenters Road, or Stink Bomb Alley was famous for its smells. Seven different types of air flowed down there depending on which way the air was blowing. I can still smell the lavender,’

 

 

 

Kate learned Joan was sent to work in the top floor perfumery department where she was given a broom to sweep the floor. ‘I thought, “I haven’t come here to sweep floors” so they moved me to bottle-filling where I was putting the skin and caps on bottles. They were losing so many girls to the services I don’t think they wanted to lose anymore, so they kept me sweet. I earned eighteen shillings and something a week and my clocking in number was 157. I’ve still got the card.’

 

‘They were dangerous times, especially when the flying bombs started up, but being young I didn’t think that much about it. I was more upset by how cold it was in the factory, the heating was rarely on and we were always freezing. They used to give us cups of Oxo to warm us up. Least the room always smelt lovely from the lavender, freesia and April violets perfume.’

 

 

You can read more of the remarkable back-story of Joan and her fellow Yardley girls in Kate Thompson’s touching reflections on researching the book. But we cannot urge you enough to go and buy the book itself – and even better, read it while wearing one of Yardley’s classic fragrances (still proudly in production!) for an extra fragrant waft of history.

 

 

P.S: There’s a stunning FULL SIZE Yardley scent of English Rose included in our recently launched Discovery Box, The Garden of Delights. A blooming marvellous collection for only £23 / £19 for VIPs, which we know you’ll also love exploring to make the most of these last days of summer, too…

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Paper Trail: why we love paper’s smell (& perfumes evoking it)

Paper is something we have increasingly infrequent contact with in this relentlessly digitised world, and perhaps nearly as importantly, smell far less frequently in our every day lives. Could this be why perfumers are seeking to evoke the scent in the fragrances we wear?

There’s a functional sterility to the burgeoning ‘metaverse’ that’s abhorrent to sensorialists – those of us who revel in our senses, welcoming the smell and comforting caress of books and paper (and you know, food, fabrics, the infinitesimal layering of textures that IRL [In Real Life] offers us), as we might a lover’s touch.

For book (and printed paper) lovers, particularly; while E-Reader devices and scrolling on phone screens certainly have huge benefits – instantaneous access to literature is not to be, pardon the pun, sniffed at – but they lack the tangibility of literally burying your nose in a book, or feeling a piece of paper as you write on it (in pen! How very old school). Indeed, research shows that, while levels of comprehension are similar no matter how you read a text; people struggle to accurately recall events or timelines of a long story on a screen, as opposed to reading on paper.

The report concludes that it’s the ‘kinaesthetic feedback’ of holding paper in your hand that connects us to the perception of what we’re reading; that is, using our sensory organs to better locate and store vital information. I’ve previously written about the concept of vellichor – what makes the smell of old books so special – so want to widen that thought, here, to the more literal smell of paper itself.

Explains scienceabc.com:

‘…over a period of time, the compounds within paper [break down to] produce the smell. Paper consists of cellulose and small amounts of lignin(a complex polymer of aromatic alcohols). Paper that is even more fine contains less lignin than cheaper materials, like the paper used in newspapers.’

 

 

I would argue the smell of paper – old and mysterious or newly seductive – is also a huge part of our emotional intelligence, our interconnectivity, scent and memory combined.

In those ancient library type fragrances (which I still absolutely adore) it’s often the combined smell of crumbling leather bindings, dust and polished wooden tables that conjure a feeling of being in a particular space. But the smell of paper itself needn’t always be musty.

We might be in a shiny new bookshop, or have just cracked the spine of a sensorially satisfying weighty magazine. The paper might be that of an artist, awaiting the stroke of a brush, or of a writer’s virgin sheet, greedily thirsting for the first drop of ink…

 

 

Paper does have a unique smell. In those dusty old tomes it’s the breaking down of paper compounds that releases lignin (similar to vanillin, the primary component of vanilla, which has been proven to be a remarkably calming smell). In new paper, explains perfumer Geza Schoen, who once created a limited edition Paper Passion fragrance, in collaboration with Wallpaper* magazine; recreating the scent ‘was hard’ he admits. ‘The smell of printed paper is dry and fatty; they are not notes you often work with.’

Difficult though it may be to replicate, the smell of paper is something we yearn for, a comfort we crave in our hyper-digitally-connected yet progressively solitary lives. Comically satirising a future in which we’ve become so disconnected with paper’s scent that it repels us, author Gary Shteyngart’s novel, Super Sad True Love Story, imagines a time ‘Books are regarded as a distasteful, papery-smelling anachronism by young people who know only how to text-scan for data…’ as The New York Times review puts it.

Well, I’m very glad to say, we bibliosmatics are not there yet. The yearning to smell paper is still real, and these perfumes prove it…

 

 

 

Diptique L’Eau Papier

Rice steam accord melded with white musk cleverly evokes the paper’s creamy grain; drifts of mimosa tracing the outline of torn edges while deeper notes appear fleetingly, like freckled ink drops in water, punctuating the clarity with sheer shadows before the paper comfortingly subsumes.

£90 for 50ml eau de toilette diptyqueparis.com

 

 

Rook Perfumes RSX/03 School

A limited edition project in which participants imagined the smell of school, this pleasingly avoids boiled cabbage, instead exploring the heady rush of opening new books, cold air, pencil shavings and the textural thrill of fingers tracing wooden desks scarred with names, love hearts, learning.

£99 for 30ml eau de parfum rookperfumes.co.uk

 

 

Commodity Paper (Personal)

Achingly soft, especially in the ‘Personal’ (most hushed) version, this suggestively whispers of stationery, passing a letter to someone, your fingertips barely brushing, but a gesture that says so much. The molecular wonder of ISO E Super sighs to skin’s warmth, an amber trail beckons.

From £22 for 10ml eau de parfum commodityfragrances.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carner RIMA XI

Inspired by Spanish poet Gustavo Adolfo Becquer’s passionate poem, Rhyme 11, the paper of this perfume feels fresh with possibilities at first. Then, the cool kiss of mint is seduced by spices and Indian jasmine petals, a discovery of crumpled, tear-stained, love letters slipped under a mattress.

£100 for 50ml eau de parfum bloomperfume.co.uk

 

 

 

Gri Gri Tara Mantra

Playing with the power of words, monastic incense curls beguilingly, a trail of promise leading to the temple you seek. It could be a church, might be a library, but let us say instead we are in a bookshop, gleefully thumbing piles of temptations, a woody path of patchouli and potent escapism.

£95 for 100ml eau de parfum shymimosa.co.uk

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale