We’re still reeling from the dreamlike evening that was The Fragrance Foundation UK Awards 2021. Quite apart from the overwhelming emotion of seeing everyone (in the flesh!) again, and celebrating the continued success of fragrance – at a time it became more important to our everyday lives than some could ever have imagined; at The Perfume Society, we had not one, not two, but THREE very particular reasons to pop the Champagne corks…
The Fragrance Foundation say: ‘Known as the ‘Oscars’ of the fragrance industry, the 29th annual Fragrance Foundation UK Awards 2021 took place at The Brewery in the City of London. With a room full of fragrance lovers, it was a wonderful celebration after the unprecedented of times of the last 18 months.
The event was hosted by TV Presenter Natasha Kaplinsky, Chairman of The Fragrance Foundation UK Annalise Fard, and its CEO Linda Key Jackson. During the evening recognitions were given for the astounding support given during the global pandemic, from producing hand sanitisers, face masks, or donating to charities. With quick thinking and acts of kindness we have all come together.’
And come together we did, dressed in our finery (and footwear other than slippers or trainers), many seeing colleagues and friends for the first time outside of a Zoom call since the start of the pandemic. It’s difficult to express the outpouring of emotion, the buzz of energy and pure joy that coursed through the venue. A glow that grew stronger still when the entertainment began and internationally acclaimed act Björn Again had people up and dancing, whole tables standing together and swaying, arms in the air, smiling and singing.
Emotions bubbled to the fore again when Chairman Annalise Fard gave a heartfelt speech to the memory of Jim Jackson, who sadly died earlier this year. Jim founded Aspects Beauty with his wife, Jill, and Annalise spoke fondly of his wit, hard work and commitment to the industry. As the entire room raised a glass in his tribute, there wasn’t a dry eye (or wine glass, which he would have approved of) to be found.
The event now encompasses The Jasmine Awards – often likened to the Oscars, but perhaps more accurately ‘The Pulitzer Prize of perfume writing.’ We’d already been thrilled to be finalists with six pieces shortlisted in four categories. Imagine the WHOOPS that went up, then, on discovering we’d won two of those four categories, AND a Special Recognition Award for an entire issue of The Scented Letter Magazine – A Life in Scents!
This was a really important issue of the magazine for us, which we dedicated to everyone who’s lucky enough to work in fragrance – or who dreams of doing so. There’s so much that goes into taking a perfume from the spark of an idea, into the bottle and beyond. So for this edition we interviewed everyone from perfumers to distributors to the sales consultants who slip our purchase into a carrier bag for us to enjoy. We were extremely moved by Head Judge, Catherine Mitchell, saying how vital The Scented Letter Magazine is for industry in siders and perfume-lovers alike, and how she wanted every career’s advisor in the land to read it. We agree! So, we’re making it available for you to read in full.
Click the link or picture, below, to read the entire issue for free, and then click the pictures to read each of the other award-winning pieces…
HUGE congratulations, too, for our friends and colleagues who are the creatives behind the scenes in these incredible fragrance houses: perfumers, designers, marketing teams and retailers who went home clutching statuettes (Lalique, darling!) too. We raise a glass to each and every one of them, and urge you to seek out the scents behind their well-deserved wins…
Loudest whoops of the evening (apart from our own) we think were on the Floral Street table, and no wonder – the continued blooming of this innovative and, so importantly, eco-conscious independent British fragrance house is wonderful to see (and smell!) We were so proud, too, for Thomas Dunckley‘s sixth (!) award, and of Nafia Guljar, whose beautiful piece she wrote for The Scented Letter magazine on the scent of night blooming jasmine, and the precious memories it holds of her late father, was also shortlisted.
The Champagne may no longer be fizzing, but you can be sure our joy – and that of all the winners and worthy finalists – will be bubbling over for some time…
