Tag: COVID-19

Fragrances for ‘when this is all over’ – soothing scents + party perfumes

How often have you heard the phrase when this is all over during the past year? Well, the “when” is soon – at least in the U.K. with the government’s ‘roadmap’ for easing restrictions seeing the return of shops and outdoor hospitality services reopening on Monday, April 12th.

However, while our hearts may be full to bursting at the prospect of seeing loved ones we’ve missed for so long – there’s some real anxiety in the mix, too.

Because we know the ‘new normal’ (ugh, another saying that needs to get in the sea) is still far from resembling what our lives looked like in those hazy ‘before’ days, when many of us (perhaps lazily) took our freedom foregranted. To travel, to meet a friend for coffee, to hug them when we arrived – blimey, just to walk into a shop! And things will remain strange for some time. So we’re going to need some extra help, still, to get through this together.

 

 

If you’re feeling anxious about mixing in public again, you’re certainly not alone. The medical website patient.info has a great article with tips to combat stress in a post-Covid world, quoting psychologist and well-being consultant Lee Chambers, who says of course we’re all still worried, because ‘Over the course of the past 12 months, there has been significant change to adapt and acclimatise to.’ and explains: ‘Without a clear future anchor and the ability to create a longer-term plan, we lack the ability to prepare, and the constantly changing rules lower our tolerance to uncertainty.’

We know that so many more of you have been finding comfort and great mental-health support from scent during lockdown. It stands to reason we’ll need a fragrant anchor to help us get through the next few months as well. So, here are some soothing scents to help calm your nerves and help you feel grounded, but also some party perfumes for when the celebratory spirit strikes and you need an instant spritz of glamour.

Whatever your mood, there’s a fragrance to match or counteract, if needs be. Think of them as bravery: bottled. For when this is all over? For right now, or whenever you need them…

 

 

Nancy Meiland Gaia £45 for 30ml perfume attar
A beautifully nurturing scent delievered via a handy rollerball. A nuzzle of jasmine wrapped in warming nutmeg, brightening bergamot and a soft breeze of blue lotus on a caressing base of cedar and sandalwood.

 

Vines House Parfum Signature Story £75 for 30ml eau de parfum
Founder Rebecca Harrison shares her signature scent ‘for a mood of composure and contentment’ – a veriutable hug in a bottle. Cool lychee snuggles with ginger lily in a whisper of warm amber-rippled vanilla.

 

Angela Flanders Bleu de Chine £79 for 50ml eau de parfum
Swathe yourself in the hush of dry lavender, grounding patchouli aged for extra depth and the woody heart of bois de rose. Inspired by vintage Chinese textiles, it’s immediately comforting yet effortlessly elegant.

 

 

Histoires de Parfums 1899 £35 for 15ml eau de parfum
With a pop of Champagne corks flying, the bohemians emerge from the clubs of Paris into the dazzling lights of the city. The fizz of bergamot and juniper floats on orange blossom ablaze with amber in the vibrant base.

[Try a sample in our Scented Retreat Discovery Box]

 

HERMES_LOMBRE_DE_MERVEILLES

Hermes L’Ombre de Merveilles  £75 for 50ml eau de toilette
Perfumer Christine Nagel encourages us to ‘see the world from new and marvellous angles’ via contrasting light and shade. Shimmering tops notes swirl to black tea and simmering tonka.

 

Kierin NYC Nitro Noir £65 for 50ml eau de parfum
Mathieu Nardin’s powerhouse gourmand/floral positively swings its hips, with ripe berries swirled through rich patchouli and dusted with orris for a hypnotic, individualistic ‘hurrah!’

[Try a sample in the Kierin NYC Discovery Set]

Whether you need soothing or a chance to celebrate, there’s a whole world of fragrances out there to support and reflect how you’re feeling (or would like to feel). If you’re still wondering what would be the best scent to suit your mood, take a look at our genius Fragrance Finder. Simply type in the name of a fragrance you love and it will suggest six others, thanks to the so-clever personality-matching algorithm…

By Suzy Nightingale

Give Me Strength: perfumes for a post-lockdown pick-me-up

Oh sweet heavens, how we need something to help uplift our spirits and keep us keeping on. If you’ve just about reached the end of your rope, we’ve some fragrant ways to tie a knot in it and help you hang on…

For so long, we’ve marked the days not in encounters and newness, but with calendars full of red slashes: the things we didn’t do, the people we’ve not seen (perhaps for all of that time), the trips we’ve cancelled and how few hugs we’ve had from loved ones, if any hugs were had at at all.

It’s not just whimsy and conjecture that fragrance can help in troubled times – your sense of smell is directly linked to emotions and memory, so wafts of a favourite scent throughout the day can be a perfumed pick-up for you, or worn as a fragrant shield against the world in general. And there’s research to back up those beliefs.

 

 

A team of scientists, led by Christina Zelano from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, used neuroimaging and intercranial electrophysiology to prove the hippocampus (the part of the brain that stores memories and emotional reactions) is more directly linked with smell than any other sense. According to the study, published in Science Direct:

“This new research is the first to rigorously compare functional pathways connecting different human sensory systems with the hippocampus. The striking findings reveal our olfactory pathways connect more strongly with the hippocampus than any other sense.”

Smell is the only sense that’s directly plugged in to this area of the brain that controls our emotional responses. ‘In mammals, the sense of smell is uniquely linked to the part of the brain associated with emotions and the creation of memories,’ explains Dr Roux. All other senses – taste, hearing, sight, and touch – are processed by other regions of the brain before being linked to the limbic system. Our ability to smell ‘…is a window into parts of the brain related to core functions, like pleasure, emotion, and memory,’ agrees Jayant Pinto, MD, author of the study and an otolaryngologist and head and neck surgeon at University of Chicago Medicine.

Although a study published by Frontiers in Psychology found that tests with citrus and feelings of positivity ‘yielded inconsistent results’, they also discovered that ‘Indeed, depressive individuals seem to display a specific preference for citrus fragrances…’ Indeed, citrus scents, such as lemon, orange, and grapefruit, have been proven to help you feel more alert – and better about your body. A fascinating study at the University of Sussex showed the smell of a lemon makes us feel physically lighter, and as sciencedaily.com reported, ‘could help people feel better about their body image.’

Whatever your preference, we have no doubt there are perfumes out there to help you feel brighter, more alert and ready to face the day…

 

Shay & Blue Mermaid Kisses
The perfect pocket-sized pick me up, this is all swaying palm trees and wiggling your toes in warm sand as you drink that first holiday cocktail. If citrus doesn’t do it for you, try crispness and zing via apple and salty samphire sea lily atop luscious honeydew melon.
£12.50 for 10ml eau de toilette
shayandblue.com

 

Liz Earle Botanical Essence No.1
Sparkling fresh, a sudden snapshot of summer memories of laughing while dancing in a garden, the fizz of Champagne bubbles still on your lips, a warm breeze swirling rose petals at your feet. Spray whenever you need reminding that these better days will come again.
£54 for 50ml eau de parfum
uk.lizearle.com

 

Molton Brown Orange & Bergamot
Whisking you to the light-filled royal courtyards of Seville, bitter orange, sun-drenched bergamot and mandarin giggle into neroli and the cardamom-flecked, florist-shop freshness of galbanum; while ylang ylang is (unusually) found in the base, making for a giddily joyous landing.
£120 for 50ml eau de parfum
moltonbrown.co.uk

 

Clarins Eau Dynamisante
Containing essential oils of lemon, patchouli, petit grain, ginseng and white tea, it leaves you feeling like you’ve just bounced out of a spa treatment. Book the appointment and splash this on at will as you countdown…
£52 for 200ml eau de Cologne
clarins.co.uk

 

La Montaña First Light Reed Diffuser
It isn’t only fragrances we wear that can lift our mood. We adore the freshly squeezed sparkle of citrus in this – delivered via candle or reed diffuser – along with a fresh, herbaceous breeze that altogether evokes the tendrils of sunshine, that kiss of dawn that wake you from a dream.
£35 for 120ml reed diffuser
lamontana.co.uk

By Suzy Nightingale

The scent of hope – kindness with a cause

The scent of hope is in the air… While we’ve all been fragrancing our homes – and ourselves – to revive flagging spirits or give us a perfumed pep of much-needed energy; we’ve been so heartened to see some of the fragrance houses responding to the Covid-19 crisis by giving back to charity.

At a time when many smaller businesses and retail shops are struggling to survive, through various lockdowns and economic uncertaintly; their philanthropy is all the kinder, so therefore all the more meaningful to support.

 

Many fragrance houses halted production of perfumes during the very first lockdown, last year – LVMH using their factories and perfumer’s alcohol to make bottles of hand sanitiser instead of their usual scents – and  Miller Harris incredibly donated their entire stock of handwash, hand lotion and soaps to Age U.K.

Back in April, Acqua di Parma launched a #stayhome charity, donating 100% of their online revenue for the month to help fight Covid-19. Then Symrise stepped up and asked nineteen of their perfumers to collab on a Hero Cologne they gifted to frontline workers; and a little while ago, Fragrance Du Bois gave a super-glitzy rainbow-jewelled bottle of of their Oud Bleu Intrense fragrance (worth £5,000!) as an NHS raffle prize.

 

 

Floris found a cause close to their hearts (and heritage) by setting up the Florence Nightingale White Rose Appeal – donating 15% of profits from their iconic White Rose fragrance, a favourite of the famed nurse, who reportedly had bottles shipped to her during the Crimea War. We’re sure she found much solace in the classic scent of velvety roses swathed in cool, powdery iris and musk. In addition, an actual white rose for a nurse can be purchased at £5, as part of a display at Westminster Abbey the appeal are creating.

 

 

Currently, we’re also loving the limited edition Speranza (Italian for ‘hope’) fragrance that Sarah Ireland‘s created in aid of NHS Charities Together. Taking inspiration from the Amalfi Coast, we follow a perfumed coastal path to a fizz of sun-warmed pink grapefruit and juniper berries, gently enlivened with black pepper, as hyacinth and jasmine blossom amidst a warm hug of amber and blissful lavender.

 

 

Whichever of the fragrance houses supporting charities and key workers you want to explore, there really hasn’t been a better time to try some uplifting scents at home – a kindness to yourself and the causes you’ll be supporting…

By Suzy Nightingale

 

Comfort & Strength: scenting your mood with whispers and shouts

Comfort & Strength are feelings we’re all needing more of these days, and oh goodness, wearing the right fragrance really does help. But should you reach for something loud and proud or softly soothing…?

‘…Smell is a language of airborne shouts and whispers that travels across rooms. Smell is suggestive.’ – Sarah Knott, Mother: An Unconventional History (Penguin, 2019)

 

In the just-published Beyond Fashion & Fragrance edition of The Scented Letter magazine, I focus on the post-pandemic perfume landscape – reporting how fragrance sales actually grew during the first #lockdown, as people swathed themselves in familiar scents to comfort themselves; or tried a whole host of new fragrances to feel more alert and avoid associating their usual favourite with negative emotions. Similarly, the worldwide taste in perfumes seems to now vacillate between the big-hitter room-fillers and the altogether softer, more contemplative scents that remain closer to one’s own skin.

So which do you prefer? I know some days I crave the quietude of something gentle – an olfactory caress akin to wrapping myself in a cashmere blanket. At other times, I’ve desperately sought out scents to wear as a kind of fragrant armour against *gestures at everything* – some scented ‘backbone in a bottle’.

Whether its whispers or shouts you’re seeking, here’s a very small selection of fragrances I have been reaching for to scent my mood…

 

 

KAYALI VANILLA | 28
Creamy jasmine swirled through a cloud of vanilla is sheer bliss on the skin, a sensation of intimacy elegantly rendered in addictive tonka, musk and amber-rich patchouli sprinkled with brown sugar.
£67 for 50ml eau de parfum

Try it at: cultbeauty.co.uk

 

 

Olfactive O Skin
A soothing hush of ambrette seed, orris and magnolia unfurl from the sensation of cool, cotton sheets to a sweeter nuzzle of sun-warmed skin via beeswax absolute and sandalwood. An incredibly long-lasting hug – something we could all do with right now.
£100 for 30ml extrait de parfum

Try it at: olfactiveo.com

(You can also try Skin, along with all their other fragrances, in the Olfactive O Discovery Set: £30)

 

 

L’Orchestre Parfums Pianao Santal
A lullaby of languorous warm skin wraped in silky sheets, the sandalwood, cedar and ethereal white musks feel milky, mystical and dream-like; finally caressed by caraway, carried like motes of dust.
£129 for 100ml eau de parfum

Try it at: harveynichols.com

 

 

 

Kierin NYC Nitro Noir

A powerhouse contemporary Chypre/floral that positively swings its hips, with ripe pink berries swirled through rich patchouli and dusted with powdery orris for a hypnotic, individualistic hurrah.
£65 for 50ml eau de parfum

Try it at: theperfumeshop.com

Available in the Kierin NYC Discovery Set (all four fragrances to sample at home) for £15

 

 

 

THOO Live in Colours

Punchy grapefruit and lemon are paired with juicy red fruits before the heart fizzes pink pepper and ginger: exhilaration guaranteed. Hinoki wood and musk in the dry down help ground you, confidently.
£190 for 75ml eau de parfum

Try it at: jovoyparis.co.uk

 

Tom Daxon Iridium 71%

Proof that cashmere can be worn as armour, the original scent’s intensified to over three and half times the strength. Piquant juniper’s enfolded in layers of powery iris: silkiness draping the steely scaffolding.
£245 for 50ml extrait de parfum

Try it at: tomdaxon.com

Quite apart from using scent to smell nice, trying a variety of fragrances also helps to deleniate the days, don’t you think? At a time when travelling is almost non-existant, we’re pining for new experiences. Trying an unfamilar scent can genuinely jolt you out of feeling quite so… trapped – opening the world as your olfactory oyster, if you like, to explore.

With that in mind, we have a wonderful selection of Discovery Boxes of samples and ‘try me’ sizes we’ve specially curated for you to try at home, as well as fabulous Brand Discovery Sets where you can sample the entire offerings of niche houses.

Comfort and Strength: why not have both?

By Suzy Nightingale

Perfumer H launches Mask First Aid – mask-friendly fragrances

Perfumer H (a.k.a Lyn Harris) has launched two Mask First Aid scents – safe enough to spray on your face mask…

The collection of hand-crafted linen items and mask-safe scents (they have to be ‘food grade’ tested to be worn so close to your mouth, we’ve learned), springs from ‘…a creative partnership between Perfumer H and Arts & Science, Japan. Eastern craft meets western perfumery.’

Lyn had the idea for creating scents ‘during lock down after a conversation she had with her Japanese partner, Sonya Park of Arts & Science.’ Sonya had explained that wearing a face-covering was ‘…an integral part of the Japanese culture and how she felt it would be so great if Lyn could create something to help this new necessity for us all much more pleasurable.’

Thinking of the beautiful, uplifting and calming properties of two already much-loved fragrances in the collection, Lyn created special mask-friendly versions of ‘…Orange Flower, for its simplicity and beauty,’ and ‘Cucumber, as it is very neutral and with a touch of mint leaf gives a pleasant freshness.’

These delicately fragranced offerings sound like a complete boon for anyone havong to wear a mask for a number of hours, or for anyone looking to find a moment of perfumed pleasure during these tumultuous days…

 

Orange Flower: ‘Delicate orange blossom Tunisia centres the heart, enhanced with lemon Sicily, mandarin green and violet leaf France resting on a base of white musk completing this smooth floral cologne.’

 

Cucumber: ‘A transparent cologne composed around a simple fusion of watery cucumber sap and green woods, bringing a unique twist to this culinary delicacy. Top notes of bergamot, watermelon and lemon rind fused with cedar wood, vetiver and sea moss, empowered in a cool musk, making this an irresistible clean feast for the summer time.’

The masks are all hand made from a high-density weave with a super fine linen gauze (100% linen) and constructed in a three-layer structure to aid protection.

The mask comes in a special box with either of the two fragrances, £40 for 50ml. Exclusively from the Perfumer H, Marylebone store, and Arts & Science Japan.

Looking for other fragrances to soothe frayed nerves? We rounded up a collection of some favourite calming scents to spray away the blues (though these are for personal use, not made for masks). Now then, let’s all take a deep breath…

By Suzy Nightingale

What’s fragrance shopping in ‘the new normal’ like? Part One…

What’s fragrance shopping in ‘the new normal‘ like right now?

If – like us – you’ve been a touch cautious about returning to the high street to shop for fragrance in an actual store, we’ve some reassuring news: Our roving reporter (and co-founder of We Wear Perfume) Amanda Carr, visited central London this week and found it was not just safe, but surprisingly enjoyable…

‘Sat on an empty tube, masked-up and slightly anxious is not how I usually approach fragrance shopping, but this pandemic has turned everything upside down. What would my first foray into scent stores be like? How would I inhale fragrance through my home-made, Liberty print face mask? I clutched my portable hand sanitiser – Perfumer H, Orange Leaf Hand First Aid, since you’re asking – and nervously headed out.

My first stop was Les Senteurs in stylish Elizabeth Street, and there’s a polite notice on the door explaining the ‘two guest’ policy for socially distanced shopping. Using the hand sanitiser as you enter is a must and masks must be worn, but your nose can peek out to allow you to inhale. All done, according to manager Clair Wills, to keep you safe while sniffing.

But oh what a joy to be back in a store!

 

 

On the central display was the newly launched Tauer fragrance Phtaloblue, exclusive to Les Senteurs. Trying it felt like a reward for just being there, as a new Andy Tauer fragrance is always a treat, Phtaloblue is like a cool, sea breeze, lightly tinged with orange blossom and geranium, with smudges of herby notes as if you were on a cliffside walk.

Although closed during the pandemic, Les Senteurs has remained busy selling fragrance from its website due partly, Clair claims, to the weekly e-newsletter the store continued to send out and its free-post service. ‘I think people slowed down a lot during lockdown and had time to properly read about and consider the fragrances we featured,’ she told us. ‘We do a good tester services so customers had the time to order samples and consider them at home, then they treated themselves.’

 

 

Store visitors experience a similarly ‘slowed down’ shopping experience, I had the store to myself, since foot traffic in the area is still low, and the staff seemed delighted to see a real-life customer, so it all felt quite special. I browsed happily through fragrances from Cloon Keen, a charming Irish brand I’d been meaning to properly try, again exclusive to Les Senteurs, including the delicious new tuberose-heavy candle Étaín candle. I almost didn’t want to leave.

But with a new skip in my step, I continued my tour, including a brief trip across the road to the wonderfully air conditioned Jo Loves, where it’s business as usual, albeit it at a masked-up and quieter pace, and where I caught an energising spritz of the new Mango Thai Lime fragrance, another winner during the heat.

 

 

Over at Jovoy on Conduit Street, the store has spaced out its many fragrance collections and displays to allow up to two groups at a time to navigate the shop floor. Visitors also get their own pot of blotters and a pencil to take round with them, which is such a good idea – I hope this continues when we get back to normal – and there are vinyl gloves to wear for when you pick up the fragrance bottles to spray.

There have been a number of new launches at the store since lockdown including a wonderfully cheering medley of song-inspired fragrances from Musicology, a brand that stimulates the senses, memories and vibrations via music. Anyone who has read the recent Music & Perfume edition of The Scented Letter will feel slightly smug at already knowing the strong connection between sound and scent. I tried ‘Caus I’m Happy, a veritable rhythm of grapefruit, orange and bergamot citrus, and found myself humming Pharrell’s catchy tune of the same name for the rest of the day.

 

 

The store is also trialling a pre-selling service (a bit like stores would create a waiting list for an ‘it’ bag, although doesn’t that seem and age ago now?) for highly anticipated fragrances suffering from postponed lockdown launches.

For example, store visitors can get an exclusive sniff of Widian’s Limited Edition 71 Intense, and put down an order before its autumn launch, grabbing one of the never-to-be-repeated bottles. Store manager Ines Serracino explained that they hope to do more pre-selling as the team has noticed an increased demand for hard to get fragrances.

Watch out fashion, it looks like fragrance is now the hot item creating wish lists…’

We continue Amanda’s ‘new normal’ scent discovery shopping trip TOMORROW.  So come back then to have your senses further temted back in store…

(Text and pictures by Amanda Carr, edited by Suzy Nightingale).

A whiff of hope: smell test detects Covid-19 early warning

The whole world has felt ambushed by COVID-19, but it’s only recently that experts have realised that the sense of smell is one of the first things to be attacked – well before any other symptoms present themselves. Now, IFF (International Flavors & Fragrance) have helped develop a smell-test to take at home, donating scents from their living technology collection to aid the testing process…

Scientists now agree that the loss of smell represents an early warning sign of Coronavirus. Anosmia (smell loss) and dysgeusia (taste loss) are extremely common symptoms that may appear before any other symptoms to suspect a patient might be infected. Researchers developing the pioneering (and self-administered) test say that ‘early awareness of exposure may trigger testing sooner and improve the overall accuracy of testing for COVID-19.’ And as we now know – the earlier a possible infection can be detected and the patient made aware, the fewer other members of the public could be infected.

‘IFF has a long history of developing innovative solutions for a multitude of global challenges,’ commented Dr. Gregory Yep, IFF’s Chief Scientific and Sustaina­bility Officer. ‘Our ongoing collaboration with Dr. Albers underscores our commitment to do more good for people and planet, and I hope our donation can help contribute to a solution for this pandemic.’

The Blavatnik Sensory Disorders Fund at Harvard Medical School is enabling the building of apps that allow long-distance symptom tracking and smell testing from home, and up to 400 patients at MGH, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Spaulding Rehabiliation Hospital will be participating in their first round of testing.

After receiving a small and simple to use scratch card, the test will then be conducted on a patient’s own phone app (or via a tablet, or computer.) During the test, participants will answer a series of questions about possible COVID-19 symptoms and loss of smell and/or taste. By distributing this free smell test, the hopes are that presymptomatic detection of anosmia will trigger full testing and prompt patients to self-isolate – even if no other symptoms are present.

With the recent lowering of social distancing measures, many experts fear a second (and possibly even larger) spike in the numbers of new COVID-19 infections, it behoves us to be extra cautious and to be forewarned, as they say, is forearmed.

Dr. Mark Albers, an MGH neurologist specialising in memory and olfactory disorders, was one of the leading experts who wanted to set up the test, explaining that, ‘There is so much we don’t know about COVID-19, but the research shows that loss of smell and taste play a prominent role in identifying possible patients with the virus,’

‘If we can provide reliable self-administered tests to people and health care workers,’ Dr. Albers continued, ‘we may be able to slow the spread of the disease in the future and chart recovery of smell function, which may be helpful to determine when it is safe to reengage after having the COVID infection.’

Fascinating, isn’t it, how we are only now discovering how many medical conditions have early warning signs reflected in a loss of smell? Perhaps now, those scientists who were toiling away studying the sense of smell – which for so many years was disregarded as insignificant – will be taken more seriously; and (we hope – perhaps naively) will be given the funding they so desperately need.

By Suzy Nightingale

HERO Cologne created to honour frontline workers

Ninteen Symrise perfumers have come together to create HERO Cologne, donated to frontline and key workers dealing with the Covid-19 global pandemic.

Each perfumer added one ingredient to the fragrance,with each one chosen specifically to contribute to the well-being of those who wear it, Symrise say.

‘It has been shown that the addition of fragrance to our daily essentials increases our quality of life,’ explains Ricardo Omori, Senior Vice President of global fine fragrance. ‘In the current situation, we want to do our part to lift the mood of our heroes with HERO and to try to give positive feelings to their lives. In doing so, we show our appreciation for these thousands of everyday heroes who are working hard for us with their dedicated efforts.’

Developed to recognise the incredible efforts of the frontline workers, and donated directly to them in order, hopefully, to provide some moments of scented enjoyment, it’s interesting to see which (sustainably sourced) ingredients they chose for this unisex scent.

‘It interweaves ingredients from traditional eau de cologne and brings in contemporary notes like Ambrostar, a Symrise captive, musk and vanilla. The result presents an invigorating and supportive fragrance that combines energy and comfort.

The top note exudes a composition of Mandarin from Madagascar, bergamot with a boost of peppermint and ginger. The heart contains warm notes of ambrette seeds, orris and rose. The base note gives the fragrance fullness and modernity with guaiac wood, sandalwood, vetiver from Madagascar, cypress and renewable vanillin.’

 

 

I was particularly fascinated to see the mention of vanillin in the base – having previously researched a story and discovering that many scientific tests have proven the calming powers of vanillin. It used to be assumed this was because the scent reminded people of mother’s milk or sweet cakes, but those tests proved it significantly reduced the ‘startle reflex’ even in animals that don’t suckle. It’s since gone on to be trialled in fragrancing particularly high-stress areas of hospitals, such as MRI and CT Scanning rooms, and for patients undergoing chemotherapy.

How wonderful it’s been to see the way beauty and fragrance companies large and small have responded to the crisis, trying to do their bit even as they wonder if they will be able to survive.

‘We believe in the power of scent to touch our senses, our soul and the world,’ says Omori. ‘That’s why we’ve developed a fragrance for all the heroes who, with their tireless and selfless efforts, are helping to fight the coronavirus crisis. HERO is our small token of thanks for the work they do.’

And we’d also like to thank every single one of you out there – medical workers, delivery people and essential shop staff, the beauty industry who so quickly changed their output to hand sanitiser or donated supplies to food and beauty banks – to everyone who had their own struggles at home, shielding the vulnerable, coping with home-schooling kids while trying to work or worrying about not having a job to go to anymore – you are all heroes in our eyes, and we hope you’ve found a calming/uplifting scent of your own to help you get through.

Keep your eyes on our social media next week as we have a new campaign starting, asking just this: what fragrances have helped you, lately…? And there’s some wonderfully scented prizes in store…

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Important! Crowdsourcing Covid-19 symptom survey needs YOUR help

Perfumer and brand founder Christophe Laudamiel has joined the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research in calling attention to the loss of smell as a vital clue in the on-going fight against the Covid-19 virus.

Laudamiel writes:

‘An incredibly surprising twist to the pandemic is that a unique symptom of COVID-19, even among those who barely feel any other symptoms, is an abrupt and total loss of the sense of smell. That loss lasts for about a week and is scary enough for the public to realise the importance of their noses…’

As we previously reported back when #lockdown first began, this loss of smell is often the only symptom noticed, and it’s incredibly important to tell your doctor about this, and take actions, because otherwise you may be unwittingly spreading the virus.

Now, the scientific community are working together – and asking for YOUR help – to create a global database of anonymously submitted symptoms, so that the spread of all respitory illnesses / loss of smell type smptoms can be tracked. It is vital to have a global databse of this information for any true picture, and for work to be done on creating a possible vaccine or other preventative measures to be taken.

The Global Consortium consists of open-science contributors: transdisciplinary scientists, clinicians, and patient advocates from all over the world, and their advice is:

– If you lose your sense of smell, call your doctor and get tested. This will potentially save your life, and the lives of those near you.

– If you have, or think you have suffered from Covid-19, or even from a cold or ‘Flu in 2020, we ask that you very crucially ANSWER THIS OFFICIAL PUBLIC-SAFETY SURVEY

Says Laudamiel: ‘The survey will take about ten minutes and is totally anonymous, hosted on an open Penn State University server and ccomplies to EU rules and global ethic standards.

English, Spanish, French, German and 6 other languages are available, 20 more languages to come very soon.

Please take it seriously. The results will be published and immediately utilised by health authorities, doctors, patients and olfactory workers worldwide.’

By taking just a few minutes to report any symptoms you have – you will be doing the whole world a favour. And apart from anything else, it will be fascinating for scientists to see how widespread the loss of of the sense of smell is on a global scale. This is an issue that’s been too long ignored or not taken particularly seriously, and those who have suffered smell loss can tell you how utterly devastating this can be, quite apart from the fact that smell loss is already recognised as a possible early warning sign of Alzheimers and now, known to be a symptom of Covid-19 too…

By Suzy Nightingale

#StayHome with Acqua di Parma: donating 100% of online revenue to charity

Acqua di Parma are launching a #StayHome charity campaign to support the fight against COVID-19. Throughout the month of April, 100% of e-commerce revenues generated by sales of the Home Collection, Barbiere and Personal Care products will be donated to support initiatives against the corona crisis.

In these stressful and uncertain times, how heartening it has been to see brands, both big and small, stepping up to provide support, making hand-santisisers, donating products and now, with Acqua di Parma’s #StayHome campaign donating an incredible 100% of their online profits to help their home country, which has been hit so hard by this pandemic.

 

 

Laura Burdese, CEO of Acqua di Parma comments that, ‘In these difficult times of suffering and strife that grip Italy so severely, it is natural and right for Acqua di Parma to make a strong gesture of solidarity. With the #StayHome campaign, we can do our part and demonstrate the love that the Maison has for our mother country.’

Explaining further why this campaign was so important to them, Laura continues: ‘Our solidarity campaign is a way to provide tangible support, be it emotional or economic, to Italy in this time of need so that in dealing with this emergency, we can preserve what we love most about our country: Italian art, nature and culture will continue to be given and shared across the globe’

 

 

Acqua di Parma invite you to help support this campaign by sharing social media posts – perhaps of cosy, scented spaces you have created? – and tagging @acquadiparma_official and #StayHome. What’s more, during this time, all Acqua di Parma online orders have FREE delivery, so even more excuse to indulge, delight and comfort yourself with scent at home…

By Suzy Nightingale