Tag: culture

Scenting Celebrity Traitors – Spoiler Free!

‘The fingerless gloves are ON as Claudia Winkleman returns to The Traitors castle with an all-star cast who are ready to play the ultimate game of deceit and betrayal…’ – The BBC

Arguably the biggest televisual ‘appointment viewing’ in years, certainly in this era of streaming shows whenever we wish and not being beholden to live TV schedules; Celebrity Traitors has debuted the first two episodes to much acclaim (and heated debate). So of course, we’re rolling up our flouncy sleeves to prepare another fragrance-matching opportunity.

There’s a whole series of these ‘scenting’ blogs for The Perfume Society, in which we take a zeitgeist cultural icon of the time and suggest scents to match literature, art, music and movies. In making connections and drawing allusions between characters we may know well and the complexities of attempting to describe an invisible smell, it’s our belief that they serve as a kind of shortcut to a truer understanding of both the perfume and whatever you’re pairing it with.

Now, holding up our promise of being SPOILER FREE (so therefore not revealing who the Traitors are, or which of the first Faithfuls have been bumped off or at risk), we’re delving in to the world of the castle’s current residents, and hoping to provide perfume suggestions that add to the atmosphere, or could help bolster the celebrity contestants during the many trials and various tribulations they will endure.

 

 

 

The full list of celebrities taking part this year, and competing to win money for their chosen charities, are:

 

 

Think of each of these recommendations as olfactory cloaks (for Traitors and Faithfuls alike to don). And though we’ve only pulled out a few examples here to perfume-match: which fragrances, we wonder, would YOU pair with your favourite celebrity, and why…?

[P.S: Click on the linked name of each celebrity to be whisked to their interview page on The Traitors Wiki website, BUT: BE WARNED, those pages do contain spoilers, so don’t read until you’ve caught up with the show!]

 

 

 

Clare Balding + Sarah Baker Riders

Obviously we plumped for a perfume that would bring a sense of familiarity and comfort for Clare, and of course (Clare often being found commentating at horse racing tracks and equestrian occasions around the country) it had to be something horsey. So what better than this hay-strewn, grassy-nuzzle from Sarah Baker’s stable? It veritably gallops out the bottle, Sunlit pastures meet leather saddles on verdant fields, ripe peaches drip luscious juices as tobacco and amber sizzle salaciously. We feel this perfume proffers nostalgic assurance alongside a serving of sass – exactly what Clare will need to stay grounded among this lot…

£150 for 50ml eau de parfum in The Perfume Society Shop

 

 

 

Stephen Fry + Penhaligon’s The Cut

Paying homage to the craftsmanship and timelessness of Savile Row tailoring is this creation by Paul Guerlain (yes, he belongs to that fabled bloodline, grandson of Jean-Paul), which we feel befits the inherent British stylishness of Stephen Fry. Fragrance mastery, then, is almost a given, here expressed with a whoosh of basil and mint (perfectly enlivening for the senses) tethered by the woodsiness of cedar and cypress (representing the rugged landscape of the Traitors castle). Fir balsam runs like a thread throughout, for a tailored creation that intelligently marries swagger and style to a wilder terroir.

From £85 for 30ml eau de parfum johnlewis.com

 

 

 

Celia Imrie + FERRAGAMO Fiamma

No spoiler, as she reveals this from the get-go, but Celia says that she has ‘a naughty streak that I find hard to suppress’; so it’s possibly a match made in heaven for her to wear this particular perfume. Radiating ‘luminous energy and timeless elegance’, white pear and wisps of saffron open to a creamy gardenia and jasmine heart, encircled by swags of wild honeysuckle. Warm Ambrox, patchouli and sugared moss linger, making a sensual, woody fusion. Passionate yet refined, classic yet contemporary, just like Celia’s own character, it empowers and envelops, leaving a so-wearable sophisticated trail. Blooming iconic.

£55 for 55ml eau de parfum houseoffraser.co.uk

 

 

 

Nick Mohammed + ARgENTUM Magician 

Paying tribute to transformation and a clever, quicksilver charm, Magician by ARgENTUM is a fragrant sleight-of-hand fitting Nick Mohammed’s ingenious wit (and his magician’s skills). A conjuring of orange flower and black pepper casts the first spell: brisk, surprising, and effervescent. Chilli pepper and clove bud follow with theatrical energy and pace, swirling through secret corridors. The base, drily resonant Atlas cedar, warm labdanum, benzoin and myrrh, evokes magical rituals and smoke trails. Magician is the scent Nick should wear to waft wonderment wherever he goes.

£78 for 30ml eau de parfum in The Perfume Society Shop

 

 

 

Charlotte Church + Wales Perfumery Country Gwlad

Capturing the verdant soul of her homeland, this scent evokes Charlotte Church’s lyricism, her voice as fluid as the rivers this is inspired by, her rebellious spirit rooted in the wild, rolling hills. Fresh green notes and water mingle with narcissus and petitgrain, reminiscent of dew-drenched meadows. Vetiver and woods offer grounding, something Charlotte will certainly need in her time cloistered at the castle. This is the fragrance for a woman who’s at home beneath clear skies, in chorus with song and soil, a sense of freedom perfectly balanced with deep-rootedness in the dry down.

£81 for 50ml eau de parfum in The Perfume Society Shop

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Fragrances for festivals – scents that stand out in a crowd!

With Glastonbury music festival about to kick off, and all manner of other festivals about to shimmy into the summer season, we are celebrating scents that lend themselves to the sounds you’ll be listening to…

 

But first: have you ever considered how perfectly linked music and perfume really are?

Well, we refer to a fragrance being ‘composed’, with fragrant ‘notes’ and ‘accords’, all of which were arranged on a perfumer’s ‘organ’. The scent is measured for how it ‘performs’, by how well those notes ‘harmonise’, and of course many fragrances (classic and modern) have melodious inspirations. But at The Perfume Society, we feel festival season in the U.K. is THE perfect time to harmonise your own experiences of hearing the music, and wearing a perfume that perfectly matches the mood (and can even enhance the vibe).

So, why are music and fragrance so inextricably linked, beyond the words we use to describe them? It might partly be down to the physical way we smell, how an odour molecule makes its way into our olfactory receptors. Yet this is something on which, astonishingly, scientists are yet to agree. The majority opinion seems to be that odour molecules have distinct shapes, and that some of these fit easily into corresponding olfactory receptacles (like a child’s shape-matching puzzle).

 

 

But there is another, still-controversial theory: that scent molecules, like sounds, vibrate. This theory has been put forward by biophysicist and scent author Luca Turin, and certainly finds favour with many. In an article she wrote for The Telegraph, Christine Nagel, resident perfumer for Hermès, explained it thus, namely that  ‘…odour depends on the ways the molecule can vibrate, determined by the exact arrangement of atoms and bonds inside the molecule. Differently structured molecules will “sound” different the way different musical instruments do, making them smell different from each other.’

For Francis Kurkdjian, the nose behind Jean Paul Gaultier’s Le Male and several Elie Saab bestsellers, in-house perfumer at Dior, as well as his own celebrated Maison Francis Kurkdjian line of fine fragrances, ‘…music and perfume are very much related because they use a common medium – the air. You hear music when the vibration of the sound in the air hits your ears, the same way that perfume needs the movement of air to come to your nose.’

Fragrance YouTube broadcaster Dariush (aka Persolaise) says that listening to music and wearing a fragrance that somehow evokes it is  a match made in heaven, saying that ‘In our gorgeous-smelling community of scenthusiasts, we know all about living through our senses,’ and explaining: ‘a favourite pursuit of mine, every now and then, is to choose one of my favourite albums, fire up my sound system and select a perfume whose notes will somehow enhance the musical notes emerging from the speakers.’

 

 

 

Dariush continues, ‘Sometimes I wear it on myself. Sometimes I fill the room with it. Sometimes I burn it in candle form. That’s not terribly important. The point is to give some thought to the sounds and consider what form they’d take if they were turned into a perfume.’ Reflecting on this act of listening while wearing, he concludes that ‘Making the effort ACTIVELY to listen to a whole piece of music is just as rich and memorable an experience as plunging into the complexity of a perfume. But what’s even more powerful is when you combine the two.’

We couldn’t agree more, and here’s our roundup of some fragrances we recommend wearing to festivals this summer (or simply enjoying while boogying in your back garden, if festivals aren’t really your thing!)

 

 

 

 

 

Noyz x Damon Baker Monochrome

Crafted with photographic prodigy Damon Baker – this is a festival-worthy scent that plays with light and shadow. Opening with the sparkle of citrus and an energising hit of earthy coffee, it’s an instant mood-lifter for sun-drenched afternoons. Meanwhile, the smooth blend of patchouli and addictive dry down keeps things intriguing as the night truly comes alive.

Currently £105 for 50ml eau de parfum harrods.com

 

 

 

 

 

Marc Jacobs Perfect Elixir

With a playful burst of purple rhubarb and sunny orange blossom, this scent is a festival in a bottle. Warm amber woods and creamy vanilla bean wrap you in a joyful hug, perfectly matching the colourful, self-expressive spirit of a British summer festival, this is a true ode to individuality and celebration.

£72 for 30ml eau de parfum theperfumeshop.com

 

 

 

 

 

Elie Saab L’Homme

Bergamot and pink pepper sparkle at first spritz, while smoky vetiver and warm cedarwood bring a touch of mystery and sophistication. It’s the scent for the festival-goer who moves between stages and tents with quiet, magnetic confidence. It’s one of those fragrances that’s as enigmatic as it is inviting.

£62.50 for 50ml eau de parfum johnlewis.com

 

 

 

 

 

Sabrina Carpenter Sweet Tooth Cherry Baby

This flirty, cherry-rich fragrance is a playful nod to festival fun – think sweet cherry, dark chocolate, and peony wrapped up in ultra cute packaging. It’s vibrant, youthful, and just the thing for making new friends under the festival marquee – and it lasts really well on even dance-warmed skin.

£39.99 for 75ml eau de parfum thefragranceshop.co.uk

 

 

 

Guess Iconic Man

A bold, spicy opening of Sichuan pepper and mandarin sets the tone for adventure, while aromatic sage and earthy vetiver keep things grounded and intriguing. It’s the scent for the festival trailblazer who loves to stand out, but doesn’t want to try too hard – effortlessly cool and utterly beguiling, leaving a trail of allure wherever they party.

£67 for 100ml eau de toilette guess.eu

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Scenting the Detectives: Part II

Earlier this month, while indulging the month’s general blog theme of ‘Endeavour’ (and mostly having confined that to sporting and Olympic-themed scents), I took a somewhat unexpected turn to the topic of Scenting the Detectives (‘Endeavour’ being the first name of Inspector Morse, and of the TV show revealing his backstory). There was such a lovely response to that fragrance-matching feature that I’m back with a second case, because there were so many iconic detectives yet to cover!

Why the scent-matching to apparently random topics, you wonder? Basically put, I always think it helps you get a much fuller sense of fragrance’s soul if you can liken it to other things or people you already know (rather than just listing notes). So, grab your magnifying glasses and track down these fragrant characters some time soon: one (or more!) of them may just solve your own case of ‘what fragrance shall I wear next…?

 

 

 

Magnum P.I – Jean Paul Gaultier Le Beau Le Parfum Intense

The iconic masculine torso (talking about the bottle, here! Well, mostly) comes to party. There’s always been something delightfully retro-inspired yet modern about Gaultier’s scents, so the wild sensuality of salt-licked ambergris, fizz of ginger and pineapple match the 80s magnetism of Magnum. A former naval officer turned private detective in Hawaii, ripples of woody tonka only add to his never fully-clothed yet cheeky charm.

£81 for 75ml eau de parfum intense  jeanpaulgaultier.com

 

 

 

 

 

Christine Cagney – Memoize London Eximus

A career-minded single woman at a time when such things were [ahem, often apparently still ARE] shocking, Cagney had the shorter fuse of the TV duo, and wouldn’t pander to being patronised or told (as she often was) that she ‘didn’t look like a cop.’ Eximus is inspired by the time ‘you went the extra mile and it paid off’, evoking strength of character via subtly sweetened spiced saffron, memorably contrasting pear blossom.

£177 for 100ml extrait de parfum in our shop

 

 

 

 

Mary Beth Lacey – Memoize London Curatio

I thought it would be appropriate to choose something from the same fragrance house, yet utterly contrasting in character for Lacey, and while this scent is fluffier around the edges than Cagney’s, it still packs a perfumed punch when needed. The peach-y hug is comforting, gently garlanded with jasmine in the heart, but it’s firmly grounded in warm amber with a long-lasting trail that sticks with you, steadfastly.

£177 for 100ml eau de parfum in our shop

 

 

 

 

Columbo – Miller Harris Feuilles de Tabac

Combining Columbo’s twin loves of cigars and chilli, the slowly smouldering cuban tobacco occasionally flares with firey pimento berries; but don’t expect the full story to be revealed at first sniff. This scent’s in it for the long game, like the lovable detective – shuffling measuredly back and forth from mellow patchouli to the surprising freshness of pine needles and sage leaves. You’ll definitely be back for ‘just one more…’ bottle.

£100 for 50ml eau de parfum millerharris.com

 

 

 

Lord Peter Wimsey – Atkinsons The British Bouquet

It had to be something classical but winsomely dapper for Wimsey. If you’re asking “who?”, you must immediately rush out and read the Dorothy L. Sayers series. Mannered, seemingly reserved but with a warm humour and deep seams of passion only his soul-mate, Harriet Vane, can reveal; the refined bitter orange and caviar lemon relax into leather like the first sip of the evening’s first martini (always served dry).

£148 for 100ml eau de toilette atkinsons1799.com

>Written by Suzy Nightingale

Scenting the Detectives…

Continuing with the ‘endeavour’ theme for the month (which we are mostly dedicating to sporting scents, and being more adventurous in your fragrance choices); we thought it would be fun to (special) branch out a bit and incorporate hunting for a new fragrance with our popular ‘Scenting…’ series of articles – where we pick perfumes we think would be perfect for well-known TV, movie or musical characters and artists, and have matched everything from Bridgerton to Stranger Things and the painter Sargent, so far. Well… we thought: why not scent match the detectives, too…? 

 

Why are we matching scents to detectives, you might be wonder – is it just a bit of fun? Well hopefully it’s fun to read, of course, but there’s a serious point behind the frivolity: fragrance is famously an invisible entity that’s tricky to convey in any format to someone who’s not yet smelled it for themselves.

 

 

 

When trying to explain what something smells like, we all have to navigate the emotional maze of cultural and personal associations and scent memories, while attempting to clearly convey the concept without merely relying on a list of fragrance notes – which is as useless as a shopping list is to tasting the finished meal, or the names of paints are to understanding the deeper meaning an artist is hoping to project.

So: we match scents to characters / people and programmes you may be familiar with to give you a nuanced sense of not only what that scent might smell like, but how it will make you feel when you wear it. And isn’t that really what we’re all most concerned about when choosing a new fragrance?

 

Of course, given our theme for the month, and the topic of detectives, we had to start with none other than…

 

 

 

Endeavour – The Merchant of Venice Maria Callas

Telling the fascinating backstory of Inspector Morse’s complex character, the prequel already shows him as refined, standing apart from the crowd, and placing great importance on culture, art, and especially classical music and opera. With this homage to the Divina of all operatic performers, there’s a nuanced vulnerability amidst strength. Endeavour would bring out the backbone of reassuring woodiness which grounds the softer, amber-warmed rose and sparkling top notes. Encore!

£206 for 100ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com

 

 

 

Miss Marple – 4160 Tuesdays The Lion Cupboard

Jane Marple may be seen by some as a tweed-y, twittery, nosey yet harmless senior citizen, but the mischievous twinkle in those piercing eyes hints at her innate ability to see through lies, right to the heart of the matter. Here, ferns are pressed between pages of a diary, love letters discovered in faded ribbons, a lipstick kiss on a foxed mirror, a silk scarf with the faint tang of a gentleman’s Cologne entwined with a woman’s scent is found at the crime scene. Whodunnit? Oh, she knows.

£50 for15ml eau de parfum  4160tuesdays.com

 

 

 

Hercule Poirot – Floris Special No.127

The always immaculate Belgian detective requires a fragrance that feels understated yet characterful, utterly classic but timeless. Perhaps after living in London a while, and being (we are sure) a regular patron of Jermyn Street (known for its traditional tailoring and gentleman’s grooming); he would elegantly saunter his way to Floris. There’s a refreshing citrus blend of bergamot and orange with petitgrain, a cool heart of lavender and geranium, while patchouli and musk add longevity.

Discover in the Floris Classic Collection Set, £35 for 6 x 2ml samples in our shop

 

 

 

 

Jessica Fletcher – Map of the Heart Purple Heart v.5

Being dedicated to ‘a teller of tales’, this scent perfectly befits the murder mystery writer Jessica Fletcher, who seems more often embroiled in tangled reality than the tales she imagines. However, we picture her taking a break from discovering bodies at friends’ houses, and instead sitting at her desk pondering the next novel. Ink smudges the typewriter keys, a tin of licorice and bowl of black cherries sit beside a vase of purple roses. Intriguing and optimistic, this scent is a triumph on skin.

Try it in the Map of the Heart Discovery Set, £35 for 7 x 1ml samples in our shop

 

 

 

 

Sherlock Holmes – Redolescent Hive Mind

In the story ‘His Last Bow: An Epilogue of Sherlock Holmes’ we learn that the world-famous detective has retired and become a beekeeper on the South Downs. Not as unusual a transition as you may think, because, as Holmes’ tome on the subject reveals, it is “the fruit of the pensive nights and laborious days when I watched the little working gangs as I once watched the criminal world of London.” He’d take comfort in this honied meadow scent – as mellow as it is meticulously structured.

£145 for 50ml eau de parfum in our shop

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get in to the (scented) Groove – the history of fragranced vinyl

With it being the iconic ‘Last Night of the Proms’ classical music fesitval on Saturday, and having recently delighted in previously ‘Perfuming the Proms‘ for our blog; those wishing to make this a long(er) player of perfume should seek the Music & Perfume edition of The Scented Letter magazine. In it, we traced the harmonious relationship between music and fragrance to its very beginning, but here award-winning writer Amanda Carr looks at the utterly intriguing history of fragranced vinyl through the years…

Vinyl is having something of a moment, with new record stores selling both vintage and new vinyl LPs opening in all the hippest of locations. Imagine our thrill, therefore, when we discovered that vinyl is often sold scented! From Madonna to Stevie Wonder, musicians have perfumed their vinyl grooves to enhance the listening experience.

Fragrances are often inspired by a good tune. The gorgeous Acqua di Parma Note Di Colonia collection springs to mind, with its appreciation of soaring operatic crescendos, artful preludes and glorious musical scores. On a more modern note, JUSBOX’s collection of fragrances honours musical genres: there’s Cheeky Smile, which celebrates Acid House, alongside Green Bubble, a scented ode to reggae (and yes, there are notes of marijuana in the accord). JUSBOX‘s vinyl-capped bottles can even be found for sale in an actual record shop, the delightful Olympic Studio Records in Barnes. (Disclosure: it’s owned by my husband – which is how I stumbled onto this story in the first place…)

Actually scenting the grooves is an inspired move. It’s no surprise the Queen of Pop, Madonna, dabbled with perfuming her tunes. First pressings of 1989’s ‘Like A Prayer’, were impregnated with the smell of frankincense and patchouli, reinforcing religious connections, along with song tracks such as ‘Oh Father’, and pictures of Madonna’s considerable crucifix jewellery collection. Our much-played copy of the album still carries a shadowy sillage of a rather good patchouli scent, although those earthy, incense vibes remind us more of dressing up and dancing till dawn at parties held in darkened basements rather than the cold stone and incense-heavy interiors of churches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stevie Wonder’s ‘Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants’, a title crying out for its own scent, was perfumed with a floral note on its release in 1979, although apparently stopped after reports that the scent – which fans of the record remember as a faint hint of rose – turned out not to be helping the quality of the sound. But technology has since improved considerably and scented vinyl continues to be pressed by modern artists. The Third Man record company, founded by uber-cool musician Jack White, bought its own vinyl factory in Detroit, where its produces top quality vinyl that is often scented. Karen Elson, ex-wife of Mr. White, released ‘The Ghost Who Walks’, in 2010, as a delicate peach coloured vinyl record which is also scented with the dewy aroma of softly sweet peach.

Less artful but still enthusiastically received by fans, the 30th anniversary ‘Ghostbusters: Stay Puft Edition’, a 12-inch double A-side single, released by Sony Music in 2014, was scented with marshmallow in tribute to the film’s giant Stay Puft marshmallow baddy. Singing along to Ray Parker Jr.’s catchy theme tune on one side and Run-DMC’s updated reboot on the other, could surely only be improved with wafts of sugary-sweet vanilla notes coming off the stylus. We can’t help thinking that other film soundtrack albums could use fragrance creatively to add to the sense of fun, for example wouldn’t ‘Mamma Mia’ be even more joyous to sing along to if it pumped out an olfactive scentscape of a sun drenched Greek island alongside the songs…?

With a different angle on the concept, Japanese fragrance house Shiseido once hired musician Hiroshi Noshimura to create a vinyl album entirely inspired by one of its fragrances as an innovative gift-with-purchase idea. The fragrance was called A.I.R (Air In Resort) so the album, which was steeped in the scent, was given the same name. The music complemented the green, forest notes of pine, earth and wood with a sound track of birdsong, the sea and field-based recordings of nature. Customers were were encouraged to listen to the record while appreciating the scent. It’s certainly a step up from the paper tester blotters we’re used to.

And artists, it seems, simply can not resist a scratch-n-sniff album cover. A quick chat on the super-informed Discogs forum, where music fans hang out to talk all things vinyl (there are many similarities between music and perfume fans) turned up a long list of album covers with scent-infused patches used to enhance the listening. The gold standard scented cover is unanimously agreed to be a 1972 release by The Raspberries, with a scratch-and-sniff sticker that smelled very convincingly of…yep, raspberries.

 

 

 

 

From Duran Duran’s limited edition ‘Perfect Day’ 7-inch single with its strawberry scented ice cream cone cover, to Spinal Tap’s The Majesty Of Rock album, with its scratch-and-sniff sleeve scented with Ye Olde Roast Beef Flavour, via Melanie’s ‘Garden In The City’ – where listeners were encouraged to rub the sticker to ‘release the magic of Melanie’s Garden’ – musicians clearly love to scent their songs.

We say: that makes for a great-smelling record collection. And we’d like to see more of this, please…!

By Amanda Carr

 

 

To get even further in the groove and explore the links between music and scent, have a look at our print copy of the Music & Perfume issue of The Scented Letter Magazine…

• In Hitting All The Right Notes (above), Viola Levy looks at ways that modern perfumers use music to inspire their creations

• Ofactory consultant Pierre Aulas – who chose perfumery over a career as an opera singer – shares the secrets of his creative days in A Working Nose

• Scent gets social with Smellfie Day 2020, our celebration of International Fragrance Day – which had quite a different message in this strange year

• Suzy Nightingale invites us to enjoy A Scented Symphony, discovering a perfume house with works with instruments, artisans and musicians

• And why note create your own scented playlist? In Listening to Scent, Persolaise invites us to sit back, relax, hit ‘play’

And of course, as usual, we bring you all the Latest Launches, news, events – and so much more!

 

We are now able to take orders for a limited run of printed copies of the magazine, priced £12.50 to our VIP Subscribers (£15 to non-VIPs). And remember: you can now also buy an annual print subscription to The Scented Letter (six issues), here

(NB Print copies are sent out approximately 10 days after each new issue of The Scented Letter appears on the website, so please bear with us. We work right up to the wire to make sure everything is truly newsworthy!)

Chapter & Verse: fragrances inspired by literature

Fragrance and literature have a scented symbiosis, a way of piercing beneath layers of logic to reach our most instinctive emotions. They tap into deep-seated memories, dare us to dream, and share the power to make us feel a certain way, even if we don’t fully understand why.

Consequently, English Literature is a particularly bountiful resource for perfumes – so many have taken inspiration from the pages of novels, hoping to evoke the atmosphere of the story itself, or exemplify famous characters through the ages.

Writers frequently allude to other senses when attempting to fully plunge the reader into a plot – the most skilled wielding the sense of smell as another character, almost, or underlining that most private, inner world the other characters inhabit.

 

 

I encourage you to dive into these scented stories, for as Master Perfume Jean -Claude Ellena says:

‘Perfume is a story in odour, sometimes a poetry in memory…’

 

Sarah Baker Parfums Far From the Madding Crowd

Juxtaposing idyllic pastoral scenes with simmering, intense emotions, this fragrance references Thomas Hardy’s book of the same name, seeking to evoke an atmosphere that is, to quote Baker, ‘simultaneously exquisitely beautiful and cruelly unforgiving.’ Amidst the beautiful note of heliotrope – a flower that often grows wild among ancient hedgerows – dangerous declarations and balmy evenings are poised betwixt the romantic idealism of a country picnic. Think long summer grasses, orchards filled with fallen fruits, wide meadows to run through in gauzy gowns, willows to sit beneath while passionately pining.

£95 for 50ml eau de parfum or try a sample in their Discovery Set for £25 / VIP price £21

Histoire de Parfums 1804 George Sand

Renowned for her androgynous pen name, Sand was ‘the incarnation of the first modern woman’, and forms a central part of the brand’s literary leanings (which include an intriguing voyage via their 1828 Jules Verne and the rather more risqué 1740 Marquis de Sade). This vibrant throb of a scent tempts the senses with succulent pineapple before lavishly decorating with tall vases of white flowers and coming to rest on the warm, ambered sensuality of the spices that ripple throughout. If ‘fruity’ fragrances have previously made you recoil, come back into the fold with this utterly grown-up and bosomy embrace.

From £36 for 15ml eau de parfum 

 

Parfums Dusita Montri

A writer, traveller and strong yet gentle man who spent a lot of time in Paris, this fragrance was not only inspired by one of his poems, the office he wrote in and the materials he used – it radiates a sense of his poetic soul. A refined and ultra smooth blend of sophisticated spices are seamlessly stirred through orris butter, rose and Oud Palao. Ah, but this is a sheer, spacious and uplifting oud that speaks of wooden desks, piles of papers, the gentle scratch of a fountain pen on parchment and writing as the sun sets. An elegantly comforting scent that feels immediately timeless, how perfect for perfumer Pissara Umavijani to honour her literary father in this way, and what an honour for us, the wearers, to share it.

€150 for 50ml eau de parfum

 

 

 

Guerlain Mitsouko

Author Claude Farrère was a close friend of Jacques Guerlain, so when Farrère included a Guerlain fragrance in his novel Opium Smoke, describing ‘Jicky poured drop by drop onto the hands blackened by the drug’, Jacques was thrilled at the symbiosis and returned the favour by naming one of his greatest ever creations after a character in Farrès novel La Bataille. Conjuring romanticism as see through a woman’s eyes, this scent is a complex unfurling of cinnamon infused, milk-lapped plump peach skin, the oakmoss trail that lingering beguilingly for hours. The masterful current reformulation by Thierry Wasser is as close as we’ll get to the original, thanks to oakmoss restrictions, but oh it’s a must-sniff for literary and perfume lovers alike.

£112 for 75ml eau de parfum

 

 

 

 

Frederic Malle's Portrait of a Lady perfume

Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady

In Henry James’ eponymous novel, protagonist Isabel Archer sulks her way through immaculate gardens, burdened by blessings of too much beauty, intelligence and wealth [#thoughtsandprayers] while James himself seems to scamper behind, awed by her melancholy and reflecting that ‘a visit to the recesses of one’s spirit was harmless when one returned from it with a lapful of roses.’ Dominique Ropion’s fragrance leads the wearer face-first into that lap, a rambunctiously sexualised and swaggeringly confident portrait of the woman she might have been, perhaps; the shadier bowers ravaged for ripe berries, lips stained vermillion from their juice, petals torn as velvety pocketfulls of roses are ripped from their stems. A page-turner on the skin, for sure.

£188 for 50ml eau de parfum

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Les Parfums – charming new French comedy film about a ‘nose’: watch the trailer here!

Les Parfums (‘Perfumes’) is a just-released and utterly charming French film following the life of a feared and reclusive ‘nose’, and her troubled realtionship with her new chauffeur.

The English-subtitled film is a gentle comedy, but takes a serious (and very well presented) look at the life of a perfumer, and it has been released in the U.K. Now showing at selected Curzon cinemas,  it’s also on Curzon Home Cinema (to stream at home, for those of us not near one of the venues or who prefer to watch from the comfort of our homes).

Curzon Home Cinema says: ‘Anne Walberg (Emmanuelle Devos) is a master in fragrance who has fallen from grace amongst the upper echelons of the perfume industry. However, her skills are still in demand from companies looking to mask the smell of their odorous products. Over the years she has become selfish and temperamental. When she hires Guillaume (Grégory Montel) – a down on his luck chauffeur with too many points on his license and a rocky relationship with his young daughter – they strike up an unlikely friendship. Together they look to repair their lives and create a new signature scent to return Anne to her previous fame.’

Our review:

There are so few films about perfumers and our sense of smell, and we were thrilled to discover this new movie more than lives up to expectations. Following the rather hapless chauffeur, at first, Guillaume’s first clue to the trials and tribulations ahead with his new client is when she sniffs him, names the brand of his cigarettes and, when he offers her one, throws the packet out the car window. Other clues to her profession (and her character) come when Ms. Walberg demands that he help her change the sheets in a hotel room, declaring: ‘They use a fabric conditioner full of galaxolides for that “clean” smell. I hate it!’
Asked to recreate the smell of an ancient cave to diffuse at a tourist attraction, Ms. Walberg takes Guillaume along with her, rubbing the walls. ‘Mineral, earthy, camphor, touch of moss… Iris root’ she bids him write down in her notebook. Later, she asks him to smell something she’s created on a blotter. He complains that he doesn’t know what it smells of, but she gently encourages him to say whatever thoughts come to mind. ‘Trust yourself.’ Before we know it, Guillaume is in the supermarket, sniffing various shower gels – under the watchful gaze of a bemused security guard. ‘Something quite mellow…’ he says, as the guard shuffles closer, clearly unused to such behaviour in Aisle 5.
The extent of of Walberg’s’ fame is revealed when she smells Dior J’Adore on a waitress and casually tells Guillaume she created it. (In fact, it was composed by perfumer Calice Becker in 1999, but this is a fictional film, after all). Later we learn that, after she became famous with her photo adorning the cover of magazines, she ‘began to lose (my) nose.’ She thought that ‘with my experience of blending I could do it from memory.’ But after making a mistake, her confidence in composing fine fragrance was truly troubled and Devos lost her contract. Her sense of smell came back, but ‘the perfume world is small,’ and so with her reputation struck down in flames, she stuck to smaller, industrial and functional fragrance jobs while avoiding the public gaze.
Suddenly, Walberg loses her sense of smell again. Terrified, she decides to part ways with her pushy agent and, under the treatment of an anosmia specialist – who describes the condition as when ‘The nose and the brain stop working together,’ she begins her journey back into the fragrance world. But can this chauffeur with ‘a good nose’ actually help her recover her reputation and heal his own life…?
Les Parfums is a wonderful evocation of that joy of sharing a love of fragrance, of watching someone develop and explore their own sense of smell. And it’s also a healthy reminder that anosmia – losing one’s sense of smell – can be a terrifying and life-changing experience, even if you don’t happen to be a perfumer. A gentle film that’s slow in pace but nonetheless completely gripping because of the sensitive character portrayal by the two leading actors, there’s some stunning shots of the French countryside and those Parisian streets we miss so much, too. A paean to the world of perfume and the gift that is our sense of smell, we say this is a must-watch for anyone who loves fragrance.

Now we’ve caught your interest, watch the trailer, below, and allow yourself to fall for Les Parfums’ charms…

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Fragrant Reads – scent books to snuggle up with

Now there’s a distinct nip in the air, now is the perfect time to snuggle up with a good book – and we have a whole scented selection of great books to recommend you in our Fragrant Reads library of reviews.  All of them focus on our favourite subject (obvs), with some specifically on the topic of perfume, while others explore the wider scent-scape of our sense of smell.

We read A LOT of books about perfume, but we don’t always have time to write up our reviews in full. So lately, we have been concentrating on updating our virtual library with some of the more recently published books we’ve come across, including this FANTASTIC volume by longtime Perfume Society subscriber, Catherine Maxwell, which we will pull out of the bookshelf for you now and examine below…

Scents & Sensibility: Perfume in Victorian Literary Culture, by Catherine Maxwell

We’re honoured that Catherine has been a Perfume Society subscriber pretty much since day one, so when we heard she’d published a book, we couldn’t wait to get our hands on it. And even more wonderful was the realisation that her choice of subject tied together two of our greatest loves – perfume and books. Delving deep into literary culture, she explores the myriad ways writers have been influenced and inspired by perfume, and how scent can become an invisible ‘character’ or reflect the inner workings of an actual character’s mind. More than that – the way a writer describes and uses scent can give us an insight into their own personality. We were particularly fascinated by how outrageously catty Virginia Woolf, for example, could be!

Catherine’s inclusions from her personal diaries and correspondence reveal Woolf loathed strong perfumes, and had very exacting opinions about those women who wore it (we feel she definitely wouldn’t have approved of us!) On meeting the writer Katherine Mansfield, Maxwell relates, Virginia Woolf wrote in her diary that she wished ‘that one’s first impression of K.M. was not that she stinks like a civet cat that had taken to street walking.’ Later, Maxwell cites Woolf’s further biting comments regarding overly scented women, quoting an occasion Woolf condemned some women she’d met in the library, saying ‘A more despicable set of creatures I never saw. They come in furred like seals and scented like civets.’ Don’t hold back, Virginia – what do you really think?! Further writers and their works are examined – from Oscar Wilde – Catherine also draws on a wealth of contemporary material such as ettiquette guides, advertising, beauty manuals and perfumer’s guides. Altogether, it’s the most eye-opening account – a scented snapshot of perhaps the greatest literary period in history – and a must-read for anyone who loves literature and wants to enhance their sensorial understanding (and enjoyment of literature.

Publisher: Oxford University Press 2017

At Amazon

*****

By Suzy Nightingale

Cinematic scents

Many famous faces have graced the mini-films of fragrance adverts over the years – for some, their first acting role, for others a moment of evoking the ethos of the house at the very peak of their fame. But did you know several fragrance adverts over the years have also been directed by famous names?

Settle back in your velveteen seats, grab some popcorn and let’s go to the scented cinema…

Sofia Coppola (nominated for Best Director for Lost in Translation in 2003) directed this advert for Miss Dior Cherie, featuring Natalie Portman. Super-stylish, it confirms Coppola’s lifelong appreciation of haute couture, and perhaps evokes her visually stunning film Marie Antoinette in its old-world baroque splendour.

Wes Anderson and son of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, Roman Coppola, had previously worked together on films like The Darjeeling Limited and Moonrise Kingdom. Here, they made three short adverts (comprising one longer film) for Prada Candy L’Eau fragrance. An homage to the French New Wave, the visual aesthetic is pure Wes Anderson, and were fully gripped by the classic ‘two men in love with one woman’ storyline
.

This Chanel short film for Coco Mademoiselle saw Keira Knightly and director Joe Wright teaming up for the fourth time – they’ve also worked together in Atonement, (for which, Wright was nominated in 2008 for Best Director), Pride & Prejudice, and Anna Karenina. Just so beautifully lit, the colours and cleverly composed shots look like poetry on the screen.

Renowned surrealist director David Lynch surprised the fragrance and film worlds alike by directing this advert for Yves Saint Laurent Opium in the early 90s. Spanish model Nastassia Urbano stars, with a striking resemblance to Ingrid Bergman (and her daughter, Isabella Rossellini, who was to star in his 1986 hot movie, Blue Velvet). All the hallmarks of sensuality are there, along with a visual deconstruction/seduction of a body on film.

Comic book writer turned film maker, Frank Miller, uses his iconic deliberately over-stylised look (very reminiscent of Sin City) to great effect in his advert for Gucci Guilty. Starring Evan Rachel Wood and Chris Evans, inky blackness and searing white light are juxtaposed to create a highly sophisticated homage to film noir.

Fragrance and film feature strongly in The Scented Letter‘s recent Perfume & Culture edition, too, in Lights, Camera, Aldehydes!, award-winning blogger and author Persolaise was inspired by his twin passions for film and fragrance – matching some of his favourite fragrances to the films he chose to watch. And in Perfuming a Part, I lift the velvet curtain on the actors and film directors who use fragrance as a tool to create a mood or get into a role…

The Scented Letter Perfume & Culture edition £15 / £12.50 for VIP Club members.

By Suzy Nightingale

Buly 1803 at the Louvre

Eight masterpieces have inspired eight world-famous perfumers to create fragrances for L’Officine Universelle Buly 1803 – the ancestral beauty, fragrance, home and lifestyle brand revived by Ramdane Touhami and his wife and business partner, Victoire de Tallac.

Buly 1803 invited The Perfume Society to a private view of the fragrances alongside the artworks within the Louvre. Yes, a private view – no jostling crowds or security guards moving you along, just a small group of journalists wandering the magnificent building, the hallways echoing to the sounds of our footsteps, the smell of beeswax a clue to the wooden floors being polished, our voices hushed, reverential, as though we were in church.

Before we entered the sanctuary of art – and now, scent – we asked Victoire how the project had come about, and why, with the greatest respect, the Louvre had asked a (still relatively small) niche company to create the perfumes, when they could have had any number of famous French fragrance houses beating a path to their door. ‘I think they really wanted to collaborate with us because they’re still interested in working with modern artists, to show the power that art still has to inspire,’ she explained.

Inspirational indeed, when one considers the artworks arrayed here represent some of the most famous pieces in the world. As we walked by faces looking out at us from the golden frames or perched atop marble plinths, it felt strangely like visiting a gallery of dear friends, glancing in our wake.

One by one, we were led to particular pieces the perfumers had chosen as the inspiration for their fragrance. An art historian explained each work in great depth, with the perfumers standing by to explain their process, and of course to let us smell their final creations.

Describing how they had worked together, Victoire said that ‘Ramdane had a very clear idea of what he wanted to do, allowing the perfumers to pick the artwork and creating a perfume based on it. They had completely free reign, they could choose anything.’ Perhaps unsurprisingly, none of them chose The Mona Lisa – it would have been a bit obvious, it’s become the one painting most people in the world could probably name as being housed at the Louvre. And really, as you will see, there are far more beguiling oeuvre to become enamoured by…

Conversation in a Park – interpreted by Dorothée Piot

Gainsborough’s painting of courtly flirtations within an idyllic landscape inspired the perfumer, Piot, to add sharp, cooling touches of peppermint and bergamot to an imposing bouquet of Ottoman roses. One can almost hear the laughter, the stiff rustle of shot taffeta, a snapshot of shared intimacy that’s thought to be Gainsborough himself, with his wife.

Buly say: ‘Behind the green, sylvan curtain of a theatre of the tender touch, a ray of sunlight, redolent of berries and citrus, illuminates the temple of the soul. On a carpet of peppermint, the silky petals of the dress unfold like the heart of a rose; a flush rises to the cheeks. In the air, sweet nothings float.’

The Valpinçon Bather – interpreted by Daniela Andrier

The luminescent skin of Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres’ Bather just glows from the canvas, and perfumer Andrier translates the glorious textures using a stimulating burst of citronella and orange blossom, embellished with rich patchouli and a smoky drift of incense.

Buly say: ‘Steam rising from marble sluiced with waves of heated water, dampened muslin wraps the shining limbs, delicately soaped; susurrations of the hammam. After bathing, resting on fresh sheets, the skin, still beaded with moisture, is chafed with lavender and orange blossom; now refreshed, its velvety pallor like an iris petal pearled by a mist of incense and musk.’

The Venus de Milo – interpreted by Jean-Christophe Hérault

Here, Héreault reconstructs the languid sensuality of the female form using an intoxicating combination of mandarin, jasmine and amber – a quietly imposing blend that seems to swoon on the skin rather than merely be applied.

Buly say: ‘Gentle white of jasmine, of neroli, of the matte and polished petals of magnolia, amber and sacred wood. Eternal, without past or present, the beauty of the marble goddess, elusive and notional, lifts up the soul with timeless bliss.’

The Lock – interpreted by Delphine Lebeau

Fragonard’s much-discussed painting provided Lebeau’s fragrant muse, seeking to evoke the sexually charged possible danger of the scene juxtaposed by the opulent velvet drapery, with a combination of lily and musk to create her bewitching scent.

Buly say: ‘Scent of the apple on the table, fruit carried to the lips like a kiss, to the neck, the breast. Ardent desire entangled in linen sheets, tousled hair, traces of the teeth on tender skin, its white musk scorched scarlet by love’s burning touch; the heady thrill of an illicit rendez-vous.’

Saint Joseph the Carpenter – interpreted by Sidonie Lancesseur

Georges de La Tour’s tender depiction of Joseph’s weather-beaten face, lit by candelight and looking with concern at the infant Jesus, is demonstrated by Lancesseur with a deep, resonant thrum of cedar wood suddenly illuminated by verbena, pink berries and vetiver.

Buly say: ‘The golden orange blossom and incense ignite in the amber night, humming with vetiver and cedarwood. In a censer, spices and dry herbs smoulder to keep the spirits at bay. A gesture is arrested, suspended in the face of epiphany. The divine aura illuminates the heart of the initiate, and banishes the darkness.’

The Winged Victory of Samothrace – interpreted by Aliénor Massenet

The emotional power of the iconic statue – found in hundreds of pieces, she was put back together like a jigsaw – has been given life in olfactory form by Massenet’s rich harmony of tuberose, magnolia and jasmine, enhanced by the warmth of myrrh.

Buly say: ‘Blown by a gale scented with citrus, in the perilous rush of the straits, the white bouquet of the salt-encrusted drapery wraps around the victorious effigy. At her marble feet, the waves, the incantations, the roses, the ocean of History and all her conquests; at her feet, the foundered hearts of heroes.’

Nymph With the Scorpion – interpreted by Annick Ménardo

Somehow making marble seem as supple as the female form, Lorenzo Bartolini’s sculpture does what it says in the title – the naked nymph perhaps regretting not donning a pair of shoes and she reaches for her freshly bitten foot. And Ménardo’s enticing bouquet of heliotrope and jasmine also sizzles with amber and musk.

Buly say: ‘The bitter kiss of the sting of almond prickles on the naked skin massaged with amber. Like quicksilver, the venom floods the veins, arrests the maiden’s glance, frozen in marble. The heart clouds with toxins, like the bloom of algae in a clear pond.’

Grande Odalisque – interpreted by Domitille Michalon-Bertier

The licentious gaze of Inges courtesan is reflected in Bertier’s alluring trail of exotic incense and pink pepper enhanced with intensely musky notes, to represent the reach-out-and-touch me textural deliciousness of the sitter’s pale skin and the luxuriously delicate draperies.

Buly say: ‘The musky, chilly satin of a shoulder, the sinuous curve of a hip or breast, gleaming in an alcove chased with brass, an Ambréeist’s shrine, a dream of Eastern Promise. The pink pepper of the cheeks pricks the heart and, beneath the silken scarf, a perfume of incense suffuses the hair.’

We were so sad not to be able to include this incredible Buly/Louvre collaboration in the Perfume & Culture edition of our magazine, The Scented Letter – the project didn’t launch until after it had been published. But it certainly shows our fingers are firmly on the pulse of this artistic fragrant revolution. Get a huge dose of glorious artistic interpretations of perfume through the ages – from cinematic scents, to actors using fragrance to fully ‘become’ the parts they play, and a jaw-dropping collection of perfume art flaçons recently auctioned in America (one of which graces the cover). Along with your regular scent shots of news, interviews and all the latest reviews, the 60-page print magazine is available to purchase here.

What a complete honour – and how overwhelmingly emotional – it was to walk the hallowed halls of the Louvre in such a private party, and to smell such wonderful evocations of the artforms. In Eau Triple formulation (milky, hydrating and skin-friendly water-based), each truly pays perfumed homage to the iconic artworks. It was an experience we will never forget, and which we urge you to take part in by visiting the Louvre, and trying the scents on your own skin having seen the magnificent pieces yourself.

The Buly 1803 shop will sell all eight fragrances at the Louvre for one year only, along with candles, scented soap sheets, and fragranced postcards for the most chic ‘wish you were here’. So if you’ve always meant to go there, or hanker after another look at the Louvre’s incredible collection, then now would be the perfect time for fragrance and art fans to pay them a visit…

L’Officiene Universelle Buly 1803 €150 for 200ml Eau Triple

By Suzy Nightingale