Scenting Marie Antoinette (the new BBC drama series you must watch!)

The BBC’s new Marie Antoinette series is making lovers of historical costume dramas rejoice, and in a continuation of our character and scent-matching sessions, we’re powdering our wigs, unfurling our fans and and wafting forth with the following fragrant suggestions…

 

‘An innocent teenage queen drawn into a dark, manipulative court of Versailles. Her duty is to bear an heir. Her fate will set a country on fire.’

 

Marie Antoinette BBC series

 

From the brilliant writer Deborah Davis (who also gave us the award-winning film, The Favourite), this is a drama that’s not afraid to lean into the opulence – so of course it calls for some seriously fabulous olfactory counterparts to the characters. For more information on the show, do read The Guardian’s review in full (which is suitably glowing), and give the trailer a watch before you begin your scent exploration of some of the main characters.

 

 

‘…it is sometimes strange, funny, grotesque in places, with a gorgeous if occasionally oppressive score. Historians and purists in France, where the series launched at the end of October, have unsurprisingly called it “obscene” and full of “historical aberrations”, including the supposed rebrand of Marie Antoinette as a feminist icon. But the trend for reappraising historical and maligned female figures with a contemporary viewpoint is unstoppable and, anyway, this is not the first revision of the last queen of France before the revolution.’ – The Guardian

 

 

Marie Antoinette (played by Emilia Schüle) – Parfums de Marly Delina

Encased in its sugared-almond pink bottle as it is, the silk tassel befits such a regal scent, as does the beautifully powdery rose within; but this isn’t as ‘girly’ as you’d imagine. Just as Antoinette blooms as her confidence grows, so too does Delina blossom on the skin. As it warms, the powder becomes more bare skin-like, a hint of pink thigh flashed above a white stocking, the sense of feminine power that comes with learning the art of flirtation.

£210 for 100ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

 

 

 

Louis XVI (Louis Cunningham) – Matiere Premiere Falcon Leather

Given his preference for birds of the feathered variety (at first meeting his bride-to-be, anyway) and generally wandering free among the grounds rather than the stilted, terrifying confines of polite society; Louis XVI should plump for this. Smoky as a distant bonfire on the breeze, redolent of the leather gloves falcon trainers use, it’s got hint of that huntin’ ‘n fishin’ outdoors-y attitude but it’s scrubbed up and refined, far sexier than it realises. One to wonder at, then fall for. Hard.

£145 for 50ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

 

 

 

Madame du Barry (Gaia Weiss) – Etat Libre d’Orange Putain des Palaces

Prettily powdered she may be, but this is a fragrance that means business. Evoking passionate encounters and smudged lipstick, beneath the make-up strewn dressing table top notes there’s a writhing of hot bodies entangled in sheets and an evocation of dirty linen very much being aired in the public gaze. Du Barry doesn’t mean to allow her grasp on the throne to be weakened, and if you’re not in her court, you’re done for. Why not simply submit to the sensuality within?

£85 for 50ml eau de parfum bloomperfume.co.uk

 

 

 

King Louis XV (James Purefoy) – Etat Libre d’Orange Exit the King

Amidst the bitchy court of Versailles, King Louis (‘Papa Roi‘ as Antoinette comes to call him) is a welcome friendly face (though do watch out for his wandering hands). This pleasingly soapy scent is classy all day long, with a hint of traditional Cologne among the French Savon and a dandyish air that isn’t afraid to wear its more feminine side on its frilled white shirt cuff. Luminous musks beam forth from the foam, sunlit jasmine and lily of the valley resting on light woods. Lovely (but dangerous in the wrong hands).

£128 for 100ml eau de parfum lessenteurs.com

 

 

 

Princesse de Lamballe (Jasmine Backborow) – Lancôme Trésor

Beloved since its launch in 1990, this softly peachy hug swathes its wearer in an embrace of fluffy muskiness, pillowy sandalwood and vanilla encircling the lilac blossoms in the heart. Lamballe was (sometimes) Antoinette’s closest confidant; known for her kindness and likability, she surely deserves to be as treasured as this scent. To be worn when you need to be kind to yourself, perhaps, this perfume should be sought out anew by those who once loved it and discovered afresh for those yet to be blessed.

£75 (was £83) for 50ml eau de parfum superdrug.com

 

 

 

Victoire (Caroline Piette) / Adelaïde (Crystal Shepherd-Cross) – Dior Pure Poison / Dior Poison 

Quite frankly ‘a bit much’ and just not giving a damn, these mesdames might be the unmarried daughters of the King, but they co-rule the court with iron fists inside their couture gloves. In the BBC series they are magnificently snarky, their plum lipsticks and bruise coloured gowns a fabulous contrast to pastel froth and youthful folly. Deep, bold and unapologetic, the original Poison still swaggers, while the Pure version is more translucent, and though not as powerful can deliver a slap to the unworthy. So: bow down.

£54 for 30ml eau de parfum / £63 for 30ml eau de parfum dior.com

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Perfume: watch the new Netflix series for fragrance-lovers to feast on

Like your perfume dark and mysterious? Well you’re certainly in for a treat…

We’re sure the majority of you will have read, or at least be aware of Patrick Süskind‘s novel,  Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, and will perhaps also have enjoyed the 2006 movie adaptation. Now Netflix are further indulging the senses of the scent-obsessed by exploring the story at greater length, in a new original drama series, simply called Perfume.

The spin they’ve added is a contemporary German setting, following the story of a group of six students who bond together in boarding school through their intense passion for scent. When one of the six is brutally murdered years later, disturbing secrets about the group are revealed as the police investigates each one as a scented suspect.

The cast includes August Diehl and Ken Duken who were both in Inglourious Basterds, Christian Friedel (The White Ribbon) and Wotan Wilke Mohring (Valkyrie), and the whole series is directed by international Emmy-award-winning Philipp Kadelbach.

With such a gloriously gruesome backstory and dark subject matter for exploration, it’s certainly not one to binge on for the faint of heart, but we have no doubt fragrance lovers will at least be interested to give it a go. Have a look at the trailer, below, and see what you think…

Suzy Nightingale

Game of Thrones: we perfume the main players – 9 scents, but no spoilers (we promise!)

Game of Thrones Season 6 has finally begun, to the nail-biting, breath-holding anticipation of the series’ legions of fans around the world. Having once been asked for our advice on scents to suit zombies by a certain TV programme’s producers (yes, really.

We’re on standby for pretty much any fragrant conundrum here at The Perfume Society HQ!) it got us pondering how we’d perfume some of the main players from another of our must-watch shows.

GOT_PerfumeInterestingly, Game of Thrones had its very own scent for a time, with the website Think Geek selling a fragrance called ‘Fire and Blood’ – though this no longer seems to be available. Whether you’re a die-hard enthusiast of the books or TV series, or simply have an interest in boldly characterful fragrances, we think these are worth exploring, instead…

Arya Stark

arya
Unique and youthful, fresh, willful and difficult to define – this pocket-friendly Cologne is a tempestuous mixture of cold steel and sweetness, electricity and petrichor; that tingle in your senses of dark clouds obscuring a bright sky before the heavens open and the downpour begins.

Library of Fragrance Thunderstorm £15 for 30ml cologne spray
Buy it at Boots

Bran Stark

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 11.53.23A mysterious harmony of dark forests and sunlight fighting its way through misty undergrowth, it’s perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour’s abstract portrait of a hazelnut tree. Freshly green buds unfurl to amber-hued leaves, creamy woods slowly drip rich, honeyed droplets to an earthily sweet forest floor as tendrils of smoke hearald a slow-burning dry-down that’s alive with magic.

L’Artisan Parfumeur Méchant Loup £87 for 100ml eau de toilette
Buy it at House of Fraser

Sansa Stark

Sansa
Wild flower meadows kissed with a cold sea breeze, a tangled bouquet of delicate flowers and juicy berries surrounded by thorny stems. Capturing the dramatic landscape where land meets ocean, within the refined flacon perfectly tied with a grossgrain ribbon lurks a scent of innocence blooming into something altogether more unpredictable in nature.

Penhaligon’s Blasted Bloom £90 for 50ml eau de parfum
Buy it at Penhaligon’s

Jon Snow

Jon
Frostily attractive with a minty herbaceousness that gives way to dryly brooding undertones, it’s been splashed on since 1988 and although it may be passed over by those seeking more spirited adventure in their fragrance journey, it should never be overlooked. Simplicity is sometimes written off as dull, but this still has an icy masculinity that longs for a secret snuggle.

Davidoff Cool Water £41 for 75ml eau de toilette
Buy it at The Perfume Shop

Cersei Lannister

Cersei
Staggeringly provocative with a vastness that can fill a room, this is full-on waxy tuberose seduction that could double as a weapon if you so wished. Razor-sharp white flowers whistle through the air like silver bullets, tempered only by a buxom bouquet of velvety roses and crown of orange blossom resting on a glamorously musky base.

Robert Piguet Fracas £95 for 50ml eau de parfum
Buy it at Selfridges

Jamie Lannister

Jamie
Classically handsome and knows it, winsomely charming with a bracingly rugged edge, 50 years ago this was the first male fragrance by Dior and broke new ground. Described as ‘absolutely wild and resolutely sensual’, this is bergamot balanced with a mossy, floral heart for the ‘new man’ or ‘metrosexual’ – a forward-thinking guy who favours facials but still hankers after a spot of sword-fighting – before the term was coined.

Dior Eau Sauvage £49.50 for 50ml eau de toilette
Buy it at Debenhams

Tyrion Lannister

Tyrion
Soaked in boozy fruits, tenaciously strong yet crowd-pleasingly smooth at heart, bobbing in the perfumed punch bowl we find juicy pineapple, orange, plump raisins and dried plums soaking up the alcohol; while cocoa, tonka and coffee lead to vine blossom, peppered honey and spiced vanilla. Definitely one for those with a taste for the finer things in life.

Frapin 1270 £98 for 100ml eau de parfum
Buy it at Bloom

Melisandre

Melisandre
‘Darker than night, stronger than desire, what is the line between passion and the urge to dominate?’ A question posed by Blood Concept – a line inspired by blood types and their inherent proclivities – and answered thus: Milky pools of liquid cedarwood charged with black pepper, laden with glowering guaiac wood and resinous patchouli sinuously seeping into the flickering heat of amberwood and incense.

Blood Concept 0 Cruel Incense £108 for 50ml eau de parfum
Buy it at Avery Perfume Gallery

Daenerys Targaryen

Daenerys
Compellingly unusual with notes of cade oil, spikenard (praised for its curative, medicinal properties) spicily perfumed cardamom pods, clearwood and darkly glistening berries; the labdanum-rich smoky base is one to clamour for. One moment it’s all refined sophistication with bone dry woods and the next, passionate, carnal, and mysterious.

Imaginary Authors A City On Fire £70 for 60ml eau de parfum
Buy it at Roullier White

Written by Suzy Nightingale