We are still absolutely BUZZING with excitement from The Fragrance Foundation U.K. Awards 2023, where over 500 guests and nominees gathered at The Brewery in the City of London, to celebrate the fragrance industry and our passion for perfume…
Having begun in 1992, and known as ‘the Oscars of the fragrance industry’, the Awards recognise ‘excellence within the fragrance arena, from Packaging, Advertising through to Best New Fragrance and Ultimate Launch’. With sequins and scent a-go-go it was surely the most glamorous (and definitely the best smelling) location in London!
Part of The Fragrance Foundation award ceremony now also includes The Jasmine Awards, which were launched in the UK in 1990, and are recognised as:
‘…the most prestigious journalistic awards in the beauty industry. They recognise and reward the talents of journalists & visualisers whose difficult task it is to translate the complex art of perfumery into words and pictures.’
Before we get in to the Jasmines (scroll down to see the winners… including the award WE WON!) let’s take a breath and raise our glasses to the incredible fragrance awards winners – many of which are fragrant friends of The Perfume Society, and all of which we whooped with joy for…
We were ecstatic to see the talents of Ruth Mastenbroek on stage collecting the Perfume Extraordinaire award for Zephyr – a gorgeously luminescent and crisply shimmering breeze of a scent we adore. And you can try a sample of the award-winning scent in our Platinum Discovery Box!
And the loudest whoop of the evening was surely from the team at the Versace, when Eros Parfum won the People’s Choice Award!
Versace Eros Parfum is a flamboyantly jubilant modern fougere that exudes confidence via mint, lemon, apple and a unique smooch of tonka, geranium and ambroxan in the heart before woody notes, oakmoss and vanilla swirl the base. And you can try this award-winner as part of ourMen’s Must-Have Discovery Box!
Audrey Semeraro, founder of Edeniste, was absolutely glowing with joy to win the Newcomer award for her fabulously mood-enhancing fragrance house…
…as were we, having taken the decision to stock the entire Edeniste collection in our shop as soon as we smelled them, plus putting the Edeniste Vétiver Imaginaire as part of our curated Feel Good Fragrances Discovery Box.
With the announcement of every award, the room lit up with cheers – it’s such a mood of celebration for all, and for fragrance itself! Here are the other proud Fragrance Foundation Award winners who were also whooping it up during the evening…
Media Campaign: Prada, Paradoxe
Design & Packaging: Dries Van Noten, Soie Malaquais
Independent Fragrance: Angela Flanders, Leather Rosa
Interior Fragrance: Diptyque, Roses
Readers’ Choice: CHANEL, Paris-Paris
Newcomer: By Far
Innovation: Launch of Jo Malone London ‘Shining a Light on Mental Health Foundation’
Retailer of the Year: Harrods
Limited Distribution: Diptyque, Opsis Eau de Parfum
National Distribution: Gucci, Flora Gorgeous Jasmine EDP
Online Retailer of the Year: The Perfume Shop
Best New Fragrance: Prada, Paradoxe
Best New Fragrance Collection: Tom Ford, Enigmatic Woods Collection
Ultimate Launch: Frédéric Malle, Uncut Gem
Ultimate Launch: Prada, Paradoxe
We were also so pleased to see the previous Chair of the Fragrance Foundation, the hard-working and supportive Annalise Fard welcomed into the Circle of Champions (the Fragrance Foundation’s equivalent of the Hall of Fame) – such a well-deserved tribute for this incredible woman.
And it is always especially heart-warming to see the importance of brilliant consultants recognised, with Kenneth Green Associates’Nathan Macpherson La Maire receiving the award for Consultant of the Year Award for 2023. Bravo!
And now, let us take a moment to celebrate the Jasmine Awards section of the evening – a highly anticipated and incredibly prestigious collection of awards which receive hundreds of entries from the biggest names in publishing.
At The Perfume Society, we were so excited to be finalists with FIVE nominations this year, for articles published in our magazine, The Scented Letter (sign up to get your FREE digital copy, here, if you’ve not done so already), and for our blog. It was a genuine THRILL to see The Perfume Society celebrated on the huge screens at the venue, among such talented company as the other incredible nominees and all the fragrance houses. And well, we only went andWON!
Rising Star: Fabulous, How to smell expensive (without breaking the bank) – Tara Ledden [NB: We couldn’t find this piece online, but you can read Tara’s other work for Fabulous here]
The prestigious judging panel had to read so many submissions, and we were full to the fragrant brim with gratitude for this recognition, and send huge congratulations to ALL the finalists, and to the winners, which we were over the moon to be among.
Until next year, fragrant friends, we’ll be wafting on a scented cloud!
It does so invisibly – so you don’t need to don a superhero costume or dye your hair magenta (unless you want to, which we highly encourage!) Instead, perfume seems to work on our psyche, with the ability to both outwardly project our innermost personalities, or to bolster bravado, energy or playfulness we might otherwise struggle to don the mantle of amidst the ongoing daily chaos of our lives.
The truth is, since the start of the pandemic we feel, there’s been a seismic shift in the scent world. Many reported wearing more fragrance than ever during lockdown, to travel with their nose, spark scent memories or play with their perfume collection as though it were a dressing-up box. Which, we are here to tell you. it most definitely can be!) And, with many of us still working from home – something our parents would probably never have imagined – so too have we filled those dual-purpose spaces with scented candles and diffusers, as the boom in home fragrance sales proves.
Concurrently, there’s been a more gradual change in the way we wear it: a realisation that the once standard ‘Signature Scent’ was no longer up to the job of reflecting every facet of our characters (or helping mask the more tender bits of our souls on a difficult day). With the wider cultural encouragement to explore what it means to be – uniquely – ourselves, others became more familiar with the concept of layering scents to create their own ‘bespoke’ blends.
So, with the world as your olfactory oyster (though smelling rather more appealing), and with such a plethora of perfumes to choose from; where does one begin the journey to ‘find yourself through fragrance’?
Firstly, you need to get to know what you like, and more than that: how particular perfumes make you feel. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But so many of us become stuck in a bit of a scented rut, or just don’t know where to start with widening our fragrant horizons. Follow these tips to start your own ‘new you’ scent journey, here…
Where to Start?
Use our simple Find a Fragrance tool – just type the name of a fragrance you already know and love, and the so-clever algorithm suggests six new scents with similar characters to try, with prices to suit all budgets!
How to Test?
Your taste in fragrance changes over the years – just as in food preference – and depends on weather, what you’ve eaten recently, your mood and hormones. So, take your time to explore a new scent out of your comfort range.
Spray on a blotter first and come back to it at hourly intervals. Write down your initial thoughts, then re-try a few days (and weeks) later.
Many perfumers trained for more years than a heart surgeon, memorising ingredients by connecting their smell to personal scent memories and images that immediately spring to mind, unbidden.
Smell has no distinct language. If you’re struggling to describe a scent, try likening it to fabric (is it velvety, suede-like, cotton fresh, silken or fluffy?) Perhaps it reminds you of music (played on which instruments? Fast or slow?) Or you might picture a place – imagine the air temperature and scenery it evokes…
Your nose gets used to smelling the same things, so avoid wearing the same thing daily. Try layering to re-awaken your senses or branch out with exciting new discoveries!
Like all artists, perfumers tend to have a certain style. If you fall in love with one (we’re predicting several) of these, research them online: we bet you’ll fall for others.
Scent molecules are volatile and evaporate at differing rates. Citruses are lightest, often found in top notes and disappearing rapidly; florals tend to be in the heart while base notes are heavier, woody or resinous. Make these stages last FAR longer by using matching or unscented body lotion, spray into your hair or on clothes (after testing on tissue!)
Undecided? Spray on a scarf rather than skin: you can take it off and sniff again, later! Spraying on fabric (or your hair) also helps make it last far longer as the molecules don’t warm up so quickly (or evaporate) as on skin. As does…
Use an unscented (or matching) body lotion or oil. Fragrance doesn’t last long on dry skin (or in hot climates). It clings far longer to moisturised skin – so slather up, then spray.
Fragrance samples are THE best way to try new things, dive nose-first into a whole new house you’ve never tried or perhaps a differing perfume family than you’d normally go for.
Where to Get Samples?
The best idea is to get a Discovery Box of fabulous mini sizes and samples from a wide range of luxury, niche and top-end designer fragrance houses. That way you can start exploring and trying them all in the comfort of your own home, before you splash out on a full size. This way, you also get to try things you may never have picked up to try in store (indeed, may never have heard of previously!) and have proper time to try on your skin.
Want to Explore More…?
Brand Boxes are the way forward. You may know you like one scent from a particular house, and are ready to be a bit braver and see what else they do. It’s a fantastic leaping-off point, actually, as many houses offer differing styles of scents while still retaining a kind of olfactory handwriting – the same way an artist will have a certain look to their work you can recognise, or a clothing designer tends to work with shapes or tones that suit you. So, when you’ve found one you love, do explore the rest in their collection (and obvs samples are the best way to do this without breaking the bank).
Our Biggest Tip?
Give fragrance TIME. Let it settle. Try it several times (in the morning and /or evening, and when you’re in differing moods, if possible). How we’re feeling, the weather, our hormones and even the food we ate recently all have a huge effect on how scents smell on our skin. Plus, being braver can take time, too. Allow yourself the pleasure of exploration, take notes, compare with friends: have FUN finding yourself with fragrance, while finding a new fragrance for you.
You may surprise yourself with what you end up falling madly for. You know, the one that goes beyond merely smelling nice to that eyes rolling back in your head moment, emitting guttural noises of pleasure at, which people stop you in the street and beg to know the name of.
Oh. You don’t know that one? Well, you’ve just not found it yet! It’s out there. Waiting for you… whomever you feel like being today, tomorrow, and next week.
What are the right scents to wear for each season – and do they actually change on your skin during the year, or is it only how you perceive them…?
Well, have you noticed your favourite fragrance can smell different sometimes?
The fact is, all aromatic molecules need an amount of heat (usually from your skin) to work. The temperature of your skin and the air dramatically alter the rate at which the molecules evaporate and dissipate, and this then changes the way the perfume smells – to you, and others around you.
Because of this, many of us prefer to wear lighter, brighter fragrances in warmer months and swap for something cosier as the temperature drops, but is it really true you should only wear (for example) citrus / fresh fragrances in summer?
One of the things to consider when choosing a fragrance is the weather – both when you’re trying it, and when you want to actually be wearing it, because it DOES change how you perceive a perfume, and how it performs on your skin.
Hot weather intensifies the fragrance notes and makes them ‘bloom’ on the skin more quickly – when molecules heat up, they evaporate more quickly.
Colder weather slows down the evaporation rate (so top and heart notes last much longer) and you might find your scent doesn’t project as much in the winter.
But sometimes it’s not even about how they last on your skin – it’s the feeling particular fragrances evoke. So, just asyou wouldn’t wear a heavy jumper in the summer, wearing a fragrance that makes you think of cashmere or velvet and roaring log fires on a sweltering day can just feel… wrong.
Having said all that – there are many cultures and people who actively prefer to ‘lean into the heat’, and wear perfumes which swathe the skin in billowing woods, sizzling spices and sticky resins at the height of summer, or perhaps choose cooler, Cologne style scents in winter; and that’s fine, too. It all comes down to personal taste, of course, but it’s true that because of temperature and humidity, scents can certainly feel right for one season and completely wrong for another.
We know it can be confusing, so with the weather in mind, we put together a specially curated selection of fragrances in a Seasonal Scents Subscription Box…
How it works:
Pick your Quarterly or Yearly plan
Discover new launches and bestsellers from well-loved brands, curated with the seasons in mind.
Arrives at your door for the new Season
Receive your seasonal box every 3 months and start smelling fabulous.
Get exclusive access to the online smelling notes and unboxing video.
Containing hand-picked fabulous fragrances, mainly female and unisex scents, from globally adored leading brands (sometimes also including the most adorable miniatures) will land at your door each passing season (approximately every three months) – so you will always have a new scent to try that’s just right for the time of year!
Seasonal Scents Subscription is
Quarterly Subscription £18 for a single box, super flexible rolling contract.
You will be charged every three months, but the subscription can be cancelled at any time up to 48 hours before the launch dates for future boxes (see below). OR you can opt for £68 for a Yearly Subscription – a great saving on all four boxes.
Only available in the UK. Postal charges are usually free but may be incurred at checkout depending on your postcode. We are currently unable to offer this subscription to Northern Ireland, the Scottish Highlands, or any offshore islands of the UK. If in doubt please contact us for advice at The Perfume Society before ordering.
Launch dates 2023:
Spring – March 2023 Summer – June 2023 Autumn – September 2023 Winter – December 2023
Read below to discover all the fabulous things this subscription includes…
We’re currently welcoming Spring with scents that echo the joyful sight of buds and blossom, while Summer is a chance to revel in the bliss of bright, luminescent fragrances. For Autumn, we sashay forth in fashion-forward, more sensual scents and in Winter we get our cosy on with scents you’ll want to snuggle into.
Seasonal Fragrances – A collection of fragrances from 1ml – 7ml, these will be kept secret until each Seasonal Scents Box is launched, we just love the element of surprise!
Online Smelling Notes – accessible via a QR code within your box, guiding you through the fragrances and how to start smelling.
Unboxing Video – also via the QR code, for every box our Head Fragrance Writer Suzy Nightingale will guide you when opening your new box.
Hints & Tips – to ensure you get the most out of your fragrances and have fun!
In the recent Esxence fragrance fair in Milan, one of the highlights was smelling the aptly-named Abundance – a new fragrance by Australian perfume house, Map of the Heart.
We’ve long been huge fans of this always-artistic fragrance house, and love the way their scents imbue a sense of the landscapes they are inspired by. Indeed, many of the ingredients are indigenous to Australia and brilliant perfumer Jacques Huclier collaborated with Amelie Jacquin for this latest launch.
For V.8 Abundance, the verdancy and freshness billows forth from the first spritz – it was composed during Lockdown in Australia, so co-founder Sarah explained to us, and was borne of a sense of longing for nature and wildness that we all seemed to experience, no matter where we were based in the world.
Bitter orange fizzes with pops of pink pepper, a mellow drift of incense on the breeze suggesting adventure, exploration. The intriguing note of Christmas Tree or ‘Flame Tree’ is in the heart, but cast aside thoughts of yuletide celebrations and instead think of wide open vistas clustered by vast forests, shady places, an ancient place of sanctuary. As with all Map of the Heart fragrances, seams of Australian Sandalwood ripple throughout, here, joined by White Sandalwood, deep rivulets of Akigalawood and resinous benzoin, adding to the sacred nature of the scent as it warms on your skin.
This is a sneak-peek, because Abundance isn’t yet available on their website, but you may be sure when it is, there will be a rush of fragrant fans clamouring to own it – either in the heart bottles which made them so famous (and look for all the world as though they belong in an art gallery); or the more conventional bottles they now also produce.
Intrigued? You should be! We are thrilled to say the Map of the Heart Discovery Sets are now back in stock in our shop, and there you may try the rest of the collection to date. The only questions is where will you begin your Map of the Heart journey…?
Clear Heart v.1 – Australian summer: surfing, swimming, hot days, cool breezes and the salt that hangs in the air promising more.
Black Heart v.2 – Smoky. Impolite. Dangerous. It’s smoky heart of mysterious spices is shot through with shards of fresh eucalyptus and citrus to create an impolite mix of opposites.
Red Heart v.3 – Explosive. Seductive. Addictive. A composition of feijoa, tuberose and spices with sensual notes of musk and vanilla.
Gold Heart v.4 – Nurturing. Precious. Ancient. An exotic warm breeze that wraps around to protect and nurture.
Purple Heart v.5 – Brave. Instinctive. Triumphant. Inverying the olfactory pyramid by opening darker and then brightening
Pink Heart v.6 – Mingles on the skin with the spiciness of the sumac accord and cistus absolute for a mesmerising ride.
White Heart v.7 – The ethereal and sharp opening of French lavender, aldehyde and cardamom coolly invite us into the vast landscape of love.
Because we all get stuck in our scent ways sometimes, or only focus on shiny, new launches, we created a guide to Fifty Fragrances You Should Try (or at least sniff) in a lifetime.
Seeking out and smelling these scents helps build a library of scent knowledge. Some are over a century old, others created by ‘rising star’ new houses in the fragrant firmament. Among them, you’ll encounter scents that changed the course of perfume history – and you may even recognise their olfactory echoes in many newer launches you go on to try.
You can read Part One here, but if you’ve already limbered up your noses, let’s take a look at the last twenty five names on our list – and remember that list could well have been five times as long! We simply chose some to give you a great overview of the olfactory timeline and fragrant landscape you should explore…
[P.S: We’re thrilled the longer version of this article, which appeared in our 50th issue of The Scented Letter magazine, is up for a Jasmine Award!]
Feminine, empowering and instantly game-changing, in 2011 those who clamoured for the stunningly glam shoes suddenly wanted to wear Jimmy Choo on their wrists (and necks, décolletage, behind knees…) Olivier Polge leant his mastery of ingredients to creating this fruity Chypre that tempts with tiger orchid, toffee and Indonesian patchouli. One to wear while dancing on tables.
When the now-iconic scent first whooshed its way into the perfume world in 1999, we were still in recovery from an era of powerful ‘room-rockers’. Inspiring countless Cologne-esque copies from others who’d not predicted this fragrant about-face, none can beat the original zesty, feel-good zing of just-squeezed citrus with handfuls of torn basil and thyme leaves still warm from the sun.
The ultimate tribute to the Sixties: an intoxicatingly intense patchouli fragrance that’s dark and smoky, twisted through with the golden gleam of amber, and a no-brainer for any patch-lovers to swoon over (as we often do). A glorious example of a ‘phoenix’ perfume house – restored way beyond its former 1920s glory, now also an indie treasure trove of shops for fellow scent obsessives.
Kenzo’s new bloom for the millennium, it’s the imagined the scent of a poppy – one of those so-elusive flowers we adore but which remain frustratingly ‘silent’ and scentless in nature. Step forward the artistry of perfumery, in the hands (and nose) of Alberto Morrillas, and this 2000-launched scent now celebrates over 20 years of powdery, violet-tinged, hawthorn-dusted beguilement.
Perfumer Nathalie Lorson excelled herself in 2006 with this love song to the scent of vetiver. Smouldering, inky, bone dry, and slightly dangerous, it wraps the wearer in a cloak of woody cypress, fluffed a little at the edges by cashmere, and ruthlessly seduces with a lover’s neck caress of still-cool muskiness. We dare any sex to wear this and not cast a spell over all in its trail.
In 2012, this free-spirited fragrance first sashayed its way on the world’s scent stage, embodied by Julia Roberts in the advertising campaign, created by a trio of top-notch noses (Anne Flipo, Dominique Ropion and Olivier Polge), and reportedly with 5000 trials in the making. Full-bodied iris is the star, swagged by radiant orange blossom and jasmine, the fruitiness shot through with praline.
Since 2011, whole cities have become scented by Santal 33, such has been the popularity of this creamy, dreamy, woodsy perfume story. It’s some story. Former L’Oréal executives Fabrice Penot and Eddie Roschi already had 10 scents to Le Labo’s when Santal changed everything. Starting life as a candle, perfumer Frank Voelkl made it ‘deeper, more comfortable’ and created a must-sniff cult classic.
A modern classic, created for the 250th anniversary of the iconic crystal house in 2015. Luminous and sophisticated, Baccarat Rouge 540 lies on the skin like an amber floral and woody breeze. A poetic alchemy, the aerial notes of jasmine and tingling, warm radiance of saffron carry intriguing mineral facets of misty ambergris and woody tones of freshly cut, brown sugar-sprinkled cedar.
Captured in an apothecary-style bottle, with a label echoing the designer’s clothing tags, each Replica fragrance evokes familiar scent memories and moments linked to specific locations. In 2015 we were beckoned to a French alpine fireside, delicious chestnut cocooning pink pepper and clove, contrasting with warm notes of cashmere and orange flower for cuddle-me-closer woodiness.
Jacobs’s playful yet sophisticated attitude is reflected in his love of fragrance and most especially this wildly successful scent of 2007. The essence of a youthful spirit, sunny, happy and free, the airy simplicity and charming bottle topped with oversized daisy cap has become iconic. With numerous international awards to its name, each new ‘spin’ on Daisy delights us afresh.
Collating an olfactory album of scent memories, husband and wife founders Clara and John Molloy (via perfumer Alienor Massenet) have distilled huge charisma into this aromatic, honeyed leather, inspired by Clara’s ancestral roots. Swathing green freshness in a somewhat animalistic spirit, the chill of frosted juniper and clary sage is soon smouldered by the warmth of an open fire.
Tasked with creating a fragrance to conjure up F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night, Mathieu Nardin’s 2018 artistic interpretation is an ode to darkness and light. Blood orange, davana and golden olibanum collide in a kaleidoscopic splash of brightness, while shadowy dark roses mingle with patchouli and oudh. Tinged with sweetness, this artistic endeavour allows your inner child to dance.
This iconic sizzle of a scent was ahead of its time by several decades, evolving from bodywash in the 80s to perfumer Jacques Chabert’s personal fragrance in 2001, and finally into the grateful public’s hands (and wrists). The pepper’s enhanced by lemon and ginger up top, dark green herbs in the heart – a true wake-up call to get you going any time you need a fragrant boost of energy!
An olfactory ‘shock’ when it launched in 1992, with its unashamedly unique, good-enough-to-eat candyfloss, bold berries and an unprecedentedly high concentration of 30% ultra-rich, woody patchouli. Mugler’s childhood funfair vision, brilliantly interpreted by Olivier Cresp and Yves de Chiris, will be among the stars, forever. Manfred Thierry Mugler, 1948–2022, R.I.P.
This eau de parfum version in the soft pink bottle (as opposed to the black EDT) was created by Christine Nagel and Francis Kurkdjian in 2016. Echoing the feminine strength of Rodriguez’ empowering designs, the rose and peach melt seamlessly into a softly simmering amber and signature musk base. Seriously sexy in the most unfussy, unbuttoned way, it still makes our hearts beat faster.
The first fragrance love affair for so many, it’s hard to believe this first came out in 1948, though the twin doves atop the cap (symbolising peace) make perfect sense. Perfumer Francis Fabron swathed a delicate bouquet in airy aldehydes, the clove-like spiciness of carnation and a dusting of violet and iris. Classically classy, did you know it’s worn by Clarice Starling in ‘Silence of the Lambs’?
Socrates drank black hemlock to poison himself, but Geza Schoen used it in 2002 for a quite different effect, oodles of the absolute lending mysterious shadows to a dusky forest, otherworldly whispers amidst the verdant undergrowth, all set against the backdrop of a violet-streaked, vetiver rich, amber-tinged, sunset. It could easily conquer your heart (and anyone near).
Inspired by a small Turkish village famed for its roses, perfumer Christian Provenzano coaxes baskets of the blooms to radiate in the hot sun. Steeped with spices, the nutmeg and oudh sweep in clouds across supple leather (and often, onto the streets, actually wafting from Penhaligon’s boutiques). That distinctive amber woodiness in the base has ensured its smash-hit status since 2015.
From the moment it launched in 2007, Daniela Andrier’s scent gained cult status. smooth and crisp all at once, cleverly reminiscent of clean linen and warm skin, neroli and mandarin make for an airy introduction to which Andrier’s fused an exquisite tapestry of elements – accenting green galbanum, cedarwood and vetiver with the almost bread-like buttery-softness of iris. Sheer genius.
Created in 1948 by the indomitable Germaine Cellier, this remains the tuberose against which all others must be measured. Emphatically voluptuous with a heady coolness, this deliberately divisive, Baroque floral has apparently been beloved, among others, by Rita Hayworth, Brigitte Bardot, Courtney Love and Isabella Blow. In other words: shrinking flowers need not apply.
British perfumer Ruth’s own memories of her life in England and her exciting travels abroad formed the basis for her first scent, fittingly named Signature for the way it so perfectly becomes part of you. A distinctively timeless Chypre that’s laced with luscious pineapple, the oakmoss and patchouli base become a warm sunshine-infused hug whenever required.
Originally launched by Shiseido in 1992, during his creative tenure there, this fragrance came with him for the launch of his own ground-breaking niche perfume house, HQ-ed in Paris’s Palais-Royal, just a few years later. The genderless woody fruit accord gives us a forest of dry cedar swathing a superbly spiced plummy, lipstick-y violet.
An instant cult classic from its 2006 launch, famed for the seductive black truffle-infused orchid, rum soaked plums, gleaming, burnished ylang ylang and the silky, lingerie-like stroke of sandalwood and vanilla in the base. Darkly delish, devilishly moreish, Tom Ford smoothly bridged the gap between out-there edgy niche and luxe designer dreaminess. We’re still here for it.
In 2005 Viktor & Rolf veritably exploded onto the scent scene, with this immediate blockbuster putting the edgy and rule-breaking Dutch design duo firmly on the fragrance map. Traditional note structures were cast aside by Carlos Benaïm, Olivier Polge and Domitille Bertier; instead, overlapping floralcy entwined with a milky muskiness. Still the bomb.
In 1977 the world was seduced by this audaciously named fragrance; still controversial today, back then it caused a scandal. The opulent swathe of ambrée vanilla, by perfumers Jean Amic and Jean-Louis Sieuzac, was still shocking us in 2000, when Sophie Dahl’s infamous naked ad saw portrayed her experiencing an Opium-induced olfactory ecstasy. (As well she might.)
From bestsellers to treasures from niche names, Suzy Nightingale suggests 50 fragrances we think you should be sure to sniff out – and what better time to begin than in National Fragrance Week?
Those of us who love fragrance are always seeking out the new, the exciting, the just-launched. But it’s sometimes easy to overlook the exquisite creations that are right under our noses. Think of the following as akin to one of those i-SPY books we loved as kids, in which we’d patiently check off lists of ‘must-see’ birds, cathedrals, native shrubs or whatever fuelled our childhood passions.
[PSST! Sign up here so you get every copy of the magazine sent to your inbox for free!]
Here, we present the first half of those 50 fragrances we believe you simply must seek out (we’ll be sharing the second half of the scent list next week) with direct links so you can explore and find out more. Now, get those blotters ready (and note down those you like the sound of so you can tick off your own 50 fragrances I-Spy list…
Founder and perfumer Sarah McCartney created this in 2013 as a bespoke fragrance for a VIP event, with a journalist present declaring it to be ‘the sexiest scent ever!’ And thus, a star fragrance was born. Hints of citrus, smooth vanilla, soft woodiness and musky ambergris form an unassuming but undeniably addictive blend that will have you exuding the sensuality of its name.
A timeless symbol of Italian chic, Colonia dates from 1916 and was first used to scent gentlemen’s handkerchiefs. With fragrant fans including Cary Grant, David Niven, and Audrey Hepburn, it’s as if you’ve wandered into an Italian sunlit idyll. Sicilian citrus, bergamot, lemon, sweet and bitter oranges infuse your soul with golden sunshine, the warm base cashmere soft. Bliss, bottled.
Awarded Best New Independent Fragrance 2012 by the Fragrance Foundation UK, this was London-based perfumer Angela Flanders’s homage to her daughter, Kate. An even more special tribute given Angela’s passing, and Kate taking on the role of perfumer. The exquisite floral accord rests on a base of softest oakmoss, layers of smoky vetiver unfurling their classically cool, deeply intriguing charms.
Setting the trend for green tea-infused scents, this chicly refreshing fragrance launched in 1992. The pared-back elegance of cool herbaceousness (cardamom atop citrus and coriander) is down to master perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena. An olfactory haiku, the citrus segues seamlessly to the lucent lily of the valley, jasmine and rose heart, the tea effortlessly steamed in musky woods. Genius.
Although this made its debut in 2014, founder Ben Gorham had the idea six years previously ‘when I gave my cousin away at her Indian wedding.’ Capturing the vision of an Indian bride’s hair covered in floral decorations, perfumer Jérôme Épinette’s creation pulses with tuberose, wild jasmine, rose petals, Scandinavian lingonberry and Sicilian lemon on a suede-wrapped amber base.
The world’s love for Calvin Klein clothing, accessories and fragrances was at its peak in the 90s, the revolutionary fragrance hitting the shelves in 1994 and immediately making its mark, with $60 million global sales in three months. Ultra-fresh, a first-of-its kind unisex eau de toilette, the Steven Meisel ads starring Kate Moss perfectly evoked its insouciant, aromatic aquatic sexiness.
Carolina Herrera de Báez (Carolina Jr) joined her mother’s empire in 1996, just one year later launching this ‘spirit of New York, bottled’ scent, having grown up amidst an artistic landscape of impeccable style and a ‘language of aromas.’ Alberto Morillas wove a youthful exuberance into airy gardenia and jasmine, the soft, musky sandalwood dry-down a testament to vibrant, urban modernity.
Brilliant in-house perfumer Mathilde Laurent is everyone’s girl-crush: a woman’s woman who suffuses the house’s heritage with so-cool yet achievable stylishness. Embracing tart fruitiness with gardenia, rose and ylang ylang atop an animalistic purr of patchouli, oakmoss and leather, this gracefully rebellious ‘symbol of freedom’ was a modern classic the moment it first miaowed in 2014.
Recognisable the world over by bottle alone, this iconic fragrance celebrated its 100th birthday last year. Back in 1921 (and ever since), what really set No5 apart was its abstract construction. Legend has it that perfumer Ernest Beaux put an ‘overdose’ of aldehydes (sparkling, Champagne-like notes) in the bottle; while we’ll never know if that was true, the rest is fragrance history – and its future!
Already known for their flirty, feminine womenswear, Chloe’s debut scent launched in 1975 under the umbrella of Karl Lagerfeld. When time came to create a signature for a new generation, it needed to embody the fresh, confident femininity that’s in Chloé‘s DNA. Thus in 2008, Amandine Clerc-Marie and Michel Almairac dappled delicate peony with a cool, dewy fruitiness for a fluidly graceful go-to.
Long before today’s natural beauty trend, Clarins pioneered the use of aromatics and botanicals in skincare; their Eau Dynamisante was the first eau de toilette combining principles of aromatherapy and phytotherapy (plant therapy) in fragrant form, back in 1987. Hydrating, toning, and revivifying via essential oils of lemon, patchouli, petitgrain, ginseng and white tea, it’s immediately mood-lifting.
CREED‘s most celebrated fragrance became a true sensation on its launch in 2010, an unusual pairing of succulent pineapple and smoky birch with further fragrant juxtapositions of blackcurrant and rose, apple and jasmine. Inspired by the dramatic life of Napoleon, it’s become (and remained) a blockbuster for its inventive, unapologetic drama and unconventional boldness of spirit.
Christian Dior’s scented legacy has endured long beyond his too-short lifetime. To follow legendary Miss Dior and Diorissimo, in 1966 Edmond Roudnitska was entrusted with this zingy yet ethereal, utterly enthralling cologne-style creation. His clarity of composition – bright, crisp lemon and verdant herbs up top, balanced by a handsomely dry vetiver base – remains a wardrobe must-have.
Making fig fabulously fashionable in 1996, Olivia Giacobetti lapped the crunchy, vegetal nature of fig leaf with a silky milkiness that spoke of humid exoticism and fragrant escapes. Rippled with coconut, comforted by the pencil-shavings note of cedar’s woodiness as it warms, we know many a perfumista who reached for this during lockdowns, and will be wearing for decades to come!
In 2006, the idea of having a fragrance containing but a single, synthetic ingredient was startling. Maverick perfumer and founder Geza Schoen admits he thought, ‘This one will appeal only to the artists, the freaks, the outsiders.’ He was wrong; the world went crazy for the ISO E Super – that warm, fuzzy comfort of nuzzling your lover’s neck and leaning in for more, more, more.
Launched in 1953, this had a clever dual-purpose: ‘…a bath oil that doubled as a skin perfume.’ Because although it was then considered déclassé for a woman to buy her own fragrance, as Esteé Lauder herself once said, ‘it was feminine, all-American, very girl-next-door to take baths…’ This spicy floral simmers with incense and rich (almost cola-esque) resins: the scent of subversiveness!
This British fragrance house has blown us away with their fun, modern take on fragrances, the charmingly luminous effervescence of Electric Rhubarb a case in point. Perfumer Jérôme Épinette [the nose for all their scents] created this in collaboration with the Royal Horticultural Society. Think summer days sipping Prosecco – rhubarb’s fizz, sea salt and white flowers an enlivening, joyous jolt.
Chypre is one of the most classic fragrance families, but in 2017, Floris gave it a swoon-worthy twist, with sunshine-filled neroli dancing with the soapy brightness of bergamot, lemon and sweet orange until the heart proffers a floral bouquet. Then, as the lights dim and flicker, a va-va-voom yet never cloying vanilla, transparent muskiness, amber and patchouli are chicly revealed.
Once Monsieur Malle took the step of putting perfumer’s names on the bottles, these once-hidden noses became olfactory rock stars. Dominique Ropion had crafted iconic fragrances for years, but with the overtly sensual, dark rose, berries and sinuous patchouli of 2010’s ‘POAL’ (as it’s oft known), he created the decadent scent trail of many a perfumista, and Malle’s bestseller.
Giorgio Armani describes as ‘my tribute to modern femininity, an irresistible combination of grace, strength and independent spirit.’ It’s a masterful ‘reinvention’ of that so-classic Chypre family for a contemporary new audience. Captivating the senses with its three accords – fruity cassis nectar, a modern Chypre accord, and light musky woods – it’s sophisticated yet utterly unfussy.
If there was an award for ‘Most Mentioned Signature Fragrance by Celebrities’, Goutal’s Eau d’Hadrien would probably win the gold medal – and with good reason. In a timelessly intriguing, deceptively simple take on freshness, mouth-watering citrus, ylang ylang and sparkling, soapy aldehydes evoke Annick’s beloved Italian garden. Way ahead of its time in 1981, it’s just as relevant now.
Incredibly over 100 years old. Its creator Jacques Guerlain’s reign lasted 65 fragrance-filled years and included many a masterpiece (Mitsouko, how we adore thee!) Imagine here a silky pair of 1920s pyjamas worn with heels to a party, citrus swirled with honeyed, night-blooming flowers, powdery iris on a vanilla-plumped base, incense on the breeze: the perfect perfumed romance.
Master perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena’s back catalogue could likely fill a list of ‘50 fragrances you should try’ in its own right, but the standout success of this when it launched in 2006 has shown no signs of slowing. Why? It’s the so-structured woodiness that’s riven with vivacious grapefruit, the sheer spices enlivened by a suavely handsome, distinctly flinty vetiver. Sublime.
Reinventing the scent of water to become chicly covetable, as only Issey Miyake truly could. The beautiful transparency of lotus flower and freesia is rippled through with lightly handled lily, rose and carnation; perfumer Jacques Cavallier then delicately dusted peony petals and rested the composition on a smoothly woody base tickled by a swirl of white musk. It still whispers, beguilingly.
Created by now well-known fragrant maestro Francis Kurkdjian while fresh out of perfumery school, it was quite the olfactory debut in 1995. Taking the outlines of a traditional fougére, the lavender and mint are salt-licked and distinctly salacious, while vanilla, almond-like tonka bean and orange-blossom are positively addictive, and the cumin naughtily skin-like. Ahoy there!
Get your #smellfie ready to post on Tuesday 21st March to celebrate International Fragrance Day and you could be in with a chance of winning FABULOUS fragrance bundle worth over £500!
[Prize draw only open to U.K. residents because of postal restrictions, sorry! But we love seeing how many people around the world take part each year.]
Ever since we first came up with the #smellfie concept we’ve been asking people to celebrate their favourite fragrances on this day, with bloggers, celebrities and perfume lovers from around the world getting involved by posting. Because it’s not about competing (although of course the prize is lovely) – it’s about showing how much fragrance truly means to us, and sharing that perfume passion.
This year we have ONE bumper bundle of fragrance worth over £500 for our most favourite entry. (Sadly, we are unable to ship outside the UK, so the winner will be chosen from UK residents.)
If you’d like some inspiration, the theme for this yearis ‘finding the new you’ through your fragrance, be it mysticism or a journey of self-discovery – how does your fragrance make you feel? Interpret this how you wish – or not at all –will you be devilish? Ordaring? Or demure? Or dreamy? Or dynamic?
Please spread the word and share the love with friends,familyand colleaguesaround the globeon this delightful dayof perfume appreciation.
What is a #smellfie? A selfie with your favourite fragrance. It’s that easy.
BE AS FUN & CREATIVE AS YOU DARE!
In past years, some people have gone to town and dressed in all manner of incredible costumes or clever shots, but they don’t have to be complicated – we just love seeing your faces and hearing a little bit about why you chose that fragrance.
How to post on TUESDAY 21st March 2023:
On Instagram: hashtag #smellfie and tag @theperfumesociety in your photo
On Facebook: hashtag #smellfie and tag @ThePerfumeSociety in your photo
We can’t WAIT to see which fragrances you choose for your #smellfie on Tuesday, March 21st! – don’t forget to use that hashtag, and @ to make sure we see them all. Until then, we’ll be wondering which of our scents to choose…
It was with great sadness we learned that John Bailey, former President of The British Society of Perfumers and renowned artisan perfumer of The Perfumers Guild, died on Wednesday 22nd February 2023.
John was one of the kindest and most insightful men in the entire fragrance industry. He was generous with that extensive experience and vast knowledge, too, and could always be relied on to help us with research – often throwing in scented snippets of information that made us gasp. Jo Fairley, who co-founded The Perfume Society, and counted John as a dear friend, commented:
‘John was a life force within the industry, and his passion for perfumery was unrivalled. Those of us who knew and respected him will miss him – and his scented missives! – very much.’
The British Society of Perfumers statement read:
‘As one member of the society put it: ”John was the beating heart of the British Society of Perfumers”. He joined the society in 2009 and was president from 2012 to 2014. He was only the second President to take on two years at the helm after Robert Favre in 1963.
During his Presidency John was the driving force behind the writing and publication of the book celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the BSP. He remained active on Council and organised several recent events including the visit to the lavender farm in 2022.
John was the first to receive the title of Honorary Ambassador to the Society. He took on this role with gusto, giving new members a warm welcome and keeping in touch with friends of the Society. He had a passion for the history of perfumery especially in the UK and researched a number of brands. His career in perfumery included working for Stafford Allen, Naarden International and RC Treatt. This wealth of experience lead him to found his independent consultancy; The Perfume Guild in 1981.
With sorrow for his passing and joy for a life well lived.💔’
You can read our review of that brilliant book in the link, above. It’s utterly essential reading for anyone interested in perfumery, and yet represents a scented slice of his encyclopedic knowledge.
Some years ago, Jo Fairley and I had the great pleasure of spending a day with John at his home, in order to interview him for our #ShareMyStash feature for The Scented Letter Magazine. It was a joyous day of sniffing and reminiscing which we will never forget, and we can think of no better way than for us all to remember John than to share that piece with you, here…
‘Barbara Cartland had me fragrancing her bookmarks and scenting her letters’
‘It’s not about what’s in the bottle – it’s also the stories and the people behind them’
[This feature was originally published in issue 28 of The Scented Letter Magazine]
Celebrating his 90th birthday this year, John Bailey has had an unrivalled professional career – spanning an incredible seven decades of scent. As you might expect, along the way, this fragrance expert, scent historian and behind-the-scenes consultant to leading brands around the world has amassed quite a collection – which he shared with Suzy Nightingale…
Photos: Jo Fairley
There’s nobody quite like John Bailey. It isn’t just the sky blue eyes, still twinkling mischievously as he enters his 10th decade. It isn’t simply the way he lavishly perfumes the handwritten letters he still likes to send (including, regularly to The Perfume Society). And it isn’t just the length of his career which makes John unique in perfume circles, but the breadth. He began as a ‘lowly laboratory assistant’, as John puts it, apprenticed at the age of 14, and worked his way through all the key companies in the perfume world.
Later, he rose to become Dame Barbra Cartland’s ‘personal perfumer’ and found his own fragrance house, The Perfumers Guild, to create bespoke fragrances for a select clientele. More recently, he held the role of President of the British Society of Perfumers. Quite simply, if the British perfume world had a national treasure, John Bailey is it.
And when John sent us a photo of his ‘summerhouse’ (a very precisely-packed shed at the bottom of the garden, filled with his perfume stash), The Perfume Society’s co-founder Jo Fairley and decided we couldn’t wait any longer to hop on a train and see John on his home turf.
From the moment we stepped into John’s car – fragranced by one of his own beautiful blends, wafting through the air filters – we realised that perfume pervades every area of his life. Over tea and biscuits, served by his wife Sheila in an immaculate conservatory (a congratulatory diamond wedding card from Her Majesty The Queen propped on a side table), John chuckled as he reflected on the timeline of his professional life, ‘I think the way to explain it to you honestly is that my career has evolved rather than been planned.’ And evolve it most certainly did…
John Bailey and his beloved wife, Sheila
Humbly reflecting that he ‘wasn’t much good at anything at school… my sister was the brainy one,’ it was John’s parents who gently nudged him to become an apprentice to John Richardson & Co, an old-established firm of manufacturing chemists, druggists and distillers in his home town of Leicester. ‘They made everything, pills, potions, lotions, tinctures, veterinary preparations; lozenges…’
It all began with those humble lozenges – which he spent his days hand-making exclusively for the Brompton Hospital London. ‘The mixture was kneaded and prepared with a specific percentage of the essential oils – things like English peppermint oil – then rolled, cut out and stamped. An apprentice like me would have to re-do that again and again, weighing them exactly. If the weight wasn’t right, it meant the dosage of the essential oil wasn’t correct. Later, I discovered it’s t’s exactly the same technique when you’re weighing out ingredients for perfumes. You have to be accurate.’
Soon it became clear that John’s passion lay in the botanical/aromatics side of the business. As he explains: ‘In those days pharmacies would bulk buy fragrances which they’d pour into their own bottles to sell.’ The chemists shops frequently bought them from the same supplier they sourced lozenges and other medicinals from – and before long, John was learning how to blend perfumes.
The next step of John’s career was ‘very good fortune’, he reflects. He joined a renowned retail chemist, Cecil Jacobs, who’d set up shop beneath the Grand Hotel, Leicester. Jacobs’s subsequent takeover of an ancient apothecary allowed John to be trained in every single aspect of sales, marketing, sourcing ingredients, the merchandising and making of fine fragrances, cosmetics and toiletries. (There’s probably nobody in the entire perfume universe who’s had so rounded a training.) Perhaps his greatest stroke of good fortune was meeting a fellow employee, however – Sheila, with whom he has three daughters.
From there, it was a leap to the old-established Quaker company of Stafford Allen (SAS), growers and distillers of essential oils. ‘I spent months in every single department there before they sent me out as their technical representative. I never stopped learning. It wasn’t like today when to become a perfumer you are required to go to ISIPCA or do specialised training,’ John reflects. ‘This was learning on the job.’
Interestingly, this gives him great respect for the growing number self-taught niche perfumers around today. ‘To my mind there’s no point getting on your high horse and saying, “well these people haven’t been trained at such and such a place” – because that was often the old way, too!’
He clearly remembers the time when the role of ‘evaluator’ was devised – the individuals whose role is as a bridge between client and perfumer, to-ing and fro-ing to ensure the brief is fulfilled to their satisfaction. ‘It was much to the disgust of the perfumers, who thought “who the hell are these people coming in and telling us to tinker with our formulas?”’
From 1979-1981, he then went to work for the fragrance house RC Treatt, setting up a perfumery from scratch. To the distress of John and his team, however, out of the blue the whole venture was axed – and for the first time he found himself out of a job. ‘But it gave me the push to go independent’, John asserts. ‘I thought right, that’s it, I’m never working for anyone again. So I launched my company, The Perfumer’s Guild…’
John’s first bespoke perfume was for the Royal National Rose Society – a quintessential English rose scent, simply called Society, with the first bottle going to Penelope Keith, then to Felicity Kendal and other celebrities who’d had roses named for them.
His next client? None other than Dame Barbara Cartland – she of the pink frocks, the fluffy dogs and the Rolls Royce. (Later, also stepgrandmother to Diana, Princess of Wales, through the marriage of her daughter Rayne to Earl Spencer.) Having read a newspaper article in which the eccentric, bestselling romance authoress bemoaned the decline in standards of perfumery, John wrote her a letter offering to make a scent specially for her. It went down so well that he was retained – like a modern-day Jean-Louis Fargeon to Marie Antoinette, perhaps – to create all the fragrances in her wardrobe. The first perfume he made for Dame Barbara had the suitably Cartland-esque name of Scent of Romance – ‘an Oriental, very decadent and rich. She also had me fragrancing bookmarks and scenting her letters.’ On one occasion, he recalls, he even found himself being announced at a foreign reception at a five-star hotel by a uniformed footman as ‘Mr John Bailey, Ambassador to Dame Barbara Cartland!’
John was one of the first Western perfumers to use oudh – and shows us a magnificent gold metal chest, containing a pile of this precious Arabian wood. Never resting on his laurels, it turns out he was also involved in reviving the prestigious British perfume house Atkinsons, via his friend Michael Edwards (author of Perfume Legends and the perfume industry ‘annual’, Fragrances of the World). Michael introduced him to the new Italian owners, when they’d bought Atkinsons into their fold. ‘He said to me: “These people have lost a lot of their history and they’re not sure what to do with this treasure” – so I became the officially-appointed researcher, before the relaunched. I’m thrilled that they’re now going to open in Burlington Arcade – literally just around the corner from where this perfume house first started.’
But leaving aside his fascinating personal history, we were also here to see John’s collection. So John led us to the summerhouse in which he stores his jaw-dropping stash, glass cupboards and shelves groaning with everything from Potter & Moore Lavender to Esteé Lauder Dazzling Silver, an original Youth Dew, Army & Navy Eau de Cologne, Triple Extract Wood Violet and more. ‘I’ve no idea how many bottles I’ve got. Several hundred I guess. It’s not always about what’s in the bottle – for me the bottles themselves hold a fascination, the stories and the people behind them.’
Back in the house, Jo and I had to ask if Sheila (who fuelled us with tea, biscuits and mini mince pies throughout the interview) was equally into perfume. Her throaty chuckle and candid answer – ‘Well, to be honest with you I’m not that bothered about it, these days!’ – made us laugh, as did her affectionate assertion that John was ‘obsessed with fragrance’.
At first, John attempted to deny this. But then this gentleman and scent scholar looked around the otherwise immaculate house, with its study crammed with what must be every fragrance book ever written, its huge factices (oversized display bottles) and countless perfume flacons from every era on display. (Never mind that shed itself.)
‘Well, alright,’ he finally smiled, ‘I suppose you could say I’m obsessed…’
JOHN’S TOP 10
Or rather, 11. Because after seven decades in the perfume business, it seemed churlish to deny John Bailey an extra ‘pick’…
Atkinson’s 24 Old Bond Street ‘A wonderful relaunch and redesign – they’ve been so clever with the flask.’
Chanel ‘From the aesthetic point of view, their simplicity is absolutely brilliant. All they’ve had to do is tweak the bottle over the years – because it’s perfection.’
Coty (lots of vintage treasures) ‘We have a friend who was a flight engineer for Concorde and he found this bottle for me at a flea market in Ludlow. Very similar to the vintage Molton Brown, isn’t it?’
YSL Opium ‘The bottle designer Pierre Dinand told me many years ago, when I was working with him, that only a few of these original necklaces were produced and so I treasure this.’
Guerlain Mitsouko ‘One of the greatest fragrances ever created.’
Clarins Eau Dynamiste ‘A very good example of a fragrance perfectly suiting the brand. A tonic scent that’s kind of a twist on Eau Sauvage.’
Jean Paul Gaultier Le Mâle ‘Brilliant packaging and bottles – so outrageous putting it in a tin! The fragrance that launched Francis Kurkdjian’s career, of course.’
Miss Dior Original ‘Such a cherished name. I worked with the perfumer Jean Carles’ son, Marcel, at one time. I think I still have a copy of the original formula for this, somewhere!’
Givenchy Ysatis ‘Stunning bottle – another Pierre Dinand special.’
Perfumer’s Guild ‘Aside from “Society”, we used family names for the perfumes – including those of our daughters.’
If you’ve not already binged Emily in Paris Season 3, have you even got a Netflix account? Continuing our series of matching characters in popular series to scents they should wear, of course I had to pick some perfumes for the cast of Emily in Paris!
Okay, perhaps you avoided it thus far and thought it beneath you, somehow? Well cast off your snobbiness, wind back to the first two seasons and give it a go! There’s a lot of talk about scent, for a start, with an ongoing storyline about the creation of a fragrance and (in the third season) a plot involving Emily trying to save a potential disaster for a lavender farm’s luxury perfume. Fun, frivolous and with some absolutely gorgeous Parisian scenery, it’s one to watch when you just need something easy, breezy and beautiful for a change, and while fans await the much-anticipated fourth season of Emily in Paris, here’s some fragrance choices to explore in the meantime…
Emily (played by Lily Collins) – Lancôme La Vie Est Belle
Optimistic, confident (even though her French, fashion sense and romantic decisions are sometimes shocking) Emily’s joie de vivre often gets her in trouble, but her plucky spirit and great ideas save her. She embodies the joy of this free-spirited fragrance by a trio of top-notch noses (Anne Flipo, Dominique Ropion and Olivier Polge), which was reportedly with 5000 trials in the making. Starring a contemporary, silky iris swagged by radiant orange blossom and sparkling jasmine, its fruitiness is woven with praline (to satisfy her sweet tooth). Pretty, perky, with a long-lasting trail, it’s a scent that says ‘I’m here to stay, and you’re going to love me!’
Suave, sarcastic, but with a seemingly good heart, Alfie’s the ambitious banker [NB: not a spelling error] who’s fully London-born and proud of it, with no intention of fitting in to the French way of doing things. Piccadilly was the third fragrance from Richard E Grant’s house, and similarly swaggers with pride. Based on Grant’s own first venture to the big city in 1969, and working with talented perfumer Alienor Massenet, these extraordinary memories are evoked via rich patchouli, Earl Grey tea, ginger and leather swirling against the backdrop of a vibrant city, cool cars, petrol fumes, illicit parties, a buzz of excitement. Thrillingly addictive!
A talented chef conflicted by the ongoing battle between his heart and head (and possibly other parts, too), Gabriel gets away with an awful lot by looking soulfully confused and running his fingers through his hair. While dreaming up new ideas for menu, he should liberally spritz this: a savoury special of juicy green peppers and aromatic, just-chopped herbs with undercurrents of fancy cocktails to follow, late-night lock-ins and snogging the chef (when you really shouldn’t be), this always fun niche house nevertheless serve up seriously great fragrances. It’s the scent of a great night out and, very likely, will scent the morning after the night before.
Camille (Camille Razat) – Histoire de Parfums This is Not a Blue Bottle 1.2
Ah, Camille – the gal pal unfairly turned love rival with secrets of her own to hide. I think her love of art would be intrigued by this contemporary niche French house’s scent inspired by ‘The Treachery of Images’ – a famously surrealist work from the 1920s by Belgian painter René Magritte. It resonates the dualities of sparkling light and fiery emotions, so perfect for Camille. From a bright beginning of ivy leaf with a fizz of pink pepper, the softness of lilac and lily of the valley are interrupted by passionate ylang ylang’s embrace, with the base of sandalwood and vanilla-lapped musk being sexy in a luminously insouciant but now subversively sexy way.
Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) – Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche
Being the boss isn’t always easy, especially when you’re not sure you are the boss anymore, and you’re doubting your romantic entanglements; so I think Sylvie would reach for a classic that reminds her of more carefree times and boosts her confidence. Completely chic but with a bohemian soul, Rive Gauche was launched in 1971 and – shockingly, then – presented in tin casing so a woman on-the-go could throw it in her bag . Timelessly French Chypre in style but with that rebellious Left Bank spirit. Soapy, sparkling aldehydic bubbles burst to clean-cut woodiness with claws out, while the rich oakmoss dry down is an irresistibly seductive purr.
Luc (Bruno Gourey) – Parle Moi de Parfum Woody Perfecto
Always dapper, slightly eccentric, but ever dependable in a crisis – even when everyone seems to desert Emily, Luc is a friend indeed and thus deserves a scent to match his quirky but warm personality. Composed by master perfumer Michel Almairac (who runs the house with his sons), expect mischievous names paired with immaculately blended fragrances that blend great taste with not taking yourself too seriously. This one wafts aromatic notes of coffee and cool, rooty vetiver with undercurrents of naughtiness implied by a smooth infusion of leather. Symbolising freedom, the scent is perfect for offices or star-studded parties alike.
Julien (Samuel Arnold) – Christian Louboutin Loubicrown
Dramatic? As if! Okay, well sometimes he can go a tiny bit over the top in his reactions, but Julien’s tantrums never last that long, and he’s one of those friends you’d definitely want to party with (as long as you weren’t held responsible for their actions). Never exactly averse to a designer name with a bit of boldness and bling, his ever-colourful wardrobe needs a fragrance that’s just as fantastic, and I reckon he’d love the crowned bottle, too. The scent itself is one that beckons the red carpet via oodles of cedar, deliciously resinous patchouli and a tonka bean accord that will draw crowds of admirers for another sniff.
Mindy (Ashley Park) – L’Orchestre Parfum Rose Trombone
Gregarious, loyal and super-talented, Mindy is a fave of Emily in Paris fans – a magnificent singer with a difficult background of a family who definitely don’t approve of her busking career choices. Mindy’s fortunes may be changing, but that means extra complications for her romantic life. This niche French perfume house couldn’t be more perfect – all their fragrances have songs inspired by them, written by world class musicians; this one’s a beautiful raspberry-tinged rose that turns into a smoky smooch of vanilla-laced rum. Think: torrid glances, forbidden kisses and the sultry voice of a chauntress rising above it all, aching with emotion, hushing a crowd.
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.’
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.
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.
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?
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).
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.
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 parfumdior.com
