Gucci have been blowing us away with their fabulously opulent catwalk collections, and now continue that trend with the launch of their sumptuous new scent, Gucci Bloom…
The first fragrance developed under the complete control of Gucci’s Creative Director, Alessandro Michele, this is a lusciously modern white floral we couldn’t wait to get our noses on.
Alessandro Michele says: ‘I wanted a rich white floral fragrance, a courageous scent that transports you to a vast garden filled with many flowers and plants, a bouquet of abundance. The garden is as beautiful as women are; colourful, wild, diverse, where there is everything. Gucci Bloom smells of this garden in order to travel to a place that is not there.’
So what does it smell like? Well it’s gloriously soaring right from the first spritz, with the mysterious scent of the (exclusive to Gucci, as far as we know) note of Rangoon Creeper – a white flower that only opens at dusk, gradually transforming to pink and finally a deep, blood red. A sparkling bouquet of tuberose and juicy jasmine garland the fragrance throughout, before soft musk slowly rolls in to billow beguilingly…
Now, feast your eyes on the eye-poppingly gorgeous mini-film – and if the sun’s not shining where you are right now, we’re sure you’ll feel a virtual glow.
Gucci Bloom from £52 for 30ml eau de parfum
Buy it at Harrods
Written by Suzy Nightingale
Tag: frgrance
Etienne de Swardt – État Libre d’Orange's maverick founder reveals his five (somewhat saucy…) favourite smells
Renowned for their controversial names and inspirations, Etat Libre d’Orange actually encompass all manner of fragrant tastes – yes there’s the off-the-wall uber niche scents, but we find the majority are utterly wearable, perfectly beautiful fragrances that definitely deserve to be sniffed, worn and adored…
The latest to join the scented throng came about due to a collaboration with scent expert and critic, Chandler Burr – no stranger to controversy himself, it seems a happy match – but, we wondered, how did the relationship between Etat Libre d’Orange and Chandler Burr begin? Meeting with self-proclaimed ‘trouble-maker’ and founder of ELDO, Etienne de Swardt, is a rare opportunity, so we were thrilled to get up close and personal with him as he revealed You or Someone Like You to the British press; and began by asking him just this question…
‘Chandler has been a friend of ELDO for something like eight/nine years – he was very involved in the perfume we did with Tilda Swinton, Like This. We were impressed with his involvement in the perfume industry – his technical and journalistic experience, and I was a true fan of the name, You or Someone Like You. So I said, Chandler, one day we have to do a perfume when you stop being a perfume critic and move on to the other side of the mirror of the perfume industry! I said he could be the creative director and appoint any perfumer he wanted to create it. So he did this perfume as his vision of Los Angeles – for a woman who does not exist.’
Part of the mischievousness so beloved by fans of ELDO involves never playing by the rules or doing the expected. As such, the exact notes of the latest fragrance are kept under wraps. But why was this? Etienne takes a deep breath – presumably having been expecting this question: ‘We decided, mostly because of Chandler and his beliefs, not to disclose the ingredients. We say – perhaps somewhat arrogantly – that if you want to know what’s inside You or Someone Like You, it’s probably not for you… This is something like a piece of art that’s far beyond subjectivity.’
(Pssst! You can try You or Someone Like You in our next Discovery Box, keep an eye on the website for details of when it launches!)
So what does it smell of? Well, one spritz and we’re in the mood for Mojitos, the zest of fresh lime, mint and ice cubes clinking. The scent of freshly cut grass, wild roses rambling in shady nooks, patches of sunlight glinting from dewdrops of a just-watered herbaceous border… we catch wafts of clean washing hanging in the balmy breeze, ice-cream sodas and fluffy cashmere throws. Soaringly fresh, it somehow fills your head with light…
So now, what else but to ask this fragrance maverick his five favourite smells? We’re always fascinated to discover how psychologically revealing this can be, and certainly weren’t disappointed with Etienne’s answers. Having been asked the question and taking a few moments to gather his thoughts, Etienne took a sip of his drink, leaned back in his velvet chair and held court, his first choice – It had to be! – completely unexpected. And other choices… well, of course controversy came a-knocking…
1. Food in planes: ‘I have to start with a smell I don’t like, because when I was a kid I was living in New Caledonia, and the flight to visit Europe was twenty five hours long – just awful – so it’s like a Proustian moment but with negative thoughts. Whatever you eat it all smells the same, as soon as you open the aluminium, so to me it’s the strongest smell memory because it reminds me when I was lost in the air for so many hours… It’s such a strong memory, though, and I am always taken right back there.’
2. Dogs: ‘I especially love the smell behind their ears, as well as the coat. I was born the Year of the Dog in 1970, so I’m a true dog lover. It cools me down, calms me, when I can smell a dog and it just grounds me. And we all need that, you know? We rush around so full of anguish, and we need something to just smell and feel grounded again.’
3. Oakmoss: ‘I love this smell – I reboot myself in the forest with my wife and family, I like to jog there and when it rains I love to stand near an oak tree and pick up the oak moss and smell it and feel that connection to nature.’
4. Guerlain Jicky: ‘I truly believe in past lives and this smell connects me to my grandmother. I believe we are nurtured by the dead people and by the force of other spirits. Fir this reason, it is my samsara – not Samsara the fragrance, but MY samsara…’ [the cycle of death and rebirth to which life in the material world is bound, according to Sanskrit belief].
5. Sea notes/Semen: ‘This is a little bit naughty and pornographic…’ Etienne grins, his eyes flashing with mischief, ‘but I love the border in between attraction and repulsion. That notion of Secretions Magnifique [ELDO’s infamous fragrance evoking semen, sweat and blood] is very much me. Deep-rooted. You know the French poets Baudelaire and Rimbaud were talking about sexuality and La Mer which could be La Mère – the sea or the mother, the place we all are born, where we all come from. So for me sea notes, from an oyster to human secretions, it’s that bridge between attraction and repulsion…’
Étienne interviewed by Suzy Nightingale
Jasper Conran gets Naked!
Having already been Nude, Jasper Conran’s now getting Naked with a new masculine eau de toilette you’ll definitely want to get beneath the wrappings of…
Can we take a moment to celebrate the fact that men are now getting more variety in the scent world? While it’s not often we shed a tear for the chaps, we must admit they have been horrifically under-catered for until very recently, with only sporty/fresh/musky options in practically all ranges. Now there are more interesting combintions, including (gasp) flowers creeping in, and we couldn’t be more pleased. Floral notes nd softly powdered green touches such as violet leaves (read on, below) smell a-maz-ing on a man’s skin and with the weather (hopefully) warming up, it’s a great time to hoorah about that fact.
Jasper Conran say: ‘Aromatic and effortlessly masculine Naked encapsulates Jasper Conran’s refined approach to scent, first experienced with his signature lines Woman and Man and more recently Nude for women.’ Talking about the inspiration for Naked Man, and how it’s meant to make you feel, they go on to explain it’s all about the emotions beneath that ‘Natural attraction, effortless masculinity…’
It’s a pretty clear olfactory theme – what lies beneath the clothes he’s so famous for? Well as it happens, in Jasper Conran’s world the Nude or Naked skin smells pretty damn great. But what did we make of it? Well, let’s undress this a little…
At first it’s all about the zest – grapefruit and bergamot – a burst of freshness that makes you want to strip off and run through the sprinklers in the park. But maybe resist that urge for now and wait for the intriguing notes of violet leaves, entwined with the shady cool of breeze of vetiver, to take root. Finally, cedarwood slinks to a base of lightly handled patchouli, warm tingles of amber and a smoothly leathery sandalwood. It’s definitely one to
A modern masculine with refinement at its core, we’re loving the elegant bottle and will totally be borrowing this from the chaps!
Jasper Conran Naked Man, £35 for 100ml eau de toilette
Buy it at debenhams.com
Written by Suzy Nightingale
Valeur Absolue get passionate with crystal powered perfumes
There is no doubt that fragrance has the power to utterly alter the way we feel – it can lift our spirits, transport us to a specific time and place so rapidly we’re left reeling with sensorial shock or swathe us in comfort just when we need it most. But what about taking that further and using ingredients in perfumes to target particular feelings and to provoke our enjoyment beyond merely “smelling nice”?
Valeur Absolue take inspiration from aromacology, mineral therapy and the roots of 17th century fine perfumery: each scent created to fragrantly enhance a mood – the key ethos being to uplift, relax and revitalise. Of course fragrance-lovers instinctively understand perfume’s feel-good factor: But Valeur Absolue’s founder – Geneva-based Benedicte Foucart – wanted to take that one stage further. Imagine fragrances infused with ingredients known to soothe, to nurture, or to inspire passion. Imagine gemstones, not only creating something beautiful to look at – but, according to Foucart, helping to shift energies… With many people now subscribing to the idea that semi-precious stones can harness “healing” powers, it’s certainly a fascinating path to follow within the world of luxury perfume.
Having worked as International Vice President at Elizabeth Arden (where many fragrances were launched, during her tenure), and then perfume house Firmenich as head of global marketing, Foucart came to the brand with ample consumer experience. Indeed, Valeur Absolue was actually inspired by a consumer study of 10,000 women in the USA and Europe, which revealed ‘the growing dissatisfaction among women concerning the current offerings in the fragrance market,’ observes Benedicte, explaining, ‘Our products are “more” than perfumes; above all, perfumes that smell absolutely delicious, but they are also real wellbeing elixirs which offer real benefits to women.’
“Areumat perpetua” features in all the blends – a natural extract of immortelle flower, linked to the release in the body of feel-good beta endorphins. The ultimate vision Benedicte had for Valeur Absolue was ‘to bring fine fragrance and wellbeing back together,’ returning to the tradition of the 17th Century roots of fine perfumery, and the time when perfume had a health- or mood-enhancing powers.
Rouge Passion marks the seventh fragrance in their line, and takes the story further with regard to creating a scent that takes a more intensely sensual direction. Champacca is the stand-out ingredient for us, here (collars woven with champacca were traditionally worn by Indian women as a seductive ploy, so Benedicte informs us!) with a deliciously addictive quality that keeps your nose clamped to your wrist long after spraying. A softly powdered tonka bean was chosen to round off the base – a highly sophisticated yet totally on-trend gourmand touch that we dare you to try and resist…
Valeur Absolue Rouge Passion £59 for 50ml eau de parfum
Buy it at House of Fraser
Can crystals “heal” or enhance? Well whatever you believe, there’s no doubt the gem-filled bottles are beautiful objects in and of themselves, and the soft rattle you get with each spritz is terribly satisfying and soothing to play with. More than this – and most importantly – the fragrances smell great. These are not “spa” products, it was vital for Benedicte to give women contemporary, sophisticated scents they actually wanted to wear. The new branding – which we love – reflects this, and the whole ethos of the brand: wellbeing through elegant simplicity, for people who don’t want to compromise.
Interested in finding out more of these crystal-powered, mood-enhancing scents? Read our page dedicated to the brand to match the perfume to your personality, and check out their website for an in-depth guide to each fragrance….
Written by Suzy Nightingale
Jasmine Awards 2017 – the shortlist is announced, and we have a HUGE number of reasons to be excited!
Originally created in France, The Jasmine Awards came to our shores in 1990. Considered ‘…the most prestigious journalistic awards in the beauty industry,’ The Fragrance Foundation describes them as having been set up in order to ‘recognise and reward the talents of journalists and visualisers whose difficult task it is to translate the complex art of perfumery into words and pictures.’ And though we might say so ourselves, that task is tricky, indeed, but one we apply ourselves to with sheer glee.
Held annually at BAFTA, for each year’s nominations a new panel of judges is recruited – with designers, fashion experts, professional writers and representatives of the publishing world and leading retailers all having their place. Chaired by an expert in the fragrance industry, Joanna Norman has spent nearly 30 years working in fragrance – and the panel read through hundreds of submissions before making their final decisions.
This year, with individual team members, The Scented Letter magazine and our website itself receiving such a plethora of nominations – well, as our editor and co-founder Jo Fairley put it…
‘Gosh golly gee bananas: I have some amazing news to share. My wonderful team at The Perfume Society has been nominated for an array of Jasmine Awards from The Fragrance Foundation today: three for Suzy Nightingale, one for Dariush Alavi/Persolaise for his Ace of Bases feature for The Scented Letter (other nominations in his own right), and one for our online ‘fragrance editor’ FR.eD, invented by my friend and business partner Lorna McKay. And – gulp – I seem to have been nominated five times… So, so thrilled for everyone on my team and other worthy nominees including Thomas Dunckley and Samantha Scriven. #proudeditor’
We are over the moon at being included in this shortlist, representing the very best of fragrance writing and photography today, and hope you will join us in congratulating all the brilliant nominees, below!
The Jasmine Awards ceremony will be held on Wednesday March 15th 2017.
If you listen really carefully, that squealing sound…? That’s us, that is!
The Jasmine Awards 2017 Shortlist
LITERARY AWARD
Cosmopolitan: Can Your Scent Get You Laid? – Fiona Embleton
Good Housekeeping: Every Scent Tells a Tale – Joanne Harris
Stylist: Why You’ll hate Perfume When You’re Pregnant – Joanna McGarry
Woman & Home: Scentimental Journey – Jo Glanville Blackburn
You Magazine: From Bags to Bottles, LV Unveils The Ultimate It-spritz – Josephine Fairley
You Magazine: We Salute You, Miss Dior – Jopsephine Fairley
VISUAL AWARD
Cosmopolitan: How to Smell ‘Interesting’ – Ingeborg van Lotringen, Stuart Selmen
FS: What’s in Your Bottle? – Zoe Birdsall, Paul Frost
Harrods Magazine: A Perfume Paints a Thousand Words – Jan Masters, Roberto Greco & Jan Masters
Harrods Magazine: Scent of Place – Jan Masters, Benedict Morgan
How To Spend It: Spritz, Shoots and Leaves – Lucia van der Post, Ben Turner & Petrick Devilliers
Stylist: The New Keepsakes, Shannon Peter, Shannon Peter
CREATIVE VISUAL AWARD
Evening Standard Magazine: Floral Notes – Lily Worcester, Lily Worcester
FS: Small Wonders – Zoe Birdsall, Paul Frost
FS: Smell Like a Rock God – Chantelle, Horton, Paul Frost
Get The Gloss: The Art of Layering Your Scent – Ayesha Muttucumaru, Sarah McGinnis
Harrods Magazine: All of a Quiver – Jan Masters, David Newton, Barney Pichard & Rebecca Baio
Instyle: Is There Such Thing as a Feminist Scent? – Emily Dean, Lol Keegan
Stylist: Darling Buds – Fiona Embleton, Dennis Pederson
SOUNDBITE MAGAZINE AWARD
Grazia: Let’s Talk About Sex – Persolaise
Harrods Magazine: Midnight Garden – Jan Masters
Harrods Magazine: Scents of Place – Jan Masters
Hello! Fashion Monthly: Sunshine Scents – Becci Vallis
Red: Girls Who Like Boys – Annabel Meggeson
Tatler: Beauty Flash: Heady Days -Katie Thomas
SOUNDBITE NEWS PRESS AWARD
ES Magazine: Family Affair – Katie Service
Sunday Times Style: How 70’s is Your Scent – Persolaise
The Times: Real Men Wear Scent – Lesley Thomas
PRACTICAL GUIDE AWARD
Basenotes.net: The Top Ten Female Designer Fragrances Every Beginner Should Try – Claire Vukcevic
Basenotes.net: The Top Ten Niche Fragrances Every Beginner Should Try -Claire Vukcevic
Cosmopolitan: How to Smell ‘Interesting’ – Ingeborg van Lotringen
The Pool: 5 Things to Know Before Buying Your Next Perfume – Elle Turner
The Scented Letter/ The Perfume Society: Chypre Thrills – Suzy Nightingale
You Magazine: If the Spritz fits… – Josephine Fairley
CUSTOMER/HOUSE MAGAZINE AWARD
Harrods Magazine: A Perfume Paints a Thousand Words – Jan Masters
Les Senteurs: The Wearing of the Green – James Craven
SCENTS Blog: #Team TPS tells you how to choose a fragrance for every date – Lauren Carbran
DIGITAL AWARD
Get The Gloss: The Art of Layering Your Scent – Ayesha Muttucumaru
GET THE GLOSS: Sense & Sensitivity: Can You Wear Perfume if You have Sensitive Skin? – Judy Johnson
It’s Me Anita B: Are Perfume Names Selling us Sexuality? – Anita Bhagwandas
Selfridges.com: The Beauty Insider: Shakespearean Scents – Rose Gallagher
telegraph.co.uk: Pear Fragrance: 8 of the best for Spring – Josephine Fairley
The Huffington Post UK: Tuberose Perfumes Could Be The Key To Attraction – Rosy Cherrington
The Pool: A Scent for Self Appreciation – Lizzie Ostrom
DIGITAL EXPERIENCE AWARD
Basenotes.net: On The Rocks: The Trend For Iced Accords – Eddie Bulliqi
FASHIONBEANS: What Your Fragrance Says About You – Lee Kynaston
iscentyouaday.com: Aftelier Momento Mori by Mandy Aftel (2016) – Samantha Scriven
KatieChutzpah.com – Acqua di Parma Colonia Sandalo (Exclusively at Harrods) – Karen Hendry (writing as Katie Chutzpah)
The Candy Perfume Boy: To The Power of Five – Thomas Dunckley
The Candy Perfume Boy: Six Scents to Put Hairs on Your Chest – Thomas Dunckley
The Perfume Society: FR.eD- Find Your Next Fragrance – Lorna McKay & Josephine Fairley
INDEPENDENT LITERARY AWARD
Basenotes.net: Ambergris: Myths, Truths & Half Truths – Claire Vukcevic
Basenotes.net: Scenting My Mental Illness – Laurin Taylor
The Scented Letter: Ace of Bases – Persolaise
The Scented Letter/ The Perfume Society: Galbanum- It’s not easy being green – Suzy Nightingale
The Scented Letter/ The Perfume Society: Jasmine- Perfume’s Little Star – Josephine Fairley
The Scented Letter/ The Perfume Society: The Scented Sweater – Suzy Nightingale
INDEPENDENT SOUNDBITE AWARD
Basenotes.net: Cardamom Close- Up – Eddie Bulliqi
GET THE GLOSS: Scents We’d Like to Find in Our Christmas Stockings – Anna Hunter
KatieChutzpah.com: Juliette Has a Gun’s into The Void to Infinity and Beyond – Karen Hendry (Writing as Katie Chutzpah)
KatieChutzpah.com: Boy Chanel. Olivier Polge’s Latest Addition to Les Exclusifs – Karen Hendry (Writing as Katie Chutzpah)
Mine Magazine: Nude Awakening – Alice Du Parcq
persolaise.com: Super Scent: The Very Best of Etat Libre D’Orange – Persolaise
persolaise.com: Persolaise review: Galop D’Hermès – Persolaise
The Candy Perfume Boy: Eau so Masc- Thoughts on Gender in Perfume and The Rive Gauche Rebellion – Thomas Dunckley
RISING STAR AWARD
Ascento: Put A Lid On It – Sara Hesikova
FRAGRANTICA: Ice Cream In The Sun: The Solar Lactonic Thrust – Eddie Bulliqi
FS: Fragrance: What’s in a Memory? – Zoe Birdsall
Reveal: A Pocketful of Magic – Amber Ascroft
SCENTS blog: 2017: The Year of The Milk Notes – Lauren Carbran
Deco London’s Sophia Fannon-Howell shares her five favourite smells…
Sophia Fannon-Howell is the Founder and Creative Director of Deco London – a vintage-inspired fragrance house for contemporary gals (and guys) about town. Indeed, you can visit our dedicated brand page to learn all about how she came to launch the company and why she’s personally connected to two of the most interesting (and some may say infamous) characters in British history…
As you might suspect for someone who has now devoted their life to all things scented, Sophia admits to being rather fragrance obsessed, surrounding herself in beautifully perfumed things whenever possible. Some of her revelations we could have expected, but the smell of painting fences and something that reminds her of childhood trips to the supermarket? Well, it’s definitely not the weirdest we’ve come across! We find asking people to connect with five deepest-rooted scent memories can be like a time-travelling psychiatry experiment… what would your top five smells of all time remind you of, we wonder?
Sophia Fannon-Howell:
- Creosote – Just because it reminds me of growing up in the 70s/80s and hot summers where the pavements would melt and people would be outside painting their fences. They don’t seem to do that anymore, do they? But in those days everyone seemed to be doing that every summer! As soon as I smell it, I just see bright sunshine – the days when summer seemed to last forever, outside all day on your bike or running wild in the woods with your friends. The smell of freedom!
- Grinding coffee – I love this smell, I think it’s because we used to go with my dad shopping to the supermarket on Saturdays, where I grew up in Farnham. It was a big event. Across the road was a little coffee shop and we’d order some, they’d grind it in front of you and put it in a little bag and put a sticker on for you. You can get good coffee all over the place, now, but then it was really quite a special trip.
- Lavender – I’ve always adored the smell of lavender but can’t pin it to a specific memory. I put a few drops in my kids bath every night, because it definitely does calm them down. I’d like to think, actually, that I am making scent memories for my kids, and that lavender will be one for them in the future. If they’re upset I put a few drop on their pillow, too. I always have stacks of essential oils around the house but this is the one I use most. I love it in the garden, too. In my last house we lived in the side on Box Hill, right on the chalk – I planted huge swathes of it because it loved the chalk so much. Now we’ve moved I just had to plant loads more – my husband used to keep bees and of course they love it, too.
- Roses – Who doesn’t adore roses? I also have a tendency toward rosy perfumes. People can be prejudiced against rose and lavender perfumes because they see them as ‘old fashioned’ but I think you can have classic scents without them being old-lady-ish. I don’t know if there’s a particular rose I love more than any other, but I like to walk around my garden just burying my nose in the roses as often as possible. Heavenly!
- Cedarwood – As in the actual wood, and the essential oil. It’s something that’s present in a lot of perfumes but doesn’t necessarily hit the headlines. It’s just so good, so important. We’ve got some drawers at home that the carpenter who made them lined with cedar, and every single time I open a drawer that smell hits me, I love opening those drawers! And it even subtly scents the things inside.
