The scent of hope – kindness with a cause

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

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

 

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

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

By Suzy Nightingale

 

Bodyguard hand sanitisers: made by French perfumers (you’ll LOVE how these smell!)

There are so many hand sanitisers out there now, but when we were looking for a special extra gift to pop into our Treat Box, we wanted something that would be incredibly useful and smelled beautiful (of course we did!)
So as soon as we heard the BODYGUARD Protect hand sanitisers are made by French perfumers at an atelier in Provence, we knew we had to get our noses on them. Let’s face it – if we have to use them every day, we’d rather our hands smelled fabulous. And this is a fragrant ritual we can get behind.
Founder Celia Nicolosi explains:
‘Our heritage and all our expertise comes from creating fine fragrances in Provence, France. We use traditional techniques passed down through generations that take time and patience to deliver.
Our BODYGUARD anti-bacterial hand sanitisers are fragranced with a fresh Eau de Cologne formula, with each bottle made in our own L’Atelier in Manosque, Provence, this allows us to maintain the quality standards of our product. Our formula is also incredibly gentle on your hands, this is because we use a very high grade moisturising glycerin, which we don’t filter so that you receive all the added goodness to care for you hands.’

 

As we’ve discussed before, fragrant Colognes were traditionally used for health purposes – the alcohol was cleansing to the skin and many of the ingredients added additional anti-bacterial properties (though people didn’t realise that, then. They simply thought pleasant smells warded off sickness).

The BODYGUARD anti-bacterial hand sanitiser contains a powerful 70% alcohol formula with moisturising properties, to cleanse and calm your hands, each beautifully scented in four unique fragrances, and priced at £4.95 each.

Which will you choose as a daily fragrant pleasure…?

MORINGA BLOSSOM
The gentle clean scent of the tropical moringa flower subtly enhanced with violet and a touch of cedar.

MARINE
A breezy sea fragrance, of fresh Mediterranean bergamot, with a hint of woody cedar and musc.

COCONUT
Our coconut fragrance is an irresistible, dreamy, exotic cocktail of coconut, vanilla, jasmine and amber. A holiday must have!

CITRUS
Bursting with orange, bergamot and lemon, this classic citrus fragrance is awakened with notes of lavender and epice.

bodyguardprotect.co.uk

Meanwhile, if you’d like to try the always reviving Citrus Bodguard Protect Hand Sanitiser as an extra goody in our fragrant Treat Box, you can buy the whole box of THIRTEEN perfumes and two scented treats for just £23 (or £19 if you’re a VIP Club Member)

By Suzy Nightingale