We wanted to bring you some ideas of fragrances to wear when you should be kind to yourself, most especially on this day when ‘love is in the air’, but we often put ourselves at the bottom of a long list of people we need to show how much we care. Valentines Day can be difficult for many, so we say grab a cuppa (and a box of chocolates), and treat yourself to trying one of these recently launched, and all so-beautiful fragrances…
AEMIUM
Rouge Confidence
Swathing ourselves in amber-rich, beautifully-balanced scents is exactly what we want to be doing right now. This suffuses a buoyant, gilded warmth with, notes of supple leather (think freshly polished new boots, joyously kicking through leaves), phosphorescent citrus beaming through cheering freesia and violet. Here’s a new-to-us French house which equates luxury with eco-kind credentials, too – everything sourced, manufactured, and packaged in France to reduce their carbon footprint, and zero petrochemicals.
£125 for 100ml eau de parfum
selfridges.com
DIOR LA COLLECTION PRIVÉE
La Collection Privée Vanilla Diorama
Here is Dior perfumer-creator François Demachy’s ‘ode to vanilla’, which from the initial sparkle of orange to the swoon of that sticky, dark pod’s scent, does not disappoint. Like wearing an amber cloak of silk velvet, texturally cosy with a glamorous, golden sheen, with undulating seams of rum, cocoa and patchouli throughout. Apparently inspired by an off-menu dessert created for Demachy by Parisian restaurant Maxim’s, we’re going to need a bigger spoon…
From £99 for 40ml eau de parfum
dior.com
VERONIQUE GABAI
Le Point G
This swooningly sensual fragrance ‘draws inspiration from the G spot’ (chaps: if you can’t find it in Liberty’s, just ask!), which ‘grows on skin until it reaches a full completion in an exhale of pleasure.’ Gosh. Softly sexy, not brashly obvious, spicy pepper, silky vanilla and soft white musk drape the skin for hours. Don’t think of this as a pulling perfume – more an invitation to wear fragrance for self-pleasure.
£245 for 85ml eau de parfum
libertylondon.com
BURBERRY SIGNATURES
Windsor Tonic
This collection, ‘inspired by British heritage, artistry, and eccentricities’, really showcases the Burberry DNA. Evoking the royal town it’s named for, expect a certain insouciant grandeur to overcome you as the Cologne-like freshness of piercing petitgrain, bergamot and mandarin sweep to the cool green cardamom and orange blossom heart. Buoyed with wafts of green cypress to the refined woody dry-down, it feels like nothing bad can happen when you wear this.
£190 for 90ml eau de parfum
harrods.com
MONT BLANC
LEGEND
At once familiar and yet excitingly different to the original, Mont Blanc invite you to push the boundaries of your life but in the most reassuringly comforting way. Here, the addition of green violet leaves harmonises with the addictively creamy (almost waxy) floral note of magnolia and a warm, woody, burnished leather as it deliciously dries down. A new signature scent, perhaps, if you need a gentle push out of your comfort zone.
£48.50 for 50ml eau de toilette
johnlewis.com
