Leighton Denny‘s the man who helped kickstart the manicure trend in the UK: award-winning nail technician-turned-entrepreneur, with an A-list clientele – and a go-to name for catwalk nails.
But as Leighton told The Perfume Society at this week’s W Hotel launch for his first fragrance, Light & Dark – ‘L’ for ‘Leighton’, ‘D’ for Denny, BTW – he’s been obsessed with fragrance since childhood, and always longed to create a perfume of his own.
And it’s beautiful – a massive floriental bouquet, bursting with notes of lily, gardenia, jasmine, peach – and with a sultry trail of spices and woody notes, with plenty of patchouli, incense and amber. (First, you get the burst of citrus – a must for Leighton, who got into trouble with his mother as a kid for tearing his fingers into tangerines, and not eating them!)
‘Everyone kept telling me I should do a simple scent like a citrus first – lemon or mandarin – but I said, “no, I want the lot!”‘ So the result’s super-sensual – quite 80s, actually, in a good way: plenty of va-va-voom, a sashay in its step. (Rather like his lifestyle visual, below.)
If there’s a nicer man in the beauty business, we’ve yet to meet him – so we wish good luck to Leighton tonight (5th September) with the launch of Leighton Denny Light & Dark on a QVC at 9 pm.
We’ll have more from Leighton during London Fashion Week, when he’s sharing what he’s wearing (scent-wise) – and the perfumes he’s loved, over the years. (It’s quite some haul.)
Leighton Denny Light & Dark, £43.50 for 70ml
Try it at: www.ld-scent.com & QVC
Written by Jo Fairley
