Inside the House of… To the Fairest

The stars are aligned for the new Ordre Cosmique fragrance from To the Fairest – cosmically inspired it sparkles with freshness while glimmering enticingly of hope. But before we delve into this latest star scent, let’s take a look at the childhood scent memories and a chance encounter that provided the ‘big bang’ of the house being formed…

 

Sitting on a stool in her mother’s greenhouse, young Rebecca Rose would take in all the wonderful smells that surrounded her – the crisp green of stroking fuzzy tomato leaves, clean, damp earth and sun-warmed jasmine flowers. A little later, the olfactory tuition became more pronounced, because, as Rebecca recounted during an interview with velvetmag.co.uk, when she got older ‘…my grandmother would bring me sample vials back from her shopping trips and it was always the most exciting thing.’

Clearly carrying these olfactory memories with her during her studies at Cambridge, career as an art historian and then dealer of vintage clothing; a chance encounter with Lizzie Ostrom– a.k.a. Odette Toilette, a fragrance expert, author of Perfume: A Century of Scents and long-time friend of The Perfume Society – led to Rebecca being encouraged to launch her own house in 2019. Working with independent perfumer Penny Williams, Rebecca recalls how important her childhood fascination with fragrance had been: ‘I was exploring a whole new world’ she explains. ‘Scent can trigger emotions; take us to different times, different places.’ And so, ‘Developing my own fragrance brand was a dream.’

But as we know, 2020 was a tough year for retail – particularly fragrance, and even more keenly for indie brands – so having previously been stocked in a London boutique that was forced to close, Rebecca had to move quickly to save her business, transferring to the fairest to online selling platforms such as Shopify, and using WhatsApp and Instagram in savvy ways.

She has drawn on her other passions for history and communication that so informed her studies in Modern Languages. So that mythical golden apple from the garden of the Hesperides, which inspired the name of the house, ‘Represented beauty, knowledge and power,’ Rebecca points out, which were ‘qualities claimed by the goddesses.’ This classical motif, she says, ‘celebrates woman as muse – embodying the arts, imparting wisdom and inspiring creation.’

 

 

 

‘Inspired by the magic and connectivity of the cosmos’, this latest launch by the house, Ordre Cosmique is completely gender neutral – a scented star for all to enjoy – and opens with unusual notes of cool, silvery cardamom and calming water lily. Shimmering like the night sky, the sparkle hushes to a warmer base of soothing sandalwood, rippled through with the addictive nature of the chocolate cosmos flower. Gourmand-shunners need not worry, this is no ‘foodie’ type concoction – it feels far more sophisticated; a subtle addiction, if you will, that invisible pull of wanting more. Finally, the hypnotic trail of musk sprinkles stardust in your wake, the perfect ending to a scent that wraps you in mystery, the kind of fragrance that makes you fall in love with the world (and your imagination beyond it) a little more.

 

Ordre Cosmique £85 for 50ml eau de parfum tothefairest.com

To wear the fragrances of To the Fairest is to re-connect with your own simmering passions, those emotional scent memories that form part of your personality and reignite, somehow, when you wear a perfume that resonates with them. We love the way that this independent, niche British perfume house is expanding their range – with matching candles and body oils to surround yourself with the scents. As for the future? For To the Fairest, the sky’s clearly not the limit!

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Scenting the airwaves – perfume themed podcasts we recommend

Fragrance is filling the air(waves) right now, with a plethora of perfumed podcasts to catch up with – some fairly recently released episodes, and some other (for us) just-discovered gems.
At The Perfume Society, we’ve long held that the topic of fragrance and our sense of smell is perhaps at the point food and wine were not all that long ago: something the general public are waking up to as a valid subject to explore, enjoy and discuss in depth.

Perfect to download and enjoy while commuting, these will ease you gently from wearing pyjamas past midday while mainly eating a cheese and chocolate-based diet; or perhaps to to catch up with while chilling this weekend…

Fume Chat: The Filth Battle
Fellow ‘fumehead Katie Puckrik joins regular hosts, Thomas and Nick, to judge a battle of their perfume picks that smell nothing short of downright dirty. Our very favourite kind! You’ll come for the fragrances and stay for the banter.

The Conversation: Perfume Makers
How do you capture and bottle a scent? Two perfume makers from France and Malaysia talk to Kim Chakanetsa about how they’ve trained their noses to smell over 1,000 different raw ingredients.

What’s the Tee?
RuPaul and co-host Michelle Visage spend much of this episode discussing their love of perfume, with Michelle in particular proving to be well-up on her niche houses and with seemingly quite a collection. Such a pleasure to hear people be passionate about things they love, don’t you think?

Two Sense: Perfumer & Flavorist Podcast
Flavour and fragrance are inextricably linked, and indeed many perfume companies create for both sectors. Perfumer & Flavorist sit down with Ewan Morgan, national director of Diageo, to discuss what goes into crafting a quality whisky.

The Why Factor: Perfume
For centuries perfume has been used to show status and wealth and the global business is worth now worth tens of billions of dollars, so clearly fragrance is more popular than ever. Here the BBc’s Mike Williams talks to an historian and archaeologist about why we use perfume and what, exactly, it says about us.

Histories of the Unexpected: Perfume
Presenters Dr Sam Willis and Professor James Daybell ‘argue’ that everything has a history (well, yes) here delving in to our favourite topic (obvs).

Making Scents: The Story of Perfume
Bridget Kendall and guests explore the modern history of perfume, including its flowering in France and the explosive chemical discoveries that helped to make fine fragrance what it is today.

The Pool: Perfume: A Century of Scents
Lizzie Ostrum (aka Odette Toilette) discusses her brilliant book, beginning with the story of CK One and how it came to epitomise the 1990s.

Stuff You Should Know: How Perfume Works
Josh and Chuck are the very laid-back and affable hosts who plunge into topics they previously knew little or nothing about, sharing their research with listeners. There are hundreds of episodes covering everything from corsets to cults, but of course we zoomed in on the perfume episode…

Do let us know if there are any more you’ve heard – we’re always on the lookout for further fragrant recommendations!

Written by Suzy Nightingale

 

 

Scent-inspired gins at Harvey Nichols!

Scent inspired gins certainly get our attention, and there’s no doubt that the gin-craze continues apace. Now, we’ve tried many a tipple here at The Perfume Society (purely for research purposes), but never one inspired by the smell of embalmed Egyptian mummies. Until last night, that is…

We were invited to the press launch of That Boutique-y Gin Company‘s four new gins, all inspired by fragrance and made with the collaboration of Lizzie Ostrum (AKA Odette Toilette) and presented with paintings by brilliant synaesthetic artist, Phillipa Stanton.

The concept takes synaesthesia (the mixing of the senses – ascribing smells and tastes to colours, for example) and bottles it, allowing your sense of smell and taste to take you on an immersive journey into some really quite wonderful (and weird) places…

Big Dipper Gin: Sweet cocoa, earthy cardamom and smoky botanicals capture the nostalgic smell of the funfair.

Fresh Rain Gin: Inspired by the science of perichor (the smell of the first rainfall after a hot, dry period), combining beetroot and edible clay.

Dead King Gin: Featuring botanicals commonly associated with the Egyptian embalming process – rosemary, honey, moss and myrrh.

Beware of the Woods: Wood-y botanicals such as Icelandic moss, nutmeg and cubeb combine to take you on a journey through the forest.

That Boutique-y Gin Company Olfactor-y Gins £42 for 500ml
harveynichols.com

Written by Suzy Nightingale