We are all LONGING to get away – those luxury destinations are beckoning to our souls like never before! But with pandemic restrictions making planning rather dicey still, we’re taking respite with some of these fabulously evocative and opulent scents. From far-flung fragrant lands to precious perfume jewels, have a browse through these recent launches and see where your nose would like to lead you…
BVLGARI La Gemme Astrea .
Alberto Morillas has worked for so long with Bulgari, he once told us there’s almost a shorthand between him and this jewellery house, when it comes to understanding their vision for new fragrances. Joining the La Gemme collection, inspired by precious stones, is a scent inspired by blue aventurine, forged from natural saffron (the world’s priciest spice), jasmine sambac and a velvety honey, which delivers ‘unparalleled intensity’, in the perfumer’s words. Masterful, as we’d expect.
£268 for 100ml eau de parfum
harrods.com
Carolina Herrera Confidential Gold Myrrh Absolute
Myrrh has been a cornerstone of Middle Eastern perfumery – well, since Three Kings presented it to you-know-who, two millennia ago. Resinous, mysterious, it is the protagonist of Carolina Herrera’s latest exotic treasure, spiced by black pepper, rendered aromatic by immortelle and given delicious gourmand flourishes of cacao and liquorice, delectably sweetened by vanilla in the base. Proferred in the most eye-catching gilded flacon that is another gift for the senses.
£235 for 100ml eau de parfum
carolinaherrera.com
Ella K Rose de Pushkar
Perfumer Sonia Constant adds to her olfactory travelogue with this shareable Rajasthan-inspired offering, capturing the visual opulence of this so-colourful corner of India through armfuls of rose, swirling in a heart of oudh, sandalwood, patchouli and white cedar. It opens with saffron, black pepper, frankincense and lychee, concludes with leather, tonka and cistus absolutes, amber and musk, the juice as deliciously pink as Rajasthan’s fabled palaces. Travel in a bottle, indeed.
£175 for 70ml eau de parfum
jovoyparis.uk
Dunhill Signature Collection Egyptian Smoke
Smoke is snaking its way through many of this season’s scent compositions, conjured up here by Robertet’s Jérôme Épinette is an is-it-a-Chypre-is-it-an-Amber creation that surrounds classic Grasse roses with papyrus, black tea, pink pepper and ginger, segueing to patchouli, vanilla bean and curls of smoky labdanum. ‘Always surprising and vibrating, like a warm golden light on a star-covered deep blue sky,’ as the menswear brand aptly sums it up.
£120 for 100ml eau de parfum
harrods.com
Parle Moi De Parfum Haute Provence / 89
Endless vistas of Provençal lavender fields and their ‘glorious explosion of purple, mauve, lilac and blue’ were the inspiration behind this wonderfully soothing, aromatic ‘memory of France in high summer.’ Until we can wander those fields first-hand, this cool, dry and immediately nostalgic scent spirits us there with every spritz. Refreshing watermelon and hypnotic narcissus only add to the bucolic charms, and once again we praise the nose of Michel Almairac. Mais oui!
£98 for 50ml eau de parfum
lessenteurs.com
