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Calvin Klein Women: who are yours?

Mothers, sisters, teachers, friends – or simply women you look up to. Whoever inspires you, supports you – or simply that woman who has your back on a daily basis – to celebrate the launch of the new fragrance, Calvin Klein Women want to know: who are your women?

Calvin Klein Women marks Chief Creative Officer Raf Simmons’ first ever fragrance for the fashion house, and so they wanted an advertising campaign that not only reflects the proudly strong modern woman, but showcases the other strong women in our lives who’ve helped us get to where we are now.

For the advertising campaign, Calvin Klein chose Luptia Nyong’o and Saoirse Ronan, because they are ‘award-winning actors and voices of their generation, universally reconised for their unique talent, creativity, intelligence and strength of character.’ The television campaign will air worldwide later this summer, and was directed by Anne Collier with creative direction from Lloyd & Co. Featuring Luptia and Saoirse surrounded by past icons of femininity who continue to inspire them, they feature alongside images of Eartha Kitt, Katherine Hepburn, Sissey Spacek and Nina Simone.

Calvin Klein Women say: ‘By using #IAMWOMEN, women all around the world can pay homage to the females in their lives, who helped make them the individuals they are today by simply sharing a picture of those who inspired them.’ A celebration of women individually, but also as a collective – the strength of togetherness. Explains Raf Simmons:

‘With this fragrance, we wanted to put the concept of plurality center stage. The campaign is an exploration of femininity – a group of women bonded by a common thread; the desire to have the power to create their own identity, and to support and lead the way for those that come after them.’

But what does Calvin Klein Women actually smell like? Well don’t think the concept of strength implies shouting from the rooftops, here – this is scent for women who are comfortable in their own skin, and who don’t feel the need for a perfume to enter the room before they do. The surprisingly green fresh fruitiness of eucalyptus with sparkling lemon and luminescent jasmine settles to reassuring woodiness, with an acorn accord atop Alaskan cedarwood and the sheer delicacy of orange flower. In the base, there’s olibanum to soothe the senses, cut through with a twist of black pepper to add a little pep to the proceedings…

And so, we wonder, who are those women you couldn’t do without? We look forward to following your #IAMWOMEN resonses on social media!

Calvin Klein Women £78 for 100ml eau de parfum
Try it at harveynichols.com

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Ormonde Jayne White Gold

The London house of Ormonde Jayne take alchemical notions and conjur a trilogy of Gold-inspired fragrances, the completion of which arrives in the majestic form of White Gold. But how do you bottle gold? Or, at least, capture the shimmering beauty of precious metal in a fragrance?

The genius of fine perfumery is to take something abstract, a colour, texture or emotion, and convey this through the subtle manipulation of our senses – a message from the perfumer to the fragrance wearer that we somehow understand at once.

When we try to imagine or describe the smell of gold itself, we may well struggle. What does it smell like, other than, well… metal? And yet certain combinations of ingredients definitely smell gleamingly ‘golden’, blushing rosily or cooler, more silvered in tone.

If there’s a signature for Ormonde Jayne fragrances, it surely has to be the pink pepper. It shimmers as a temperature in White Gold, warm sunshine that lends a luminescence to everything around it, but filtered through lacey curtains, casting intricate shadows on a perfectly polished wooden floor. A luscious haze of green leafy-ness suffuses skin-soft orris butter and jasmine, dipping slightly deeper into a dry-down of lightly burnished amber, whispers of white musk, vanilla and a deliciously mossy shade.

Top Notes
leaf green molecule, pink pepper, mandarin, bergamot and clary sage

Heart notes
jasmine absolute, carnation absolute, orris butter, orchids and freesia

Base notes
Madagascan vanilla, ambrette absolute, cashmeran, white musk, amber, moss, tonka, labdanum, opoponax, vetiver, cedar wood

We say: Glorious to wear in scorching heat, it billows but never becomes too much, with a magnificent and long-lasting trail that feels like streaming a gauzy tulle train behind as you walk. On cooler days the silvery-tones shine through, a rustle of white silks, an echo of laughter in a marble hall.

Because they mix and hand-pour everything themselves, Ormonde Jayne are able to be utterly lavish with their percentages: White Gold is poured at an extravagant 30% of pure oil in every bottle! That’s pretty much unheard of in perfumery. In addition to being hand-poured in their own London laboratory, Ormonde Jayne promise that their fragrance is free from Phthalates, not tested on animals and with no added colour.

Ormonde Jayne say: ‘White Gold captures the beauty of white jasmine absolute, white musk and orchids. Enter the assertiveness of Grasse jasmine absolute purring alongside white musk… Wear it as your second skin, day and night, any season and any occasion. White Gold is for you, own it and be ravishing.’

No, it isn’t ‘cheap’, but we say you’ll only need one or two sprays to last the entire day and night through (and into the next day, still relishing the scent on your hair, a scarf or perhaps the person you expressed your amorous affections to… so use with caution!) Also, you must try this on your skin, so do visit the exqusitely re-appointed boutique within the Royal Arcade, Bond Street. Or send for a sample to see how gold can shimmer on your own skin…

Ormonde Jayne White Gold £375 for 120ml parfum.

Meanwhile, and talking of luxury, have you seen the new ‘Gourmande Jayne‘ website? Encompassing founder Linda Pilkington‘s own passions, it explores fragrantly Gourmet recipes to try at home, sumptuous Fashion and tips for a beautiful Lifestyle. Well worth your exploring!

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Your weekly round up of the latest launches

Our regular Monday round-up of newly-unveiled fragrances that are definitely worth sniffing out… Ensure your finger’s on the pulse-point of what’s happening right now – and better still, get thee to a fragrance counter to try them for yourself…

BULGARI
MAGNOLIA SENSUEL
Jacques Cavallier – generally in residence at Louis Vuitton, nowadays – is the composer of this addition to the Bulgari’s bouquet of opulent flowers. To capture the ‘fresh and incandescent’ scent of magnolia, putting a very special extraction at the heart of a light floral Chypre – it takes five tons of Chinese magnolia buds to yield a single litre of the essence, rendered even more sensually velvety by coconut, ylang ylang, glacé lemon and Tahitian vanilla.
£97 for 100ml eau de parfum
libertylondon.co.ukCAROLINA HERRERA
GOOD GIRL
We may only be on the threshold of 2018 – but this showstopping flacon from Carolina Herrera is surely a hot contender for ‘Bottle of the Year’. For such a teetering stiletto, the juice itself is incredibly poised: Givaudan’s Louise Turner contrasts elements of light and dark, with roasted cocoa, coffee and tonka sashaying alongside a special Tuberose Crystal note that’s surprisingly sheer and green. (Even tuberose refuseniks we’ve wafted this at have loved it.)
From £50 for 30ml eau de parfum
theperfumeshop.com

MILLER HARRIS
TENDER
Miller Harris actually worked with two perfumers, to come up with individual interpretations of the aforementioned passage from Tender is the Night. Here, Bertrand Duchaufour imagines black tulip – ink swirled through leather, saffron and geranium on a flickering, amber-ish base. But it’s held aloft by the fizz of a pink pepper CO2 extraction with aldehydes and the most incredible green hyacinth opening, shimmering to cyclamen, incense and a drily metallic base.
£120 for 50ml eau de parfum
millerharris.com

MIU MIU
L’EAU ROSÉE
As if MiuMiu’s faceted bottle could get any prettier –brilliantly conjuring up the soft matelassé quilting on the fashion name’s bags – here it is showcasing the dainty ballerina pink juice for the sparkling new eau de toilette, a whispering blend of lily of the valley and cassis buds, wrapped in beautiful, soft musk. It’s fresh, it’s pretty – and has us fantastising about the spring days and summer dresses which are surely just round the corner.
From £33 for 30ml eau de toilette
At Harrods

PACO RABANNE
INVICTUS AQUA
Dive on into Invictus – just the cool splash we need this time of year to invigorate and refresh our sluggish senses. Don’t think it’s all marine blue and calm waters, though, for there’s an unexpected heat like dazzling sunshine reflecting from the azure sea. Amber woods tingle beneath the waves, radiating a kind of sexy micro-climate with ambergris evoking salty skin for a dry-down that we defy you not to snuggle in to.
£66.50 for 100ml eau de toilette
theperfumeshop.co.uk

Roland Mouret describes his first fragrance – Une Amourette

Mischeviously irreverant Etat Libre d’Orange were the fragrance house megastar fashion designer Roland Mouret chose to collaborate with on his first fragrance – Une Amourette.
We went along to a private launch in Mouret’s flagship Mayfair boutique to find out more, and it’s every bit as fabulously naughty as you might hope…
It may not be the first fashion designer/fragrance house collaboration, but it’s definitely the only one we know of where the designer suggests spraying it between your thighs!
Mouret explains: ‘A seductive fragrance – it’s a powerful scent that makes and leaves its mark as you move. You’ll want to wear it at the pulse point between your thighs and as you walk, cross your legs… the warmth and friction unleash an aroma that will capture your attention through the most primitive sense : smell.’
Well, we can’t say we followed this advice at the launch itself (a fragrance ritual probably best undertaken in the privacy of your bedroom, we feel) but it’s a rather compelling suggestion and we may have to try this for ourselves. Courtesans were well known for employing similar scent-seduction tactics in the 18th Century, so perhaps it’s about time we gave it a go.
Roland Mouret say: ‘Infusing the sweet smell of neroli essence with traces of cardamom, this sensual fragrance opens with spicy notes of pink peppercorn, before revealing an earthy undertone of patchouli oil enriched with vanilla, that gives this fragrance a tantalising fin.’
Intrigued? Why not watch the man himself explain more, as Roland Mouret talks about working with Etat Libre d’Orange…

Talking to Roland at the launch, he went on to explain that he wanted Une Amourette to smell like ‘the scent of the other [your lover] on your skin…’ We may have blushed. But what a perfect juxtaposition – the mingling of two people’s warm skin, along with a Cologne and a decadent perfume, in one scent. Mouret also talked about the scent memories of his childhood, growing up in France, the smell of chic people mingling with voluptuous bouquets of flowers and drifts of incense from the churches he attended.
On the more usual pulse point to test perfumes – our eager wrists – then, here’s how it smells:
It begins like a lover’s caress, the sense of entangled sheets and warm skin, unmistakable carnality with indolic white flowers and roses scattered across the bed. Bone dry, the spices make their presense known immediately, with cardamom lingering throughout and a peachy succulence and creamy vanilla peeping above the naughtiness, somehow rendering them all the more provocative, like a glimpse of bare flesh beneath velvet coverings. A cool breeze of iris feels infused with a metallic shimmer, and the opoponax (incense) smooths the way insouciantly for an animalic dry-down of akigalawood that lasts the whole day through.
Roland Mouret Une Amourette by Etat Libre d’Orange from £82 for 50ml eau de parfum
Buy it at rolandmouret.com
Written by Suzy Nightingale

Terre de Lumière – feel the warmth of "the golden hour" as we take a sneak-peek at L'OCCITANE's new fragrance…

Dappled sunlight dipping low, skin still warm, running through corn fields in a crisp, white gown as the sun sets… ah, how the dreary days of January make us yearn for such simple pleasures. Even going outside without a coat and brolly right now would be a luxury! But fear not, for L’OCCITANE have bottled the sunshine from that ethereal, other-worldly time of day often termed “the Golden Hour“, and infused the glow into their new fragrance (to be launched in February): Terre de Lumière…
L’OCCITANE say: ‘As the day draws to a close, the sky is set alight, embracing all the shades of gold. Beauty is suspended in time and this stunning spectacle reaches its height. Light infuses the ingredients in this fragrance, enhancing them in a rich, faceted creation that evokes the intense sensoriality of a walk through the fields of Provence at the Golden Hour.’

Oh yes, take us there now, please…!
We were lucky enough to be present at the press launch of this perfume, and so excited to discover this will be the very first gourmand fragrance for the brand. We predict gourmand as a genre will be huge news once again in 2017 – the comforting, deliciously food-inspired fragrance family seems only natural to turn to in times of uncertainty – and far from the 90s scent bombs that truly began this trend, gourmand has taken a fresh turn of sophistication and wearability – for men and women alike.

Top Notes: bergamot, ambrette seed, pink pepper
Heart Notes: lavender, honey
Base Notes: acacia flower, bitter almond essence, tonka bean, white musk
Renowned perfumer Calice Becker was chosen for Terre de Lumière, closely collaborating with Shyamala Maisondieu and Nadège Le Garlantezec; Calice explains how the talented trio worked on the fragrance so that it ‘…plays on the tension between masculine freshness and delicious feminine softness. It’s a very innovative scent, the first gourmand aromatic fragrance from L’OCCITANE, absolutely addictive.’ Talking about the inspiration for composing the scent, Calice describes the Golden Hour as the time ‘…when the light is at its most beautiful. It is also when scents are at their height.’

And so what does it smell like? Well, close your eyes, imagine the setting sun still warm on your skin (move closer to the fire or add another layer of clothing, if necessary!) and let us take you to the glowing fields of Provence…

Aromatically zesty from the first spritz, there’s almost a sigh of delight as the fizz of bergamot and pink pepper suddenly melts into the true heart of honey infused with lavender and balanced by the milky freshness of acacia blossoms, the almond-like nuttiness of tonka beans and the balsamic warmth of the earthier base. Perfectly evoking that moment when the day slips impercitibly to dusk, it’s the sensation of contemplative contentment while sitting on a hay bale, having romped barefoot in flower meadows and paddled in cool streams. Deliciously revivifying and fragrantly soothing all at once, we bet you can’t wait to try it…
…And on that note, we suggest [*wink wink*] that you keep your eyes peeled for an exciting announcement, for you could be one of the first people to Discover Terre de Lumière with us. [*hint hint*]
Written by Suzy Nightingale

Love to Smell review our Scent of a Man Discovery Box – so full they had to sniff it twice!

We already loved Love to Smell – the YouTube channel set up by fragrance experts and friends Pia Long and Nick Gilbert to make perfume reviews both fun and informative. But when they had to split their latest review – all about our Scent of a Man Discovery Box – into two parts because there’s so bloomin’ much in the box, we fell in love all over again…
You can watch the video yourselves, below, but we thought it worth a recap of some of the amazing things in store if you haven’t already explored. Firstly, let’s just accept that size sometimes matters and the Scent of a Man Discovery Box is a whopper, featuring 13 fragrances in all, plus luxurious grooming additions (worth £40.25 alone!). We think you might have to agree, it’s just the best gift for a male scent-lover, ever…

So what’s in the box? *Deep breath* It’s quite a list…
• Penhaligon’s No 33 eau de Cologne, 1.5ml eau de Cologne
• Lalique Encre Noir à L’Extrême, 1.8ml eau de parfum
• Paul Smith Essential, 1.2ml eau de toilette
• Carven L’Eau Intense, 1.2ml eau de toilette
• Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey Pour Homme, 0.8ml eau de toilette
• Eight & Bob Original, 1.5ml eau de parfum
• Illuminum Piper Leather, 2ml eau de parfum
• Miller Harris Vetiver Insolent, 2ml eau de parfum
• Prada Luna Rossa Eau Sport, 1.5ml eau de toilette
• Yardley 1770, 1ml eau de toilette
• Beaufort London Coeur de Noir, 2ml eau de parfum
• Gruhme for Him, 5ml eau de toilette
• Montblanc Legend Spirit, 1.2ml eau de toilette
• Elemis Ice Cool Foaming Shave Gel, 100ml
• Penhaligon’s No 33 Beard Scrub, 5ml
• Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream for Men, 15ml
Phew. You can see why they couldn’t fit it all into one episode!

Pia makes a really good point at the start of the video, saying if you’re a woman who happens to prefer fresh or less obviously ‘feminine’ fragrances, then you should also get the box for yourself. We happily wear several of the ‘male’ orientated scents in the box, but called it ‘Scent of a Man’ because this was the first ever perfume box curated for the chaps. In a world where everything can now be seen as ‘shared’ or ‘unisex’ we kind of wanted to point out this was created with them in mind (but nothing to stop us gals from helping ourselves, too!)
So if your appetite has been whetted you can watch part one of the video review below, and then pop here to buy the box – only £15 for VIP Subscribers or £19 otherwise.
Or, if you have the box already, why not join Nick and Pia in a sniffalong as you watch the video?

Written by Suzy Nightingale