Explore Vyrao via their soulful Discovery Set

If you’re seeking a more soulful connection to your scents – beyond merely smelling lovely, wearing a fragrance that reaches deep into your soul, somehow – then it’s the perfect time to try the first five Vyrao fragrances with their High Five Travel Set. As they explain… ‘Each of Vyrao’s fragrances fuse master perfumery with energy healing elements using organic, natural ingredients chosen for their specific emotional qualities, giving each scent its own distinct vibration.’

Yasmin Sewell worked for years in the high-powered, fast-moving fashion industry, first as a buyer and then creative director, guiding such names as Browns, Chloe, Mulberry, Farfetch and Liberty. Yasmin also took young designers under her wing – now world-famous names like Acne, The Row, Christopher Kane, Roksanda, and J. W Anderson. Quite frankly, she was at the top of her game and one of the most respected women in the fashion industry; so what caused this seismic shift to scent?

 

 

 

 

Well, in 2019, Yasmin had what she describes as ‘an aha moment.’ It was a realisation that she needed to create her own space, to focus on the creative ideas that had been bubbling beneath for so long, and most importantly, that ‘energy needed to be the source of my brand.’ A long-time believer in therapeutic and energetic medicine, Yasmin explains that with the concept of energy as her main mantra for creating the brand, it quickly became obvious as to how this energy could be shared. Says Yasmin, ‘Channelling it came first, what it’s channelled into came second. So we started with fragrance.’

For Vyrao, it’s all about wearable good vibes, and anyone who’s had a sluggish day or simply felt dull, blah and down in the dumps can attest – spritzing a scent can be an instantaneous remedy and our sense of smell is a potent way to make us feel brighter, more confident, and ready to face the world. And obvs they smell INCREDIBLE, having been composed by the brilliant British perfume legend that is Lyn Harris. As Yasmin explains:

 

‘Vyrao is the world’s first wellbeing brand to fuse energetic healing with master perfumery. We make good feelings…’

 

If you’re new to this more soulful way of wearing scent, the High Five collection really is the best way to dip in and gain a better understanding – both of what you like, but also (more importantly) what your soul is crying out for. It may surprise you… Included in the first five fragrances from the brand, you will get to experience:

  • Free 00: To feel alive and uninhibited is Free 00.
  • I am Verdant: A fragrance sprouting fresh green growth.
  • Witchy Woo: Wake up the powerful alliance of your courage and creativity.
  • Magnetic 70: For attraction and protection.
  • Georgette: For self-love.

Raving about the scents in her so-influential column, journalist India Knight described them thusly:

I Am Verdant, which smells like it sounds: super-green, full of hope, like waiting for spring, before the greenness goes slightly mossy and orange blossom and citrus kick in. Georgette is a very woody and peppery rose that is also powdery, and even though I don’t really like rose scents I found it soft and oddly comforting. Witchy Woo, by contrast, is full of orris, spices, patchouli and musk and is woody, ambery and — hard to explain why I think this but I do — slightly magical. Vyrao says to wear it to encourage courage and creativity.’ She continues…

‘Free 00 is a much airier affair that smells of summer holidays, in a good and even original way, or maybe of driving somewhere sunny in a convertible with the roof down and your hair streaming behind you. Lemon, jasmine and vanilla, to be crude and reductive, but done in a way that is both airy and exhilarating (this one promotes “liberation and sensuality”, in case you’re wondering, and I totally get why they’d say that). Also, Magnetic 70, which smells of vetiver — God, how I love vetiver — cedarwood and frankincense, among other things… here I could mostly smell incense and intense woodsiness, like being in a quite special church that you have stumbled on by accident.’

You can read even more about Vyrao’s olfactory origin story in our page dedicated to the brand, but might we suggest the best way to really get to know them (and in doing so, reveal your own true scent character), is to dive in to the collection via the Vyrao High Five Set – so perfect for holidays and on-the-go good vibes, too!

 

 

 

Vyrao High Five Collection, £79 for 5 x 7.5ml eau de parfum designed to transport you emotionally…

Fragrant gift ideas for men this Christmas

Looking for fragrant gift ideas for men but don’t know where to start? Follow our handy guide to find the perfect one…

The days are long gone when chaps wore one scent for life (possibly something sold on TV by an ex sportsman) which they were urged to ‘splash all over’, and those in their immediate vicinity likely wished they hadn’t.

Indeed, we know many of our readers and subscribers are men who love exploring the wider world of fragrances available to them now. But if you’re scent shopping for the special guy in your life – perhaps someone who’s interested but hasn’t quite figured out his personal scent style yet – it can be a tricky business thinking of something that shows you’ve been thoughtful and considered their character, but also pushes them (gently!) out of their comfort zone a little.

So, where to begin?

If you happen to know some names of fragrances they’ve loved wearing, type one in to our simple Find a Fragrance tool: the so-clever algorithm suggests six new scents with similar characters to try. Narrow down the selection by asking yourself…

What type of a chap are you buying for?

Age, character, hobbies and career are all pointers to fragrant gift ideas for men, but can never be an absolute guarantee of what he’ll prefer – he might just surprise you (and himself!) Masculine fragrances have moved on somewhat since the one-size-fits-all sporty-fresh-or-nothing days. Now there are ‘gender fluid’ fragrances categories, and men are offered a fragrant feast along with sophisticated fougéres; addictive gourmands, bigger, bolder Colognes, opulent ambers and even floral-forward scents that smell utterly incredible on a man’s skin.

However, we know not all chaps will be as open to more experiemental scents styles, so we’ve put together the ideal starting point with a selection of Discovery Boxes, specially curated with a range of fragrances to suit all tastes – from more classic and designer names to cult, niche houses they’ll love to explore.

Have a look at our current top picks of fragrant gift ideas for men, below…

 

 

Contemporary scents putting a modern twist on a local apothecary approach to luxury, MALIN+GOETZ have excelled with this NEW Discovery Set of SIX invigorating fragrance delights. £22

 

 

 

Music-lovers will adore these stunningly packaged, musical genre-inspired fragrances. Each of the 14 JUSBOX scents pays homage to an icon or era in music, with their own playlists on Spotify! £35

 

Paring fine fragrance with fashion-leading (cruelty free) pampering treats since 1973, iconic British brand Molton Brown built a global reputation on modern classics, with scents suit all tastes. £33

 

 

Founded in 1730, Floris create beautiful contemporary-style fragrances, as well as true classics. Still run by members of the family, heritage is taken to new levels with this niche-led collection. £35

 

 

The perfect gift for scent lovers to create their own bespoke fragrance, Emmanuelle Moeglin started Experimental Perfume Club in 2016. Now you can share & compare your layer combos! £32

Gorgeous perfume boxes to gift this Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day comes early this year – Sunday, 11 March in the UK, so don’t miss the chance to treat your mama to some of the most stunning luxury Discovery Sets around, presented in gorgeously gift-worthy boxes.

Fragrance needs to be worn for several hours to truly get the feel of its character, and what could be more glorious than giving your mum – or any woman in your life who deserves a treat – weeks worth of blissful scent contemplation?

Don’t worry, we’ve got Mother’s Day wrapped.

Here at The Perfume Society, we believe the best way to properly try perfumes is to indulge your senses from the comfort of your home, that’s why we like collecting some of the most fabulous Discovery Boxes around, from niche and designer houses we already adore and know she’s going to be excited to explore…

For an extra treat, when your mum’s gift arrives why not take a cake, pop round for a cup of tea and try out some of the scents together? We love hearing the stories of people having Discovery Box sniffing sessions with their mums, for a special moment of sharing scented memories that last forever.

All you need do is choose which of these would best reflect your mum’s character, order and await the outpouring of thanks!

Does your mum dream of travelling the world to exotic locations? Perhaps she’s also the caring, sharing and socially-conscious type? Well this luxury fragrance house works with a sustainability program specifically set up to help the Moroccan women who pick the orange blossoms used in several of perfumer Carlos Benaïm‘s stunning creations. With seven exquisite scents to explore, she can escape with a spritz whenever the mood takes her…

Sana Jardin Discovery Set £30 for 7 x 2ml eau de parfum

If your mother loves staying in luxury hotels and the finer things in life, we’re betting she’s already a fan of Molton Brown’s opulent body products (they were one of the first ever fragrance houses to understand we like a little luxury every day) but may not yet have indulged herself with their perfumes. Embodying their ‘London via the World’ approach, they source the rarest ingredients and give them a little contemporary twist – eight of their best-selling fragrances are featured here – and when she decides her favourites, you’ll know exactly which matching body products and home fragrance gifts you can lavish her with on other occasions!

Molton Brown Art of Fragrance £12.50 for 8 x 1.5ml eau de toilette

If you’d really like to spoil a mum who’s been going through a difficult time, this really has the WOW factor, with seven eau de parfum housed in a keepsake hatbox style set. Besides looking pretty, the fragrances are thoughtfully composed with wellness in mind. Each bottle contains semi-precious stones which enhance the richness of the formula and embody the perfume’s emotion (they’re also beautiful to display and satisfyingly stress-relieving to rattle, we found!) The addition of natural active ingredients helps to encourage the feeling of wellbeing, and the generous travel-sizes are perfect to pop in a handbag for on-the-go de-frazzling. Go on: she’s worth it.

Valeur Absolue Deluxe Coffret £112 for 7 x 14ml eau de parfum

For ladies who like to make an impression, might we suggest the luxe collection of twelve (yes, twelve!) personality-full perfumes by the London-based niche house of Ormonde Jayne? An utterly swoon-worthy set, it comprises some of founder Linda Pilkington’s most lusted-after fragrances, each one a memorable journey to exotic lands and with a signature sense of style that’s once sniffed, never forgotten. Long-lasting and heady florals are offest by richly decadent woods, spices and uniquely distilled ingredients that cannot fail to tempt. We truly believe there’s something for everyone within this collection, beautifully boxed and ready to dive on in…

Ormonde Jayne Discovery Set £49 for 12 x 2ml eau de parfum

For mothers who exude classic style and yearn for traditionally made scents that still smell very ‘now’, choose from three differently themed trilogies – each box containing three precious bottles of perfume tied with silk ribbons. The sumptuous Columbia Rose Trilogy showcases three beautiful expressions of the rose – an ingredient at which the London perfumer Angela Flanders excelled, the Noire Trilogy explores the deep, dark and mysterious side of perfumery and the White Florals Trilogy embraces the ultra feminine, seductively sunshine-infused flowers beloved by so many. Whichever you select, she’ll be thanking you for lighting up her life for months to come.

Angela Flanders Trilogy Gift Boxes £65 for 3 x 12ml eau de parfum

Still stuck for ideas?

We continually seek out the most exciting and sumptuous perfumes and scented treats for our own Perfume Society Discovery Boxes, with carefully curated selections to tempt every taste. Have a look and find the one that’s perfect for your mum…

Written by Suzy Nightingale

 

 

Did someone say summer? 2nd-8th June: Acqua di Parma gelato at Harvey Nichols!

When the words ‘luxury gelato’ and ‘Acqua di Parma’ are combined in an email’s subject line, you can be sure we’re clicking on that within a nanosecond – and of course we couldn’t wait to share the news with you…

At Harvey Nichols, a brand new pop-up space is being created in order to celebrate the launch of the Acqua di Parma La Collezione travel set. Surely one of the fragrance houses we most associate with summer, Acqua di Parma have gone full-steam ahead with the sunshine vibes by commissioning luxury gelato brand Snowflake to invent three unique flavours –Bergamotto di Calabria, Arancia di Capri & Fico di Amalfi – all of which have been inspired by their Blu Mediterraneo range of easy-breezy scents to see you through the sultriest of days in the city.

As if the ice-cream wasn’t enough of a draw, On 2nd & 8th June Acqua di Parma’s in-house artist will also be on hand for on-site bottle painting and personalisation, and customers will be offered complementary customisation of their bottle with any Blu Mediterraneo purchase. What’s more, all customers purchasing Blu Meditteraneo between 2nd & 8th June will receive a Majolica tile of their choice scented with their favourite fragrance. 

We’re just in love with these beautifully evocative drawings by Michalis Christodoulou, also specially commissioned for their pop-up shop, and we don’t know about you, but we’ve definitely been inspired to hot-foot it down the Harvey Nichols to cool off in style…

Acqua di Parma La Collezione travel set: Bergamotto di Calabria, Arancia di Capri & Fico di Amalfi £99 for 3 x 30ml

Buy it at Harvey Nichols

 
Written by Suzy Nightingale

BeauFort London are on a (perfume) roll…

…literally.
BeauFort London, for those who don’t know, are a ‘fiercely independent’ British niche fragrance house inspired by tales of derring-do, nautical history and literature, and for those wishing to take a small paddle in the perfumes before deciding on a headlong plunge, they have produced a hand-made, oil-tanned leather roll of five 7.5ml sprays.
The Come Hell or High Water discovery set includes their infamously explosive 1805 Tonnerre – a smoke-filled melee of gunpowder, salt and lime; the ink-stained pages of leather-bound books in a dusty library of Coeur de Noir; George Bernard Shaw’s assertation that ‘Emotional excitement reaches men through Tea, Tobacco, Opium, Whisky and religion’ made manifest in Vi Et Armis; Lignum Vitae‘s addictive juxtopisition of pepper berries, Madeleine cakes, juniper and salted butter; and their latest – the humongously green, tousled bouquet of flowers tossed into roiling waves of Fathom V
beaufort-london-discovery-set-lifestyle
Produced and manufactured in Great Britain by hand, the fantastically tactile set arrives in a black presentation box embossed with the BeauFort London logo, and leather is of course a natural product, so every single piece will have its own characteristics of colour and texture.
What’s more, each vial is refillable from their 50ml bottles and – being protected in the leather roll – even more perfect for buckaneers to take adventuring…
BeauFort London Discovery Set £85 for 7 x 7.5ml eau de parfum
Buy it at beaufortlondon.com
Written by Suzy Nightingale