STORIES Parfums – even more reasons to fall in love & layer the scents

Containing aloe vera, Provitamin B5, glycerin and coconut oil cleansers, these washes are exquisitely luxurious, lather wonderfully, and being woven through with their iconic, memory-laden scents, are of course are brilliant to layer with. Not only are they SLS and cruelty free, the multi award-winning wash formula has now been stunningly re-packaged for extra wow-factor in the bathroom, and are now available in our shop!
STORIES Parfums comments:
‘At STORIES Parfums we believe passionately in beauty without boundaries. While our story may have started with deep roots in traditional perfumery methods and ancient craftsmanship, our ethos is that of a thoroughly modern brand and at the heart of our brand is a deep respect for the planet we live on, and we want to make sure that the place we call home does not simply survive but thrives.
We view ourselves as New Niche Fragrance Pioneers, bringing luxury and sustainability together. This true sense of connectivity is why we are committed to ensuring that we are as sustainable as possible.’
All STORIES fragrances have been created ‘with the lightest carbon footprint we can,’ they continue. ‘It is also why all of our labels are rock paper derived from marble mining waste, we use recyclable Zamak caps for our glass bottles, all of our bottles are refillable and our boxes are made to be repurposed.’
This thoughtful re-working is all part of STORIES ongoing commitment to ‘recycle, reduce and reuse’ – a campaign and ethos that runs through the heart of the house, and which has already seen them win awards for sustainability in beauty two years running. A fact that means so much to founder and creative director, Tonya Kidd-Beggs.
I believe passionately in beauty without boundaries. Right from the concept of STORIES it was hugely important to me to create a luxury fragrance house that came from traditional perfumery methods and ancient craftsmanship but with the ethos of a thoroughly modern brand. At the very core of the brand I wanted to carry a deep respect for the planet we live on – I want to make sure that the place we call home does not simply survive but thrives.”
The hardworking but so skin-gentle formula is laced with the delicate yet always evocative scent of the original STORIES Nº.01 fragrance, which contains notes of bergamot, grapefruit, cedarwood, and jasmine, and feels like tip-toeing through a garden at dawn.
Scent Notes: Bergamot – Grapefruit – Orange Blossom – Cedarwood – Jasmine – Heliotrope – Fig-Tea – Amber – Sandalwood – Vetiver
£68 for 500ml 
A gentle, foaming hand and body wash that leaves skin clean, deeply hydrated and feeling balanced. The hardworking formula is infused with truly personal scent memories of their STORIES Nº.02 fragrance, which contains notes of Bulgarian rose, ginger, green tea and honey tobacco.
Scent Notes: Bulgarian Rose – Ginger – Cardamom – Green Tea – Honey Tobacco – Cedarwood – Opoponax – Tonka Bean – Patchouli – Amber – Musk
£68 for 500 ml
The fragrant layering needn’t end there, as the sensorially and skin-soothing matching Hand & Body Lotions are available at £75 for 500ml – we’re all for these fragrant super-sizes, as apart from meaning they last way longer, they’re so stunning to display in your bathroom!
Written by Suzy Nightingale

What’s YOUR Escentric Molecules 01 story? Win limited editions, here!

Can you believe that Escentric Molecules Escentric 01 and Molecule 01 are 15 years old this year? To celebrate, they’re planning to release a limited edition of these iconic fragrances, uniquely featuring YOUR stories printed on the bottles…

Over the years, Escentric Molecules have heard so many fantastic stories from people who fell in love because of the fragrances, or had a Sliding Doors moment of their lives utterly changing thanks to the fragrance they were wearing.  Now, they’re looking to collect these stories, and want to hear ‘…about the adventures had while wearing Escentric 01 or Molecule 01 – how you met your partner – a wild night from a chance meeting on a train to Brighton – being chased down dark wet streets in Clerkenwell, London, by someone desperate to discover what fragrance you were wearing.’

 

 

Escentric Molecules say:

‘We are asking you to contribute to the history of both fragrances and send us your stories.

We will select the 25 best, funniest or most outrageous ones and feature them on bottles.

The “story editions” will launch this autumn and the 25 winners with our favourite #moleculestories will not only have their stories featured on the bottle but will also receive a pair of limited editions and an invite to an online Q&A with Escentric Molecules founder, Geza Schoen.

Each bottle will also feature a QR code that will link to a story edition page on escentric.com featuring the winning stories.

Geza will also pick his favourite story and the winner will receive a one of a kind neon wall piece created from their story.’

 

 

This incredible opportunity to share your scent stories closes on August 15th, so you need to be quick! Hurry up and submit your story using the link below…

https://www.escentric.com/pages/story-edition-competition

Perfumed Plume Awards 2020: the winners are…

The Perfumed Plume Awards are an annual celebration of international fragrance journalism, to showcase writing that gives ‘an inside view of the cultural, historic, scientific and personal approaches to fragrance design and what it takes to create an evocative scent.’

‘While we would normally gather at MANE Gallery to celebrate with a glass of bubbly, this year is obviously a different time,” said Co-Founders Mary Ellen Lapsansky and Lyn Leigh.

‘In these very unusual times, we’re grateful to have the technology to share this occasion with you.’ Lyn continued.

The ceremony was held virtually on Zoom, and so we were excited to tune in and celebrate the winners, who were…

 

Perfume Stories – Print – Magazines & Newspapers
The criteria for judging: quality of editorial content; originality & creativity; accuracy & depth of information.

A tie!

Holiday O.G. – Why frankincense – the original Christmas present – is suddenly so smoking hotTown & Country

Scents of Place – Venice The Scented Letter, Jo Fairley, The Perfume Society

Perfume Stories in Mainstream Media – Digital – Magazines, Newspapers, Blog Postings, Webzines
The criteria for judging: quality of editorial content; originality & creativity; accuracy & depth of information

Guerlain Mitsouko Centennial 1919-2019: The Scented Skein ÇaFleureBon

Short ‘n Sweet Perfume Stories – Print or Digital
The criteria for judging: quality of editorial content; originality & creativity; accuracy & depth of information

Vision Quest – NewBeauty

INSTApost — Perfume Stories on Instagram
The criteria for judging: originality/creativity of visual element(s); quality of the post content

Cooper Hewitt – Resurrecting the Sublime – Futureofsmell

Visualization of Perfume Stories — Print & Digital
The criteria for judging: design concept; how design relates to content

In Bauhaus we trust – the smell of minimalism — Scentury.com

Fragrance Book of the Year

“Perfume Legends II: French Feminine Fragrances” – Michael Edwards

This was the first year we’d submitted entries, so we were particularly delighted to discover we were finalists with FOUR nominations (and of course, even more delighted that we won one!)

The Perfumed Plume judges commented that:

‘…these marvelous writers deserve recognition and congratulations for their perfume stories. All are factual. All are creative. All are fascinating.” It’s true to say that all the submissions were just wonderful and the results a close call. These fabulous stories are a must-read so please take a few minutes to appreciate the talents of these writers.’

The full list of entires can be found on The Perfumed Plume website, with links to each of the finalists’ work, and we urge you to grab a cuppa, put your feet up and peruse every single one for some precious moments of perfumed escapism.

By Suzy Nightingale

Stories Parfums: a guided scent discovery, LIVE online!

Stories Parfums is a house filled with evocative, emotional story-telling through scent. And now you are invited to join a private VIP Scent Club, where you can ‘…receive samples of our fragrances and learn how to connect with your own story through the art of fragrance, live online with Tonya.’

Tonya Kidd-Beggs is the Founder and Creative Director of Stories Parfums, and right for the get-go, she knew she wanted to create a house where the fragrances were unashamedly emotionally driven – reaching into the depths of mislaid memories, childhood dreams and long-forgotten hope.

 

 

Stories Parfums say this is ‘a unique opportunity to experience STORIES Parfums first hand alongside our Founder and learn a little more about the art of fragrance and the development of our gender-inclusive brand, and invite you to join us LIVE online, from the comfort of your home.’

This intimate exploration of scent with fellow fragrance lovers is £5 per person and for that, you will be sent 4 x deluxe 2ml samples of STORIES No.01 and STORIES No.02.

‘Tonya will host a guided group discovery of each of the scents to experience together the unique notes and ingredients in each eau de parfum’.

Tonya will welcome your questions and scent stories in this one-off online group session via ZOOM on Friday 31 July at 4pm BST.

In addition, there will be a sneak preview of upcoming product launches and participant exclusive offers. But hurry! There are only 20 places in this very special session, and you will need to book your ticket in time for your samples to arrive!

 

Written By Suzy Nightingale

4160 Tuesdays launch IndieGoGo project – The Mystery of the Materials: Four Scented Stories

‘We do things differently, here in London W3…’ Sarah McCartney, founder of independent perfume house 4160 Tuesdays, explains. ‘All our fragrances have a story. This year we want to bring out four new editions; eaux de parfum each with its own mystery story, inspired by the classic crime novels of the 1930s.’

Having successfully reached out to the fragrance community and many long-time fans of her distinctively quirky scents, last year saw the crowd-funded Crimes of Passion collection selling out and winning awards. Crowd-funding has become popular over several online platforms recently, with small companies and independent entrepreneurs reaching out for public support to give them a much-needed initial cash investment they then use to fulfill  project they could otheriwse only dream of, with those initial investors receiving a number of bonuses or gifts in reward for their belief and support. Fragrance expert and vintage perfume aficionado Barbara Herman also used this technique to launch her Perfume X range of vintage-inspired fragrances, which were composed by Antoine Lie.


Last year, 4160 Tuesdays launched seven fragrances to evoke ‘unexpected acts of devotion’ and included Dirty Honey, which won the EauMG Best Indie Scent 2015; Maxed Out having been one of Lucky Scent’s Top 12 Perfumes of 2015 and currently in the running as one of the finalists for The Fragrance Foundation‘s 2016 award for Best New Independent Fragrance; along with yet another of the series – Midnight in the Palace Garden – also having made the final list of nominees.

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This time the collection is entitled The Mystery of the Materials: Four Scented Stories, and each will be themed around specific 30s style mysterious tales that Sarah has written, with a specific perfume and specific ingredients in mind.

The scented stories are enticingly described as follows…

The Search for Flora Psychedelica
The story: ‘A tale of botany and skullduggery.’

The scent: ‘A blend of rare flowers with intoxicating spices and herbs.’

The Mystery of the Buddhawood Box
The story: ‘Horatio Kimble had sailed for Australia to seek his fortune. Twenty years later, his lawyers invite the relatives to a meeting.’

The scent: ‘Four distinctive woods, with a note of multicoloured opalescence.’

Up the Apples & Pears
The story: ‘Cissy and Dotty Shuttleworth defend their London pub from an unscrupulous property developer.’

The scent: ‘Autumn fruit in a tiny London orchard.’

Captured by Candlelight
The story: ‘When the lights go out at Dolderbury Hall a portrait goes missing, but which one was it?’

The scent: ‘Traditional plum pudding, covered in brandy and set alight, with a background of oak panels and oil paintings.’

Those who invest in the scheme can contribute from as little as £5, with a range of benefits and bonuses available varying from a signed, bound book of the stories, a specially reduced price of the perfume, and sample sets of the finished scents.

Talking about the sliding scale structure of investment in such schemes, Sarah said:

‘We’re starting with a very affordable dip of the financial toe, right down to a deep plunge of a bespoke service, story and scent. Perfume is an unusual thing to buy before trying, so we’re doing sample sets to reduce your risk, but there are great incentives to take a chance on buying before you try them.We’d love to invest in more amazing materials which you don’t find in big brand fragrances; we’re a tiny company so crowdfunding makes it possible. If some of these scents sound exciting to you, join in! We’d love your help to invest in interesting materials and to use them to create something marvellous…’

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Sarah’s ‘wish list’ of ingredients:

Australian Buddhawood
Boronia flower absolute
Granny Smith apple creation
Colombian enfleurage lily and gardenia
Natural pear creation
Brandy CO2 extract
Absinthe essential oil
Artemisia essential oil
Davana essential oil
Hemlock essential oil
Broom absolute
Hazelnut CO2 extract
Oakwood CO2 extract

If you’re crossing your fingers and hoping it all goes ahead so your favourite-sounding scent gets made, never fear. Says Sarah: ‘We shall definitely be making the perfumes, no matter how many people join in; but the more supporters we have, the more of these lovely materials we can acquire, and the more beautiful our story books will be. We’re also planning a rather interesting launch event…’

We’re duly intrigued and shall be keeping an eye on further crowdfunding schemes in fragrance world – a fascinating way that fans of smaller, independent perfume houses can directly invest in the purveyors of their perfumed delights.

If you’d like to get involved or find out more, visit 4160 Tuesdays IndieGoGo page.

Written by Suzy Nightingale