Tag: story

Perfumed Pages: Scents That Tell a Story

Because autumn is THE perfect time to get cosy with.a good book, we are celebrating the fact that literature is no longer confined between the covers; it’s seeping out, swirling through the air, and snuggling on your skin thanks to an ever-growing wave of scents directly inspired by novels and writers.

Who knew so many perfumers had a penchant for penning olfactory love letters to literary heroines, rebels, and devilishly dashing rogues? Read on to discover how these perfumes don’t just grab inspo from great prose but bottle the essence of each story. There’s simply no excuse for writer’s block when inspiration smells this enchanting!

So, if you’ve ever fancied a new chapter in your scent wardrobe, why not try weaving a little literary magic through your everyday? Suddenly, getting lost in a good book just became a spritz away. The only question is: which of these perfumed pages would you fancy leafing through in fragrant form, first…?

 

 

 

 

4160 Tuesdays Vianne’s Confession

Plunge headlong into the cobbled streets and gilded shadows of Marseilles in autumn, painted with all the chocolatier’s secrets and soul-searching from Joanne Harris’s Vianne. This isn’t a scent for those who favour sweet treats; instead, Vianne’s Confession is a brooding, confessional blend. Wisps of incense and smoky labdanum marry bitter cacao, rose and geranium, with salt and tomato leaf lending their savouriness. Oakmoss, cypriol and attar mitti (distilled from rich earth itself) root the fragrance in ancient stone and whispered mysteries. The sillage is ‘smoochy’ – a term only fitting for a perfume that seems part velvet, part ritual, all wrapped in moonlit chocolate and literary longing.

£75 for 30ml eau de parfum 4160tuesdays.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

D’Otto 2×4

In true Austenian fashion, 2×4 is less a spritz and more a slow-burn romance between conflicting hearts. Taking its cue from Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth and Darcy, each ingredient unfolds like the careful revelation of a well-guarded secret. Wisteria, Indian jasmine, and lily of the valley evoke the freshness of a countryside ballroom in full bloom, while damask rose adds an intimate blush of passion. The heart is an exotic bouquet of Thai orchid, tuberose, ambergris, and cashmeran, echoing the genre’s love for drama beneath decorum. As the novel’s tension deepens, water lily and Mexican tuberose gently melt into a woody, enveloping trail – sensual, enveloping, and designed to linger in memory the way Austen’s prose does.

£245 for 100ml extrait de parfum harrods.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marc-Antoine Barrois B683

Named for the Little Prince’s mysterious planet and the designer’s birthday, B683 wears the compelling casualness of a true dandy – and with beautiful assurance. Perfumer Quentin Bisch’s modern leather isn’t flashy; it’s the kind you’d trust for a clandestine rendezvous or hang inside a secret writing nook, richly lived-in. Spicy streams of black pepper, saffron, chilli and nutmeg tumble into violet leaf and musk, conjuring the paradoxical thrill of a story’s first page; both restrained and wild. The whole is grounded in sandalwood, patchouli and oakmoss, lending the stability and gravitas of a prized hardback spine. It’s the olfactory equivalent of finding the perfect phrase; quietly spectacular and effortlessly stylish.

£120 for 30ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Floris Wilde

Oscar Wilde (a well-known customer of Floris) had a distinct penchant for dandyism and boundary-pushing prose, so artfully rendered in this clever composition. Sparkling bergamot and citrus blossom open with a flourish, just as Wilde himself would enter a room: all charisma and cutting wit. A heart of ginger, green carnation and white jasmine thrums with theatrical passion – for romance, freedom and star-crossed lovers. The base, a warming swirl of sandalwood oil, olibanum and benzoin, cements its decadent legacy. An understated presence disguised in elegant tailoring, Wilde is just as adept at beguiling as a perfectly chosen epigram, a fragrant tribute to living and loving without apology.

£180 for 100ml eau de parfum (also available from £30 for 10ml) florislondon.com

 

 

 

 

 

Ghawali Closer Apart

Inspired by the fevered dreams and desires of Gatsby’s Roaring Twenties, Closer Apart is all about obsession and magnetic allure. It opens on a flirty burst of mandarin oil, pear and ginger, as effervescent as a champagne toast in a glittering mansion. The heart throbs with caramel, rose and lavender – think moonlit longing, whispered confessions, and the ache of unattainable love. Cedarwood, ambrocenide and musk wrap things up in delicious warmth, echoing the story’s undercurrent of yearning and complicated intimacy. Wear it and you’ll embrace Fitzgerald’s decadence with every inhale, hopelessly seduced by the tension between closeness and distance.

£175 for 75ml parfum selfridges.com

 

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

The Secret Ways of Perfume by Cristina Caboni

The Secret Ways of Perfume by Cristina Caboni is the scent-themed book we’re snuggled up with right now – why not make yourself a brew and get cosy while you read our review…?

 

The Secret Ways of Perfume by Cristina Caboni

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Any novel that contains the phrase ‘perfume is the truth’ has us whooping for joy, and in her beautiful novel, Caboni reminds us that scent has the greatest power to ignite our memories – something the main character, Elena Rossini, knows only too well.

Granted a rare gift of a superior sense of smell, Elena’s passion for perfume has been passed down through generations of her family; but it’s a power that can all too often overwhelm her, as this ability means painful memories about her mother are carried on the breeze, and so she can never truly escape her past. When a betrayal destroys her dreams, fragrant events are set in motion when Elena’s best friend invites her to Paris, and she grabs at the chance to start afresh.

Lured by the promise of  immersing herself in the world of scent once again, the ancient art of composing perfume beckons our protagonist. Searching for a secret recipe within her family’s historic archives, Elena’s new goal becomes the replication of a composition noone in her family managed to master. Having met a man who’s harbouring his own clandestine past; before long, she’s following the scent trail toall manner of mysterious discoveries. Because, as she was told all those years ago:

‘Remember Elena, perfume is the truth. The only thing that really counts. Perfume never lies, perfume is what we are, it’s our true essence…’

From the landscape of Florence to the sun-drenched lavender fields, this a book to delight all perfume-lovers – a novel that you’ll dive in to, nose first.

Buy it from Penguin U.K. (BLack Swan imprint, 2016)

In the mood for some more perfume-related books? We have a whole scented bookshelf of Fragrant Reads – from non-fiction historical explorations to contemporary criticism, with a plethora of perfume-related reading you can get your nose stuck in, right now!

By Suzy Nightingale

Eight & Bob’s Robert F. Kennedy edition reveals all

Ever wondered how the world’s most powerful (and glamorous) people actually smell? Well settle down for a tale that involves a president, his brother, a sarcastic socialite, a butler and a beautifully presented (we think very sharable) sensational scent…

The Story: ‘One night during the summer of 1937 in the French Riviera (Côte d’Azur), Albert Fouquet, a young socialite and perfume connoisseur, met an American student who was touring France: John F. Kennedy. Within minutes of being introduced, the vain JFK was captivated by the essence that Albert wore. John’s charm and congeniality persuaded Albert to leave him a sample of his cologne with a note at his hotel the following morning:

‘In this bottle, you will find the dash of French glamour that your American personality lacks.’

(The shade of it all! Rather daring to address one of the Kennedy’s in such a manner, but we guess if you were a particular kind of socialite, such cutting remarks were part of your stock in trade…)

Eight & Bob continue the story by describing how, on returning from vacation, ‘Albert received a letter from JFK thanking him for the fragrance and informing him of its success amongst his friends. He requested that Albert send him eight samples, “and if your production allows, another one for Bob”.

 

The order wasn’t fulfilled until Philippe, the family butler, found beautiful glass bottles in a Parisian pharmacy for the cologne to be housed in. Albert ordered several boxes with the same pattern as the pinstripe shirt that JFK was wearing when they met, and then labeled the bottles and boxes with John’s request: “EIGHT & BOB”.

A few months later, Albert began receiving letters from America with requests from various Hollywood directors, producers, and actors such as Cary Grant and James Stewart. Everyone wanted their very own piece of “EIGHT & BOB”.

In the spring of 1939, Albert died in a car accident near Biarritz (France). Philippe, the only person who could create and handle the orders, continued Albert’s legacy and in his final shipments hid the bottles inside books to prevent the Nazis from seizing the cologne.

The Fragrance: Decades later, thanks to the family of Philippe, the formula for “EIGHT & BOB” has been completely recovered, along with its carefully crafted production process. Once again, it has become one of the most exclusive colognes, worn and desired by the world’s most elegant men and women…’

Top notes: pink pepper, cardamom, lemon

Heart notes: violet leaf, labdanum, dry woods

Base notes: sandalwood, amber, vetiver

The Review: A warm tingle of pink pepper ripples through breezy lemon infused with the cool, aromatic cardamom. A whisper of green violet leaf cuts through the resinous sensuality of the heart, leading to a musky, woody trail that’s devastatingly suave. Think sneakers worn with an impeccable suit, tanned skin and crisp white shirts worn with minimal accessories and a dazzling, heartbreaking smile.

The Special Edition: To mark the 50th anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy’s death, Eight & Bob have partnered with the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, ‘a prestigious and internationally recognised organisation managed by Kerry Kennedy, daughter of RFK.’ What’s more, they will donate a percentage of the revenue received from this special edition fragrance to the foundation, ‘as a tribute to RFK’s dream of a more fair and peaceful world.’

Eight & Bob RFK Special Edition £110 for 50ml eau de parfum
Buy it at harveynichols.com

Written by Suzy Nightingale