Tag: warming

Fragrances for… Feeling Spicy

Spicy scents are the perfect choice for this season, evoking festive feelings without veering into overtly ‘Christmassy’ territory (so you wont end up smelling like a department store’s Christmas Grotto, never fear!) These fragrances offer a sophisticated alternative to the more traditional holiday scents, allowing us to embrace the season’s spirit in a subtler, more refined manner, while feeling fabulously warmed and comforted by their duality of cosiness and boldness.

Spices have of course long been prized in perfumery for their ability to add depth, complexity, and intrigue to fragrances. Their rich history in trade and cultural exchange between East and West has imbued them with an air of exoticism and luxury. In perfumery, spices work wonders by enhancing and blending seamlessly with other ingredients, creating harmonious compositions that are greater than the sum of their parts. For example, spices in a fragrance composition can amplify the warmth of woods, balance the sweetness of florals, and add a zesty kick to fresh citrus notes.

 

 

One such spicy gem is Goldfield & Banks’ Ingenious Ginger, a fragrance that captures the essence of its namesake ingredient in a truly ingenious way. This scent opens with a fizzy, effervescent burst of ginger, reminiscent of a sparkling ginger ale on a hot summer’s day. As it settles, the ginger note evolves, becoming creamier and more nuanced, intertwining with vanilla and amber to create a scent that’s both refreshing and comforting.

£130 for 100ml perfume concentrate selfridges.com

 

 

 

A symphony of spices from the first spritz, Marc-Antoine Barrois B683 captivates your very soul. A bold opening of black pepper and saffron gives way to a heart of violet leaf and amber, all resting on a sumptuous sizzle of chilli, patchouli and sandalwood. This sophisticated fragrance strikes the perfect balance between daring and refinement, making it an essential for your collection.

£110 for 30ml eau de parfum harrods.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eight & Bob’s Egypt takes us on an olfactory journey through time and space, evoking the exotic marketplaces of ancient Egypt. The fragrance opens with a burst of citrusy bergamot and lavender, quickly giving way to a spicy heart of nutmeg and cardamom. As it dries down, the spices mingle with earthy patchouli and creamy sandalwood, creating a scent that’s both mysterious and inviting.

£161 for 100ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com

 

 

 

 

THoO’s Neverending is a testament to the longevity and complexity that spices can bring to a fragrance. This scent opens with a peppery punch, softened by the sweetness of pink grapefruit. As it evolves, the spices become more pronounced, with cumin and nutmeg taking centre stage. The drydown reveals a rich, leathery base accented by smooth vanilla, creating a fragrance that truly lives up to its name.

£220 for 75ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vyrao’s Mamajuju is a spicy fragrance with a spiritual twist. This scent combines cardamom and pink pepper with earthy saffron and cumin, creating a warm, grounding aroma. The addition of a Herkimer diamond crystal in each bottle is said to amplify the fragrance’s energetic properties, making this a perfect choice for those seeking a scent that nourishes both body and soul.

£160 for 50ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

 

 

 

Finally, Molton Brown’s Re-Charge Black Pepper is a modern classic that showcases the versatility of spicy fragrances. This groundbreaking fragrance (so ahead of its time) opens with a bracing hit of black pepper, tempered by the freshness of bergamot and coriander. As it develops, the pepper note softens, blending with warm amber and cedarwood to create a scent that’s both invigorating and comforting.

£140 for 100ml eau de parfum moltonbrown.co.uk

[PS: You can try a sample of Re-Charge Black Pepper in the Winter box, now shipping from our Seasonal Scent Subscription box: more details here!]

These spicy fragrances offer a sophisticated way to embrace the festive season, providing warmth and cosiness along with a touch of excitement. They demonstrate the enduring appeal of spices in perfumery, showcasing their ability to enhance and harmonise with a wide range of other notes. Whether you prefer your spices fiery and bold or soft and subtle, there’s a fragrance out there to suit every taste and mood.

So this season, why not spice up your scent wardrobe and discover the warmth and intrigue that these fragrances have to offer?

The Scented Sweater – fragrances we love to spray & snuggle in

There’s nothing quite like the soft, enveloping snuggle of cashmere – more than simply a wool to keep you warm, it’s become synonymous with supreme luxury, and fragrances that borrow the fluffy feeling of this material are the perfect comfort scent.

What does ‘cashmere’ mean in fragrant form, though? Perfumers aren’t extracting the wool itself into a scent; instead, they may use Cashmeran™, a trademarked synthetic material sometimes also called Cashmir (or Kashmir) Wood.

There’s no ‘cashmeran’ bush, or tree, or root, though:  this is a synthetic ‘fantasy ingredient, also sometimes referred to as ‘blonde woods’ on perfume note ‘pyramids’. (Cashmeran™ is a trademarked ingredient from the perfumer supplier International Flavours and Fragrances, or IFF.) It’s a-little-bit-musky, a-little-bit-spicy, a-little-bit-powdery qualities become even more versatile in the hands of perfumers: they know how Cashmeran™ almost ‘melts’ into many types of ingredients to add an extra, almost tactile sensuality to perfumes within a wide range of fragrance families.

 

 

 

 

Cashmeran™ also works to ‘expand’ and diffuse floral ingredients. (Lots of perfume notes work ‘synergistically’ in this way, which is why perfumery is such a complex art.) You may also be familiar with it from body products and even fabric conditioners: Cashmeran™ ‘clings’, and doesn’t rinse out well, leaving traces of its sensuality on the skin after showering, or your bedlinen after laundry day.

So now, do you need something to spritz as an extra ‘layer’ of protection (but that’s not too overwhelming), to conjure that feeling of hitting ‘snooze’ and staying in bed awhile longer; or perhaps a perfume for those occasions you could really do with a hug in a bottle? Read on, wrap up, and let’s get cosy in cashmere…

 

 

Electimuss Mercurial Cashmere

A fragrance to ride with us amidst changeable moods, maybe? ‘The most popular of the gods, Mercury was adored for his irresistible charm and wit and the inspiration for this sensuous and seductive scent.’ With an alluring character, the cloud of cardamom-flecked iris swirls to the buttered warmth of tonka and amber touched by cashmere’s creamy caress. Especially good at granting you backbone and strength, we say: wear this fluffy, irresistiable scent and feel better for every possible perfumed mood-swing!

£235 for 100ml pure parfum jovoyparis.uk

 

 

 

 

 

Guerlain Les Matières Confidentielles Eau de Cashmere

Intimately personal and part of a collection made to be spritzed on the skin ‘or over one’s favourite materials’, the Eau de Cashmere is whisper-soft, a creamy concoction of powdered iris and freshly plumped pillow-like lavender, with a breezy background of aerated woody and musky notes as it warms on the skin. It’s one of those ‘I don’t know what to wear’ go-to scents, and ‘Misted also over a jumper or across the entire wardrobe,’ says Guerlain, ‘it provides a pleasure of incomparable softness.’ We couldn’t agree more!

£145 for 100ml eau de toilette selfridges.com

 

 

 

Narciso Rodriguez Cristal

Perfumer Nathalie Gracia Cetto unfurls a ruffled citrus breeze that blooms into freesia and voluptuous orange blossom. The signature woody white musk is woven throughout the composition, making it unmistakably a Narciso creation, but with a crystalline gleam that sparkles enticingly. Wrapped in a whisper of cashmere-swathed warmth, think sunshine diffused by fluffy clouds, a soft stole worn insouciantly draped over tanned shoulders. One that fans will want to add to their collection.

From £61 for 30ml eau de parfum theperfumeshop.com

 

 

 

 

Acqua di Parma Magnolia Nobile

Crisp, sun-baked citrus immediately feels mood-lifting, and the mellow magnolia here wafts a softness through the sometimes more highly-strung notes of tuberose and jasmine. A feather-light, woody base grounds softly as a whisper. To be worn poolside in a white silk kaftan, ideally, but for Autumn and winter in the U.K. we suggest spritzing on a cashmere cardi, and revelling.
From £178 for 50ml eau de parfum johnlewis.com

 

Fragrance du Bois Santal Complet

Inspired by waves of bliss you feel on sunny but chilly days, lemon’s brightness frosted with coconut shavings gleams to the heart of soft violet and black pepper, before that creamy base sandalwood swirls like a cashmere wrap around your shoulders, a hug of warmth resonating with the amber, musk and vanilla that’s a joyously sun-filled snuggle.

£245 for 100ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Glorious Ginger

Ginger fragrances are definitely having a moment – perhaps we’re simply gravitating toward them more at this time of the year, for their warming spiciness? But ginger can do far more than add a tingle to scent: there’s the juiciness of freshly sliced ginger root for adding an almost aqueous touch to a composition, too.

Many of us are familiar with the beige-skinned, yellow-fleshed fresh spice, which adds pungency to cooking – as the Romans, who first imported it, discovered. Those same roots we love to spice up our food with – rhizomes, to use the perfume world’s word for them – can be steam-distilled to produce this useful scented oil.

Ginger can be variously bracing, uplifting and almost nose-tinglingly spicy, depending on the type (and how much) a perfumer chooses for their formula. And ginger can be very versatile – it pairs beautifully with vanilla, woody notes and citrus, for example; as well as white flowers like jasmine and sunlight-filled neroli. This spice is used quite widely in perfumery – as well as a wide range of foods and medicines, too, produced everywhere from South America to Malaysia, the Caribbean, Japan and Africa.

With many people now enjoying ginger ‘shots’ for a bracing morning drink – using it to clear the cobwebs and ward-off colds – we’re suggesting you seek out these gloriously ginger-spiced scents for a more fragrantly lasting (and just as soul-reviving) boost…

 

When this launched as an eau de parfum, it became a best-seller, setting many hearts aflame. Now the latest to be intensified as an extrait, the orange blossom is a new, buxomly formidable accord developed by Sarah, with caramelised zest and ginger’s zing . A car chase through tuberose fields on fire, she says. Oh MY! Fan me.

Sarah Baker Flame & Fortune Extrait Pre-order for £120 instead of £145 sarahbakerperfumes.com

 

 

Alive with Asian aromatics, tingling like a ginger martini, the succulent mandarin squeezes sweetness onto ginger’s vibrantly quenching, just-grated spiciness. Wrapped in the golden glow of amber, the ginger grows spicier and drier as it warms on skin. Utterly delicious, it seems to segue through all the seasons, seamlessly.

Goldfield & Banks Ingenious Ginger £138 for 100ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

(P.S.: Try a sample as part of the Fabulous Fragrances Discovery Box – £23 / £19 for VIPs)

Oh this is much-needed at any time, but never more than in winter! A uniquely spicy green floral that boosts confidence via zingy Ethiopian ginger absolute and crisp pink peppercorn; the fresh spices tingle amidst the verdancy, with gorgeous wafts of Indian jasmine absolute and iris concrete to enhance the instant bliss.

Edeniste Lifeboost Well Being £68 for 30ml eau de parfum in our shop

 

 

 

floris-vert-fougere

 

An imagining of a fern in an English garden at twilight, lavender and patchouli entwine galbanum for a damp, earthy beginning. A cool lingering of tempered sunlight is evoked via a bitter-citrus accord of bergamot, neroli and grapefruit, the encroaching darkness cut through with ginger’s sparkle, then grounded in smoky shadows.

Floris Vert Fougére from £30 for 10ml eau de parfum florislondon.com

 

 

 

Exploring the believed ‘psychoactive and spiritual’ facets of oudh, joyous bergamot greets you like a dear friend, a surge of ginger awakening senses before cedar smooths a path to the main feature. When the oudh hits it’s like a bear hug. One to spritz on sluggish mornings when the duvet refuses to release you from its plump embrace.

INITIO Oud for Happiness £305 for 90ml eau de parfum harrods.com

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Sandalwood scents to adore this autumn

Perfumers have been seduced by sandalwood’s silky, sweet woodiness for centuries. Arabian perfume-makers would use the wood in pulverised or sawdust form as the base of solid perfumes and incense. In India, sandalwood’s soothing, pervasive scent has long been considered an aid to meditation, helping to still a whirring mind. In rituals, sandalwood oil may be applied to the forehead, the temples, or rubbed between the eyebrows. And it’s been used in many cultures as incense, burned on altars, as a way of communicating with the heavens.

 

Surprisingly, Santalum album isn’t actually a tree but a parasitic plant which grows by suckering itself to the roots of other trees, and slowly growing as high as 10 metres. To extract the deep, sweet woodiness, wood or root chippings are steam-distilled. If you ever come across a piece of the wood itself, it’s magical: the scent can still be enjoyed, years after it was harvested. (A little light sanding re-releases the scent, if it fades.)

 

 

 

In fragrance compositions, sandalwood is adored by noses because it’s so versatile – it blending seamlessly with pretty much any note you can name, it also has the benefit of working as a ‘fixative’, tethering other ingredients and keeping them ‘true’, in a composition. Because of its universal appeal and effectiveness, and because so many sandalwood trees have been cut down in India, largely for production of perfume and incense – it’s now highly protected, as it’s often been illegally harvested.

The good news, however, is that plantations in Australia are now coming on-stream, producing sandalwood oil of high quality – to the relief of perfumers, fragrance-lovers and conservationists alike. Also, a wide range of excellent quality synthetic sandalwood-like ingredients are now used in place of this at-risk wood, to give that smooth milkiness.

This autumn, we urge you to seek out some of these sandalwood scents and revel in all its qualities…

Sana Jardin Sandalwood Temple

Moroccan neroli oil glimmers like motes of gilded glitter suspended in languid, late afternoon sunshine. Atlas cedarwood and Haitian vetiver add the dappled shade of a walk through nature, marvelling at stained-glass effect of sunlight through leaves. Rich vanilla and East Indian sandalwood swirls throughout – a sacred space to sigh, contentedly.

Try a sample of Sandalwood Temple in the Sana Jardin Discovery Set: £30 for 10 x 2ml eau de parfum

 

 

 

Fragrance du Bois Santal Complet

Inspired by waves of bliss you feel on sunny but chilly days, lemon’s brightness frosted with coconut shavings gleams to the heart of soft violet and black pepper, before that creamy base sandalwood swirls like a cashmere wrap around your shoulders, a hug of warmth resonating with the amber, musk and vanilla that’s a joyously sun-filled snuggle.

£245 for 100ml eau de parfum fragrancedubois.com

 

Goldfield & Banks Silky Woods

If a fragrance can ever smell like liquid gold, this is it – a smooth, molten swoon of Australian sandalwood, harvested sustainably for the first time in the Daintree Rainforest in Tropical Queensland. Spiced with a tingle of saffron, swirled with smoked vanilla and the hug of tobacco leaves in the trail, it’s an all-day (and night) wrist-sniffer, for sure.

£180 for 100ml eau de parfum fenwick.co.uk

 

 

Escentric Molecules Molecule 04

Perfumer and founder Geza Schoen showcases the single note of Javanol – a sheer sandalwood synthetic molecule created from a natural substance at Givuadan in 2001. Mindblowing-ly fresh, and radiating grapefruit amidst the woodiness, it’s a wake-up call for the senses which reveals the multifaceted versatility of sandalwood’s appeal.

OR…

Escentric Molecules Escentric 04

Here surrounded by a supporting cast of complimentary notes, the Javanol shines like a polished gem with the added zest of lime, piquant pops of aromatic juniper and and the warm, almost sherbet-y fizz of pink pepper give an extra shot of freshness, while marijuana leaf softens the grapefruit pith (and adds to the addictiveness of the sandalwood scent).

Try samples of both these takes on sandalwood, plus EIGHT other pairings of single molecules and their ‘Escentic’ counterparts in the Escentric Molecules Discovery Set £25 for 10 x 2ml eau de parfum

 

Written by Suzy Nightingale