Wimbledon Archives - The Perfume Society

Fragrances for the Wimbledon finals (and the rest of summer!)

Although it’s the last of the tennis, there’s the rest of summer to make the most of – so we’re celebrating with scents that evoke the excitement of a popped cork, glasses of chilled bubbles shared with friends, picnics with Pimms, making the most of sitting in our gardens (or escaping to the nearest green space) whenever we can, and eating our own bodyweight in strawberries.

It’s been a bit of a mixed bag of a summer, weather-wise, and with everyone seemingly as exhausted as dehydrated bumble bees who need to be spoon-feed sugar syrup and placed gently within a hollyhock to recuperate, it’s surely time to wear something which lifts our spirits, adds a certain zing to our day, and allows us to appreciate the here and now?

Psst! Don’t forget you have until midnight on Sunday 16th July to enter our Wimbledon Legends prize draw, to win a huge bundle of Montblanc fragrance prizes!]

Meanwhile, with with 70 days of official summer left in the northern hemisphere, why not try these happy-making scents for size…?

Memoize London Vita

Piquant pepper, cool cardamom and a sizzle of saffron enliven the juicy fruits that drench the heart of this summer-tastic scent. A hazy drift of incense tickles sun-warmed strawberries lapped by creamy milk, and the woody dry-down billows engagingly for hours. Bliss!

£177 for 100ml eau de parfum in our shop

Paco Rabanne Invictus Victory Elixir Parfum Intense

Urging us to push our limits and celebrate victories (even if that means putting your shoes on the right feet currently, we feel!) a sublime blend of Provençal lavandin’s sliced through with green cardamom, while Indonesian patchouli envelops addictive tonka and vanilla.

£71 for 50ml eau de parfum boots.com

Maison Margiela When the Rain Stops

There’s at least one moment during Wimbledon (or the BBQ you’ve been planning for ages) when, inevitably, the heavens open, but at least we can revel in the scent of ‘petrichor’ so beautifully evoked here via dewy Isparta roses and mossy, rain-washed, lung-clearing air.

£55 for 30ml eau de toilette theperfumeshop.com

MALIN + GOETZ Strawberry

Banish thoughts of sickly sweet versions of a strawberry scent, this is ‘deconstructed’ and reimagined – a freshly picked garden strawberry with stalk attached, shafts of pink pepper and bergamot given a floral flourish by orris root, jasmine petals and soft musks.

£78 for 50ml eau de parfum malinandgoetz.co.uk

VYRAO I AM VERDANT

Sprouting acres of mown grass and green verges with every spritz, cyclamen joyously bursts through the undergrowth, swags of moss-bedecked ivy draping the powdery comfort of iris, and bergamot bolstering the brightness of orange flower absolute. Smiles, bottled.

£135 for 50ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

(Try a sample in the Vyrao High Five Set for £79)

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Scenting Wimbledon – new bottles, please!

As sure a sign of summer as your neighbour who seemingly mows their lawn thrice a day, Wimbledon is a welcome signal to pop the corks, open the starwberries and (for us at PSHQ) to don the whites while shouting “New bottles, please!” So, with such fragrant fun in mind, we present our whimsical scenting of the Wimbledon games to come…

MALIN + GOETZ
Strawberry
Forget overly sweet or boring: this is a contemporary strawberry ‘reimagined’ by the artistic team at Malin + Goetz. They ‘deconstructed’ and reinterpret the garden strawberry, invoking its luscious freshness via bright shafts of pink pepper and bergamot, given a floral flourish by orris root, jasmine petals and warm musks. ‘A dynamic scent that challenges the conceptions around the strawberry,’ they promise. What the fruit has in common with this, however, is a decided moreishness.
£78 for 50ml eau de parfum
malinandgoetz.co.uk

Maison Margiela
When the Rain Stops
There comes a moment during Wimbledon when, inevitably, the heavens open. Much banter ensues, British sense of humour to the fore. But at least we can revel in the scent of ‘petrichor’ after the rain stops, so beautifully evoked here in another of this so-clever niche fragrance house’s scent memories. Think nose-tingling pink pepper awakening dewy leaves, encouraging Isparta roses and jasmine to bloom. Damp, earthy moss, rain-washed air: the storm clouds, parted – a moment of joy captured forever.
£49 for 30ml eau de toilette
theperfumeshop.com

LACOSTE
Match Point
Never mind Match Point, this is game, set and match to Lacoste for a thrillingly fresh aromatic creation that pitches two poised accords against each other. In the opening game, enjoy the green, exhilarating energy of basil and gentian, with an intriguing yet subtle bitter edge. But ultimately, as with all fragrances, it’s the base notes which win through – here, the composed, calm elegance of vetiver, smoothed by Cashmeran.
From £35 for 30ml eau de toilette
Lookfantastic.com

CONTRADICTIONS IN ILK
Nonchalant
Inviting you to dip ripe berries into the frothing fizz of a Champagne cocktail coupe, this is one for the so-chic bystander, probably clad in vintage couture but wearing it with tennis shoes, who doesn’t really care who wins the game, as long as she gets the prize… Always perfectly powdered and ultra-cool, there are hints of spicy drama amidst the devil-may-care attitude – a sense of the swans down puff thrown in temper across a dressing room, lipstick kisses on popped corks, and countless heady bouquets from admirers filling the air.
£150 for 50ml extrait de parfum
Buy it here

PACO RABANNE
Invictus Platinum
There is a cool feel to the metal platinum, which is echoed here by the freshness of this new interpretation of super-successful Invictus, in a flacon that somehow looks more than ever like a fabulous trophy. Awarded with this, the wearer will be invigorated and energised by a complex, powerful fusion of absinthe, grapefruit, mint, lavender, patchouli, cypress and oakmoss, powered out of the bottle by a crush of mint. Über-masculine, mega-wearable.
From £57 for 50ml eau de parfum
theperfumeshop.com

New balls, please! Library of Fragrance launch Wimbledon-themed scents (including one inspired by the smell of tennis balls. Yes, really…)

Few things are more quintessentially British than the onset of Wimbledon season and a sudden glut of strawberries on the supermarket shelves. Along with the inevitable rain stopping play, crowds of super-fans on Henman Hill and a fleeting resurgence of faith in British sporting hopes, the scents of summer are definitely entwined with this great tradition.

Launching a limited edition trio of perfumes that capture all the excitement of Wimbledon, The Library of Fragrance announce that you, too, can now smell of Strawberries & Cream, Grass Court and even – hold on to your straw boaters – New Balls.

Oh yes indeed, never ones to shy away from olfactory oddities these champions of the unusual, literal or never-before-bottled notes are offering the whole experience as a spritz-able phenomenon. While New Balls may be a bit of a Marmite divider of opinion (but worth it even for the snigger-inducing name alone, or as a gift for a tennis-fan, we say); the other two do exactly what they say on the bottle – as with so much of this range – and are utterly wearable.

New Balls
‘Celebrating the distinctive fresh-out-of-the can scent of new tennis balls, this cologne is perhaps best-reserved for die-hard match fans. Wear it on Henman Hill to feel closer to the action…’
£15 for 30ml Cologne

Strawberries & Cream
‘Fresh strawberries and a generous pour of double cream are the order of the day for this sweet, cool cologne’.
£15 for 3oml Cologne

Grass Court
‘Capturing the just-mown scent of the grass court, this happy, reviving scent is Wimbledon, bottled’.
£15 for 30ml Cologne

Available as limited editions for Wimbledon from Library of Fragrance.