The Scented Letter 'The Perfumed Vagabond' issue (Summer 2021)

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NO. 47 - SUMMER 2021

www.perfumesociety.org

LETTER

SCENTED RITUALS

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SUMMER’S SCENT WAVE

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LATEST LAUNCHES

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Perfumed Vagabond

editor’s LETTER Each summer, because of perfume’s power to transport us on a magic carpet ride to far-flung places, we like to take travel as the theme for The Scented Letter. But what I can promise with this edition is that every one of the destinations we’ll whisk you to is on the ‘green’ list: beaches, waterfalls, deserts, cities, souks and mountains, which we can visit simply by closing our eyes and breathing. In that way, we can all become perfume vagabonds.

On p.12, we start by taking a deep dive into the trend for aquatic fragrances. Making a splash right now in the scent world is a tide of water-inspired scents, in particular for men, which variously beckon us into the waves or to dip our toes in fresh mountain brooks. Is this a reflection, perhaps, of water’s symbolic ‘cleansing’, an attempt to wash away the events of the last year while refreshing our spirits?

Happily, Suzy Nightingale managed to stay dry, while exploring the subject.

At the opposite end of the scent spectrum, it’s all about exotic essences and attars, right now. As you can read on p.26, ritual has been central to perfumery for millennia, a way of communicating with the gods and for grounding and centreing the soul, during meditation. That rootedness is something else many of us are craving right now, but attars and essences offer another plus: they are sublimely long-lasting on the skin, whether you’re winding down before bedtime with a few minutes of yoga nidra, or indulging in another (and very unfamiliar) ritual: the night out.

Every perfume is akin to a voyage in a bottle. At The Perfume Society, we are fascinated by ingredients, the corners of the earth from which they are harvested, and their journey from field to flacon. So on p.22, we explore the story of bergamot, star of a new limited edition fragrance from Acqua di Parma – because if ever there was a perfume note that embodies sunlight, it is this fascinating fruit. (And have we ever craved sunshine more than we do now…?)

If you’re reading this, of course you love smelling scents. But how often do you get the chance to eat foods that have been composed for the nose, as well as the palate? The Mughals were masters of this sense-blurring cuisine, which Pratap Chahal – a modern chef who also specialises in fragrant foods – explores on p.41. Mouthwatering, nose-tingling stuff.

As ever, it is also our pleasure to bring you all the Latest Launches and scent news. Real-life travel plans may still be on hold – but we thank our lucky stars for the world of fragrance, which can be enjoyed without a passport, a lateral flow test or the risk of an amber list volte face.

Enjoy your spray-cation...

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CONTRIBUTORS

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LETTER

EDITOR

Josephine Fairley jo@perfumesociety.org DESIGNER

Jenny Semple jennysempledesign @gmail.com CEO/ADVERTISING MANAGER

Lorna McKay lorna@perfumesociety.org

Abi Cleeve

Jamila Robertson

Over 20 years, Abi Cleeve – who shares her Memories, Dreams & Reflections on p.50 – has been recognised in the health and beauty industry for her wide-ranging expertise. Having grown the independent professional suncare brand Ultrasun into one of the leading names in sun protection, Abi decided to use her knowledge of sunscreen formulations to create skinSense, a brand that harnesses game-changing technology to lock ingredients onto the skin so they work harder for longer.

Find her on Instagram @abicleeve

Beauty tech entrepreneur and journalist Jamila Robertson founded the Slapp app in September 2016. The app sets out to democratise the beauty industry and make shopping mobile and (most importantly) inclusive, and has been featured everywhere from Elle Magazine to The Guardian.

Jamila is currently working on new projects launching later this year and early 2022. She shares her unusual scent memory of Paris, on p.66. Follow @slappldn

SENIOR WRITER

Suzy Nightingale suzy@perfumesociety.org MARKETING/BRAND RELATIONSHIPS

Victoria Evans victoria@perfumesociety.org SOCIAL MEDIA

Chloe Counter chloe@perfumesociety.org CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Maggie Alderson CONTACT US

info@perfumesociety.org 07748-653288

COVER: ADOBE STOCK

OFFICE

41 Holmethorpe Avenue, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 2NB Scented Letter is a free online/downloadable magazine for subscribers to The Perfume Society

Fabrice Pellegrin A second-generation perfumer, Fabrice was raised in his family business, starting to create his own fragrances in late 1990s. Renowned for his work with natural materials (woods and spices are a speciality), he is currently based at perfume house Firmenich, where the most recent of his dozens of creations include Diesel Only The Brave. In 2017 he was named Perfumer of the Year, by France’s Cosmétique magazine. Follow him on Instagram @fabnose

Suzy Nightingale Beginning her fragrance journey perusing perfume halls with her mother (choosing Chanel Coco, aged 10), Suzy began her writing career in local magazines, after uni. Discovering her true passion was writing about perfume, she became a freelance fragrance journalist and has been Senior Writer for The Scented Letter for nearly seven years. With a slew of awards and nominations to her name in 2021, Suzy’s also co-hosts the occasional ‘On the Scent’ podcast.

Follow her @fragrantmaven

The Scented Letter is produced for The Perfume Society by Perfume Discovery Ltd. All information and prices are correct at the time of going to press and may no longer be so on the date of publication. © 2021 The Perfume Society. All text, graphics and illustrations in The Scented Letter are protected by UK and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted or otherwise distributed by any means without explicit permission.

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contents MAKING A SPLASH

Riding summer’ s

SCENT WAVE

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© Stanley Dai for Unsplash

When we’re attending launches – via Zoom, these past 18 months – it’s fascinating to witness the emergence of fragrance trends. Recently, the tide has turned for salty, marine-themed scents – but why now this sudden swell? SUZY NIGHTINGALE dives in, to find out

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT the emotional pull of the sea that is eternal. For centuries, it has led philosophers, artists and scientists to pontificate as to exactly why we’re so drawn to the ocean. As Czech-German poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) so romantically put it: ‘When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused.’

Another poet, the Persian mystic Rumi, ruminating on the subject in the 1200s, declared: ‘You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean, in a drop.’ He wasn’t far off, actually. Modern science has identified that the discovering the human brain is 80% water. More than 70% of the world’s surface is covered by it (over 95% of that yet to be explored). Indeed, it’s hard to disagree with author Arthur C. Clarke, who once astutely remarked: ‘How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean.’

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making a splash RIDING SUMMER’S SCENT WAVE

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from field to flacon ONLY THE ZEST IS GOOD ENOUGH

The tide has turned towards salty, marine-themed scents – but why this sudden swell? We dive in to discover

Discover la spugnatura, an artisan technique that perfectly captures the sunlit qualities of bergamot

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a day in a (fragrant) life A WORKING NOSE

a glass act GOING, GOING, GONE (AROUND THE GLOBE!)

Perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin invites Suzy Nightingale into his Paris lab – albeit virtually, for now

Swoonworthy, travel-inspired offerings for scent collectors from the annual Perfume Bottles Auction

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the fragrant foodie THE SCENT OF FLAVOUR

perfume is an addiction #SHAREMYSTASH: ALICE DU PARCQ

Pratap Chahal explores the fascinating, fragrant Mughal art of using perfume in food

The star of Instagram’s ‘Desert Island Spritz’ comes out of her (bright blue) closet for Jo Fairley

regulars NOSING AROUND 6 ASK UNCLE JAMES 44 MEMORIES, DREAMS, REFLECTIONS 50 LATEST LAUNCHES 52 IT TAKES ME RIGHT BACK 66

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nosing around We bring you all the news that’s fit to sniff along with some extremely covetable objects, in our seasonal round-up. Get ready for a l-o-n-g, hot, scented summer

N05 is bejewelled Famed for its sparkling qualities, the legendary Chanel No5 is the inspiration for a truly dazzling new Chanel Fine Jewellery collection celebrating the 100th birthday of the iconic scent. Brooches, earrings, rings and necklaces take their design cue from jasmine petals, May roses, the geometric Chanel No5 flacon, the number five itself and the sillage of the scent. 123 extraordinary pieces in gold, platinum, precious gems have us swooning (and saving).

From £7,100 chanel.com

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... AND COCO MADEMOISELLE IS SUMMER-READY In time for the hot weather: two new limited edition collection Chanel treats, fresher, alcoholfree Coco Mademoiselle L’Eau/£71 for 100ml, which can safely be spritzed on hair, too, and Coco Mademoiselle Le Gel/£35 for 100ml, ideal for cleansing hair and body after sun exposure. Fabuleux! chanel.com

Drive, baby, drive A sleek collaboration between Acqua di Parma and leather artisans Poltrana Frau, the Airound Car Diffuser plugs into your aircon ventilator and wafts a choice of nine sunlit scents at you. Takes us from 0-60 on the smile-o-meter, in no time. Diffuser £135, refills £40 each acquadiparma.com

The order of the Bath (House) Perfumer Ruth Mastenbroek has collaborated with Cumbrian-based fragrance and skincare brand Bath House to create ‘the scented memory of a greenhouse with its diffused light, heat and fragrance.’ An immediate evocation of reaching out to stroke tomato leaves, crushing mint leaves and brushing past lemon thyme, it’s an aromatic, mossy childhood snapshot, to us.

Greenhouse Candle/ £38 for 200g Diffuser/ £52 for 200ml thebathhouseshop.co.uk

HIDE AND CHIC

We can think of so many storage uses to upcycle the box for new ETRO Magnolia (see p.56), dressed in one of the Italian fashion house’s archival fabrics. Jewellery, trinkets – or the smartest paperclip receptacle ever? £145 for 100ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com

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JOIN THE CLUB Experimental Perfume Club have opened a flagship lab-boutique in London’s fashionable Seven Dials district (above), with two fragrant floors to explore. There are inhouse workshops where perfumelovers at all levels can create fragrances, 1:1 consultations in the ‘Perfumer’s Alcove’ for a bespoke scent, and a chance to explore the house’s eponymous (and eminently blendable) collection – topped up as required at the Refill Station.

52 Monmouth Street, London WC2H 9EP experimentalperfumeclub.com

A BREATH OF (FRESHER) AIR

Inspired by ‘the summer breeze from Byron Bay’, this sensorial mask sanitiser has a soft waft of head-clearing peppermint, a zing of lime and grounding cedarwood, which also happens to kill bacteria while eliminating odour.

Makes maskingup that bit more bearable, for us.

Sensori+ Freshfield Mask Sanitiser/£15 for 30ml harveynichols.com

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Poole’s Perfume Playground

Founder/perfumer, Simon Constantine (formerly of Lush and Gorilla Perfumes), has opened the first ånd fragrance boutique in Poole, Dorset (below), as ‘a sensory playground’ offering personalised fragrance consultations, and a chance to view raw materials used in modern perfumery, while immersing yourself in the ways that ånd perfumes connect with indigenous communities.

10 Kingland Crescent, Poole, BH15 1TB andfragrance.com

City spritzes

PRECIOUS PETALS

Bang on-trend with our travel issue, two additions to Karl Lagerfeld’s City Collection of urban-inspired scents. When you can’t get to Tokyo or Hamburg, fasten your seatbelt and take off on an olfactory flight with one of these, instead.

From £20.99 each for 60ml eau de parfum karl.com

Lily of the valley has a special meaning for The Perfume Society: we launched on 1st May, when traditionally French people give posies of the scented flower to those they love and admire. Each year, Guerlain issue a very special Muguet Milléssime in a limited edition bee bottle, marking this most fragrant of days in the calendar. For 2021, it’s adorned with tumbling petals – a design by young Parisian textile and paper designer Lucie Touré. £450 [4,500 pieces worldwide] guerlain.com

Marmalade magic Jo Malone London’s The Marmalade Collection might seem weirdly-named, until you understand it’s all about celebrating the nostalgic Britishness of garden fêtes, rhubarb-picking and – yes – marmalade-making, in all its scented glory. Five fab fragrances appear in (for the first time) limited edition packaging, including Orange Peel Cologne, Elderflower Cordial Cologne and Tangy Rhubarb Cologne, showcasing this tart, on-trend ingredient. £55 each for 30ml jomalone.co.uk

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Take an OlfactoStroll Artist Jan Uprichard has devised a sensorial walk with accompanying podcast for the Centre for Contemporary Art in Derry. With gentle guidance on how to navigate by smell and mindful breathing, you can listen from anywhere – just the tonic we need, for travelling with our noses (even if we can’t go anywhere else right now). cca-derry-londonderry.org (look under ‘Public Programme’)

FLOWER MEGA-POWER

Who’d ever want to go back to the office, when home can smell so gorgeous – thanks to Floral Street’s massively expanded home fragrance line-up? The four collections – White Florals, Dark Florals, Rose Garden and Urban Bloom – span room sprays, diffusers and candles, all carefully thought through from a clean beauty point of view. Joyous!

From £34 (from 1st July) floralstreet.com

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The buzz about Diptyque!

Diptyque’s summer 2021 collection for the first time offers exquisitely-scented products that also work as insect repellents, with Citronelle Interior and Exterior Candles and a Citronelle & Geranium Summer Body Spray featuring essential oils (plus new, sunshine-filled Ilio eau de toilette). But the real buzz is emanating from their collaboration with illustratorof-the-moment Luke Edward Hall, who’s splashed his designs over the seriously fab packaging…

From £45 diptyqueparis.com

The Jasmine Awards 2021 Not only are we celebrating 2021’s Perfumed Plume win (below), but The Scented Letter, The Perfume Society website and our @theperfumesociety Instagram have a total of eight nominations in this year’s Awards, organised by The Fragrance Foundation and to be revealed at their gala dinner in September. We can’t wait to dust off the sequins and find out who’s won...

LITERARY

SCENT GETS SOCIAL

#Smellfie Day 2020

l Cosmopolitan KATE PASOLA ‘When Did We All Start Smelling the Same?’ l Financial Times How to Spend It NICOLA MOULTON ‘Which Scents Made Sense in the Year of No Scent?’ l thegloss.ie SARAH HALLIWELL ‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’ l The Scented Letter Magazine SUZY NIGHTINGALE ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’

What a difference a year makes. The latest in our so-successful campaign to celebrate International Fragrance Day on Saturday 21st March had quite a different message this year

Nafia, aged two, wearing a sari in her Dadu’s garden

I LOST MY FATHER in April this dadu’s garden. The air becomes heavy, year to Covid-19, suddenly and humid and electric, the promise of a unexpectedly. He was my anchor in this heavy storm in the air. Once the rain world and without him, I feel totally comes, the air becomes alive with the unmoored and bereft. One thing that scent of lush greenery, earthy soil going grounded me in the aftermath was from parched to wet and muddy. We my nose. I adore nostalgic smells; would run to the roof to dance in the I love how with one giant sniff, the pouring rain or sit on her barindah dusty cobwebs that drape the surfaces (porch) and watch the rain lashing down. and crevices of our scent memories The scent of flowers always lingered, are blown away and the unearthed especially after rain where bruised petals memories can stop us would scatter the dead in our tracks. ground, mixing with I buried my face the smell of petrichor. into the collar of the The scent of the huge jacket he last wore, his jasmine bush would scarf and woolly hat. make itself known when I can close my eyes the sun went down. and instantly conjure After eating nashta up his scent, a mix of (afternoon tea), my the hair pomade he cousins, siblings and Cancer research scientist and fragrance illustrator wore and Astral cream.

I would retire for Other smells acted the evening to the NAFIA GULJAR shares poignant memories as a painful reminder barindah where we of my loss: crisp, would bring out all triggered by an exotic flower refreshing watermelon, the board games, ripe, fragrant mangoes usually Ludo and and the soothing mint tea we both liked to drink before bed.

Carrom [a tabletop game like snooker]. My dad would The smell that has pervaded my memories however, one that often join us and regale us with tales of his younger years threads its way through my past, present and future, is the of being a formidable Carrom player. The night-blooming gloriously heady scent of white flowers, jasmine in particular. jasmine would unfurl and release its treasured fragrance, Having come to the UK aged four, I don’t have many weaving through the window slats and impregnating the air memories of my early years in Bangladesh. We revisited in around the house with its heavenly scent. Jasmine became 2005, 11 years after leaving, for an emotional reunion with my synonymous with times that were more relaxed and easier, grandparents and family. As our car weaved through dense a little slice of paradise, playing board games in my dadu’s Dhaka traffic, I marvelled at how familiar the air smelled. house surrounded by my loved ones.

Nothing prepared me for the déjà vu I experienced walking Years later, standing in Fenwick, Tom Ford’s Jasmin into my dadu’s (paternal grandmother) garden, the jasmine, Rouge managed to transport me straight to that barindah, tuberose, hibiscus, the sugar cane and so many other fruits as I deliriously lapped up its notes of jasmine, tuberose and flowers I had no name for yet but instinctively and buttery ylang ylang. There are so many elements in remembered the smell of.

Jasmin Rouge which remind me of my beloved I read a poem titled ‘A Portable Paradise’ father, of my four grandparents, of my

by Roger Robinson recently which started dadu’s barindah, of borsha (monsoon), ‘And if I speak of Paradise, then I’m of rajani gandha (tuberose), korobi speaking of my grandmother’ and for phul (frangipani), joba phul (hibiscus), me, the smell of paradise is my dadu’s ghandaraj phul (gardenia). And above garden. We stayed for eight weeks all, sheuli phul – that night-blooming and I greedily absorbed every bit of jasmine. Following my father’s death, my motherland I could, from happily and having lost all my remaining wearing salwar kameez every day to grandparents over the years, smelling speaking Bangla to my family, even Jasmin Rouge now is equal parts when my cousins wanted to practice painful and pleasurable; it fills my their English with us. heart to the brim with both Visiting during the monsoon season happiness and sadness. heightened the sensory experience of my I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Night-blooming jasmine

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DON’T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME

In these continuing strange days, people have turned to fragrance more than ever – but will social distancing change the way we wear scent? Senior Writer, SUZY NIGHTINGALE, peels back the mask to explore personal space and post-pandemic perfumes THE

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l The Scented Letter Magazine SUZY NIGHTINGALE ‘Note Perfect’ l The Candy Perfume Boy THOMAS DUNCKLEY ‘Trapped in a Scent Memory’

l YouTube LUCA TURIN ‘The Secret of Scent Lectures’ l @rosegallagher Instagram ROSE GALLAGHER (various) l Stylist Magazine SHANNON PETER ‘Good Clean Fun’ l @theperfumesociety Instagram THE PERFUME SOCIETY TEAM ‘#Smellfie Campaign 2020’ l Fume Chat podcast THOMAS DUNCKLEY & NICK GILBERT Fume Chat Series 3/E6 ‘Bon Anniversaire, Éditions de Parfums Frédéric Mallelle!’ l The Candy Perfume Boy THOMAS DUNCKLEY ‘Material Focus: Cashmeran’

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to comment on every single post. And we’re delighted to showcase here not only the winners –who received either a VIP Subscription with a Discovery Box or an International Subscription to this magazine, online – but many of our other favourites. The overall winner – @harleyrider1883 – will receive £300 worth of fragrance (just as soon as we’re back in the office to mail it to him…!)

Meanwhile, one of the loveliest postings, for us, was Bella Freud’s Instagram Story in which she spritzed herself with her signature fragrance, talking of its power to connect her to her mother’s strength and courage.

Because we all need to tap into fragrance’s magic power to do that, right now…

“ The jasmine would release its treasured fragrance, weaving through the window slats and impregnating the air with its heavenly scent.”

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PERFUME’S POLARISATION

CREATIVITY

IT TAKES ME RIGHT BACK

AS WE ALL KNOW only too well, the world has shifted on its axis this year. So in the age of Covid-19, we felt that our annual scent celebration should reflect the mood of the moment. But at The Perfume Society, we believe that we all need beauty in our lives right now – and beyond that, fragrance has the power to lift our spirits or even make us feel like we’re wearing a suit of armour.

So for this year’s campaign, we invited followers and fragrant friends to post a photo of themselves with a favourite fragrance that unfailingly makes them feel more cheerful, or gives them a feeling of courage, that they can cope with anything.

As ever we were blown away by the entries and we tried

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SHORT PIECE l marieclaire.co.uk FIONA EMBLETON ‘Perfume Became the Soundtrack to my Lockdown’ l marieclaire.co.uk FIONA EMBLETON ‘Where Are All the Black Perfumers…?’ l The Scented Letter Magazine NAFIA GULJAR ‘It Takes Me Right Back: Night-blooming Jasmine’ l Financial Times How To Spend It ROSANNA DODDS ‘It’s a Real Head-turner’ l The Perfume Society website SUZY NIGHTINGALE ‘Petrichor & Pluviophiles’ l The Perfume Society website SUZY NIGHTINGALE ‘Vellichor: Capturing the Scent Memories of Old Books’

l Glamour Magazine ALICE DU PARCQ ‘The 5:2 Fragrance Plan’ l We Wear Perfume AMANDA CARR & TAMARA FULTON ‘The Long Read: Why the Future of Buying Fragrance is Online’ l The Scented Letter Magazine SUZY NIGHTINGALE ‘Modern Florals’ l The Scented Letter Magazine SUZY NIGHTINGALE ‘Straight to the (Pulse) Point’ l The Candy Perfume Boy THOMAS DUNCKLEY ‘Material Focus: Cashmeran’

YAY!!!!!!

MODERN FLORALS

HEAVY PETALS

The prestigious Perfumed Plume awards are an independent, annual showcase of international journalism. And HUGE congrats to The Perfume Society’s star writer Suzy Nightingale for winning the award for Perfume Stories in Mainstream Print Media, for her Modern Florals feature in The Scented Letter.

Organisers and Co-Founders, Lyn Leigh and Mary Ellen Lapsansky, commented: ‘Considering the ongoing challenges, we applaud each and every finalist (not to forget all the writers who submitted) for their masterful writing. It is always an honour to receive so many entries.’ And we’re so honoured with this win... perfumedplume.com Once considered a bit fuddy-duddy, floral fragrances are blooming afresh. Senior Writer SUZY NIGHTINGALE stops to smell the roses – and the magnolias, violets, peonies and osmanthus

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WE’VE WALLOWED IN BATHTUBS filled with rose petals and desperately sought inventive ways to extract their essence to perfume our bodies for centuries – but until fairly recently, overtly floral fragrances had fallen out of favour.

In the 1800s, ‘soliflores’ – simplistic, single-note perfumes such as violet, lavender and rose – were the thing, an olfactory echo of a demure age when women were required to scent themselves delicately or risk being mistaken for a shameless strumpet.

(Even then, you had to choose your flower carefully, as tuberose was believed to induce spontaneous orgasms.)

That pretty, innocent, ‘safe’ image stuck. Over the decades, floral scents became something your Mum wore.

Or your great-aunt. Notwithstanding a moment in the 80s when floral fragrances like Giorgio Beverly Hills came bursting out of bottles with a shoulder-padded swagger, rocking rooms and even getting banned from some restaurants – and ignoring the fact that most fragrances are composed principally of floral notes, even if they like to weave a more complicated and sophisticated story.

But in uncertain times, we are reaching for both simple petalled perfume pleasures and delightfully decadent bouquets once again, with trend forecasters like grandviewresearch.com predicting there will be ‘a rising demand for exotic and floral scents, majorly from young and teenage consumers’. This represents a complete floral flip for this fragrance genre – but how have these scented seeds been sown?

From where we’re sitting, it was when niche houses began subverting floral scents that suddenly they seemed cool again. Michigan-based niche perfume house Kerosene launched their Dirty Flower Factory fragrance in 2014, kicking off a cult of wonderfully weird florals. Motorcycle mechanic turned self-taught perfumer, John Pegg, describes it as ‘Flowers spiked with grit’ –

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Riding summer’ s

SCENT WAVE © Stanley Dai for Unsplash

When we’re attending launches – via Zoom, these past 18 months – it’s fascinating to witness the emergence of fragrance trends. Recently, we’ve seen the tide turn towards salty, marine-themed scents – but why now this sudden swell? SUZY NIGHTINGALE dives in, to find out

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT the emotional pull of the sea that is eternal. For centuries, this has led philosophers, artists and scientists to pontificate as to exactly why we’re so drawn to the ocean. As Czech-German poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) so romantically put it: ‘When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused.’

Another poet, the Persian mystic Rumi, ruminating on the subject in the 1200s, declared: ‘You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean, in a drop.’ He wasn’t far off, actually. Modern science has identified that the human brain is 80% water. More than 70% of the world’s surface is covered by it (over 95% of which is yet to be explored). And it’s hard to disagree with author Arthur C. Clarke, who once astutely remarked: ‘How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean.’

So it’s perhaps unsurprising that water exerts such a tidal

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pull in our lives. Or that as we seek to calm ourselves and reconnect with the elements via our senses – which were so starved of stimulation during successive #lockdowns – water-inspired scents are among fragrance’s strongest trends for summer 2021. These new aquatic creations don’t simply seek to evoke the ocean, meanwhile, but also rivers, waterfalls and deep, coolly inviting lakes.

We’ve been here before, actually – in the 1990s. But the era-defining scents of that decade were beachy, carefree, and inevitably drowning in an ingredient by the name of Calone. In fact, if you’ve ever smelled a scent and been reminded of the sea, chances are it contains this synthetic aroma compound, which was developed by Pfizer in 1951.

With its fruity and sometimes white floral facets evoking exoticism, the beaches Calone conjures are the kind with white sand and impossibly blue sea. Its discovery was accidental, when chemists were searching for a food additive to give the taste and aroma of watermelon (NB Calone is also known as ‘watermelon ketone’). They’d stumbled across a sea breeze, bottled – but it wasn’t until 1988 the popularity for using it in perfumes began, when perfumer Yves Tanguy poured Calone in Aramis New West.

Then came the massive (and enduring) success of Pierre Bourdon’s Davidoff Cool Water. Also released in 1988, its now-iconic salty freshness carries an herbaceous breeze of lavender and mint, settling to a smooth base of cedarwood, tobacco and musk. This trickle of water-inspired launches soon became a veritable tsunami of sea-themed scents, sparking a new fragrance family sub-category, variously referred to as ‘Aquatic’ or ‘Ozonic’. Was this return to nature trend a reaction to the brash, neon-lit, party-party 80s and a desperate need to feel nurtured again? It certainly tapped into a mood. Two years later, Issey Miyake’s L’Eau d’Issey wafted towards us a more feminine, lotus-petalled breeze atop the waves, and like its masculine partner, Pour Homme, L’Eau d’Issey remains a bestseller.

But as scent fashions go, while some of those marine scents were elevated to the ranks of classics, many other aquatic creations went the way of the hand-knitted onepiece swimsuit. They acquired a dated reputation, with some scent-lovers running from anything remotely ‘ozonic’ in the manner of screaming crowds fleeing the sharkinfested sea in ‘Jaws’. But in summer 2021, we’re here to tell you that it is most definitely safe to get back in the water – and how very inviting and refreshingly different it is, this time around. There’s a freshness, a lightness, a transparency and, very often, a delicious saltiness.

Roberto Drago, founder of Italian niche house Laboratorio Olfattivo admits, however, that he was extremely cautious before launching Salina, a fragrance in the vanguard of this wave-powered revival. ‘My clients asked me to create a marine perfume,’ he says with a wry smile, ‘but I didn’t want to do it. I thought it was a bit of an old-fashioned concept and wondered how it could be done differently. There were still many successful marine fragrances out there, so for years I just left it. But for some reason, now seemed the right time to try again.’

The creative process proved challenging, though.

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How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean

ARTHUR C. CLARKE

THE SCENT OF THE SEA

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As Harold McGee shares in his brilliant book, Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells (John Murray), ‘The smells of the shore and open waters and their creatures can give us a kind of access to that world and its workings that our other senses can’t.’ That so-evocative, immediately transporting smell of the seashore is made up – in nature – of chlorine, sodium, magnesium and sulphurous seaweed. But, McGee explains, ‘The primary smell of the ocean… is the smell of phytoplankton and algae coping with saltiness, and predators and scavengers dismantling the coping molecules for their own use.’

The aroma of ‘war beneath the waves’ may be a rather unromantic reality, but it’s the combination of the actual scent of the sea and the way it makes us feel that’s so beguiling when it is magically captured in a fragrance. One whiff and we’re transported somewhere else – calmer, soothed by sunlit memories of holidays past or an idyll currently only glimpsed in glossy brochures.

Above: MONTBLANC EXPLORER ULTRA BLUE Luminous bergamot shivers to an icy plunge of Alpine freshness. The exclusive, silvered patchouli is the scent of wet stones, ambergris, dawn’s mist still clinging

Above: BDK SEL D’ARGENT The salty kiss of warm skin, sheer orange blossom shot through with the sparkle of grapefruit and crunchy green galbanum. Think sunlight dancing on waves, somewhere fabulously expensive

Left: DOLCE & GABBANA LIGHT BLUE FOREVER POUR HOMME Intensely juicy grapefruit fizzes to a cool, shady breeze of violet leaf and Javan vetiver oil across eerily still water, the base a soft white swathe of musk and patchouli

Above right: THOMAS CLIPPER ATLANTIC A spirited journey across the sea, with crisp citrus melting to a fuzzy, honeyed blossom; the deeper base of spice-flecked wood and musk a wonderfully evocative nod to adventure

Left: CAROLINA HERRERA CH MEN UNDER THE SEA The plush blue plunge of water’s softness has Cashmeran caressing piquant juniper berries, resinous driftwood bleached by the sun, blissfully wave-lapped Right: CAROLINA HERRERA CH UNDER THE SEA A mermaid’s snog, bottled, this creamy coconut wraps iridescent greenness in briny red seaweed, a salty tang to boost the tropical smooch of ylang ylang

Left: JEAN PAUL GAULTIER LE MALE ON BOARD Oh Captain, my Captain!

Salt-licked skin tastes of sun-lotion and geranium leaves, a faintly boozy rumlike amber swirled with tonka bean. All aboard!

Right: KENZO L’EAU KENZO POUR HOMME HYPER WAVE Inspired

by Japanese art’s iconic ‘Hokusai wave’, zesty mandarin invites spontaneity, soaring to the crest before resting on a bed of moss

Right: CARTIER RIVIÈRES DE CARTIER LUXURIANCE ‘Life is often said to flow like a river,’ reflects creator Mathilde Laurent, rippling wild botanicals through rosemary, mastic, oak and geranium. A cold knife nestled on a riverbed

Below left: SKANDINAVISK KAPITEL 4 The herbaceous green embrace of crabapple-entwined dog rose evokes Scandinavian waterways, damp moss, rock pools and the freedom of ‘navigating with no fixed destination’

Below: NISHANE EGE / AI AIO A tribute to the Aegean Sea carrying common bonds between Turkish and Greek culture; yuzu zings through notes of violet leaves, basil and mint to a deliciously sticky olibanum and liquorice base

Below: LABORATORIO OLFATTIVO SALINA A literal evocation of the sea in all its salty and glory, a message in a bottle tossed on roiling waves, a poem of pine trees and sunlight lustily sung on barnaclebottomed boats

MAKING A SPLASH

Not being a perfumer himself, his role as ever was to brief different ‘noses’. And to be honest, he recalls, it was so tricky that ‘some of the perfumers just asked me to stop.’

What spurred him onwards was the idea that ‘the sea can be represented in many ways – you smell the seaweed, that ozonic note. Then you go and you take a swim, you come out and you smell the salt on your skin, you have the flowers behind you and the sea in front, so you use ingredients that represent the area.’ Salina eventually required over 80 trials.

‘I was never satisfied.’ Until, finally, he was – and Salina has rapidly become one of Laboratorio Olfattivo’s top sellers.

Founder of BDK Parfums, perfumer David Benedek, was similarly inspired by ‘the smell of saltiness on the skin and the heat.’ For Sel d’Argent, he wanted to create ‘a very salty, musky fragrance inspired by Corsica. I needed to recreate this memory of place.’ Echoing Roberto Drago’s comments, he says: ‘It’s not easy to work with salt notes…’

We should think of salt, he says, as ‘working to boost the other notes, just as in cooking. Do you want that salty note to be literal, floral or more animalistic?’ Personally, he prefers to start with musk, ‘the kind we use is very aquatic

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Oceans, lakes, rivers, pools, even fountains can irresistibly affect our minds WALLACE J. NICHOLLS

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and watery with flowers, a touch of geranium and jasmine.

The saltiness comes with a synthetic note to represent the sea. Within Sel d’Argent it gives this silvery coating, almost, a shimmer that’s very sexy.’

Yes, let’s get waist-deep and discuss that sexiness for a second, because it’s an important distinction between the old wave of ozonic scents and this latest turning of the tide. While vintage aquatics tended to be of the Speedowearing sporty variety, more modern variations have us falling in love with the smell of our own skin. The saltiness reminds us of limbs blissfully warmed by the sun but can also tip the wink to sultry nights, mingled sweat, entangled bodies and ecstatic moments of release.

But whatever the reason for this surge of contemporary, coastal scents this summer, a time when many of us are still unable (or simply reluctant) to travel, let us roll up our trouser legs and joyously paddle our toes – or, rather, stick our noses – in this salt-licked, sun-kissed perfume pool once more, with our renewed love for watery scents reflecting a passion for the outdoors, for nature and for inviting, wide expanses of water that many have turned to for escape, over the past year-and-a-half.

Perhaps, this time around we should simply think of it as wild swimming – but in scent form…

BLUE MOOD Marine Biologist Wallace J. Nichols, author of Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do (Back Bay Books), believes that ‘oceans, lakes, rivers, pools, even fountains can irresistibly affect our minds.’ His book pools scientific research to discover exactly why this might be. ‘We are inspired by water,’ he explains, ‘hearing it, smelling it in the air, playing in it, walking next to it, painting it, surfing, swimming or fishing in it, writing about it, photographing it, and creating lasting memories along its edge.’

Even when deprived of the sight or sound of the sea, it calls to us through its elusive yet unmistakable scent. Hellen Keller referred to the waves ‘…filling the wide world with invisible sweetness.’ Nichols believes that we continue to be drawn to the water partly because we evolved from it.

Though much work still needs to be done to find out why so many of us find ourselves magnetically drawn to water, why that first glimpse (and smell) of the sea resonates so deeply and causes a childlike explosion of joy, Nichols reveals that every year, ‘more experts of all kinds are connecting the dots between brain science and our watery world.’

And he invites us to cast aside any cynicism, insisting: ‘This isn’t touchy-feely “let’s save the dolphins” conservation.

We’re talking prefrontal cortex, amygdala, evolutionary biology, neuroimaging, and neuron functioning that shows exactly why humans seem to value being near, in, on, or under the water.’

Or, perhaps, wearing an evocation of it, on our skin…

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THE PERFUMED VAGABOND

The nose has to travel Camille Goutal invites us to get sand in our shoes at her holiday getaway island, the Île de Ré – and talks about the importance of being a nomad, for her creativity

The quiet, cobbled streets of the Île de Ré

‘WHEN I TRAVEL, I’ll smell a crazy flower, or an incredible spice in a market. And almost immediately, I have an idea of what to do with that scent,’ says Camille Goutal.

‘For Songes, for instance, I smelled frangipani, on the island of Mauritius, and I had the whole scent in my mind, straight away. At other times,’ Camille continues (over the phone from Paris, where she has been based for much of the past 15 months), ‘it’s like a piece of a puzzle.

When I travel, I am like a sponge; all those memories and smells go into my brain and then the pieces of that puzzle come together, later.’

So: if you think you miss jetting off to Porto or St. Petersburg or Paxos at the 18 THE scented LETTER

drop of a (sun)hat, imagine what it’s like for Camille. ‘Of course, everyone misses travelling,’ she says. ‘But for me, it’s like food, it’s like water. One of life’s essentials. It is such an important part of how I am inspired.’

There is one place, at least, that Camille Goutal has been able to travel, at least intermittently, since the start of the pandemic. It is the glorious Île de Ré, just off the French Atlantic coast.

Just four and a half hours by train from Paris, it’s truly another world (think Cornwall-meets-New-England), where life is lived at bicycle pace: the totally flat island, with its inlets, oyster beds and sea breezes, is criss-crossed by

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I arrive, and in one second I relax

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CAMILLE GOUTAL

Camille Goutal and her horse Taini on the island

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hundreds of cycle paths. Although for Camille, her chosen means of transport would always be her beautiful horse, Taini (pictured on previous page) – ‘it means gardenia flower, in Tahitian.’

A true island insider, 46-year-old Camille’s been coming to the Île since the age of 10. (For Camille’s guide to the best island spots, see opposite.) ‘I arrive, and in one second I relax.’ Her late mother, Annick Goutal – such a talented ‘nose’, who gave her name to the Goutal brand (celebrating its 40th birthday this year) – bought a house down a teensy side-street, gradually restoring it.

Small wonder Annick loved the place: the almost preposterously pretty town of Ars-en-Ré is a perfumer’s paradise: scented plants cascading over pale limestone garden walls – jasmine, honeysuckle, roses – caressed by a whisper of a salty tang, from the marshes. Those wild marshes are where Taini grazes, when Camille isn’t around. ‘The horses have complete freedom. To be honest, if I’m not there, she really doesn’t care!’

Her mother’s house was where Camille – a photographer by profession, who was persuaded to channel her creativity into the family firm after Annick died 22 years ago – would for years spend vacations and long weekends. Then a ruin across the alleyway came up for sale, and Camille snapped it up.

Since then, it has been a retreat for her own family: ‘boyfriend’ Stéphane (she still insists in calling him that, after 25 years together), and their two daughters, Maïa and Mila, now 18 and 21.

Over the past year and a half, Camille has managed to visit on a few precious 20 THE scented LETTER

occasions, when France’s curfews and lockdowns have allowed. ‘Normally,’ she says ruefully, ‘it would be once or twice a month.’

Many years ago, the island inspired Annick Goutal to create Sables (below), evoking sun-drenched shores, aromatic flowers, that salty tang in the air, but – surprisingly, considering

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For me, travel is one of life’s essentials.

It is such an important part of how I am inspired

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her love of the island – Camille has never wanted to bottle the spirit or the scents of her much-loved retreat.

‘To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of marine fragrances,’ she admits.

Gardens and plants and forests, though: that’s different. One of her most extraordinary fragrances evoking a sense of place, in fact, is Ninfeo Mio.

‘Isabelle [Doyen, co-creator] and I had been working on something and going round and round in circles. Then a friend came into the lab and said, “I think I know a place that could inspire you – the garden of Ninfa, near Rome.”

We finished the fragrance, based on his description, and then Isabelle and I decided we’d go there, just for fun; the garden was opened specially for us. We lay down on the grass, at one point, and realised: it smelled exactly like the fragrance we’d just created – and we had our name!’

She cannot wait to be jetting off again. Although Camille and family will be found on the Île de Ré for at least part of summer 2021, she has everything crossed for an escape to the Greek islands in July. ‘I know that fragrance helped people to “travel” in their minds, during the pandemic,’ she says. ‘And yes, when I smell a rose, I am instantly somewhere else. But it’s bittersweet – because I also found it painful, because it reminded me that I couldn’t escape.’

Camille and Isabelle did manage successfully to keep creating, during the pandemic, from their Paris lab.

But while we all surely crave our own freedoms, a reason to ferret out our passports and embark on a foreign adventure, perfume-lovers have another reason to hope that the world is opened up again.

We really, really need Camille Goutal’s nose to travel again, soon.

Watch for news of new launches and celebrations to mark Goutal’s 40th anniversary, this year goutalparis.com Travel-inspired Goutal creations: Ninfeo Mio, Songes and Sables

THE PERFUMED VAGABOND

CAMILLE’S 5 FAVOURITE ESCAPES

CAMILLE GOUTAL’S ILE DE RÉ ✿ What are the island’s ‘secrets’ that you know - and tourists don’t?

Everyone goes to the market in the morning so I go just before lunch when they’re packing up, and it’s quiet. And the best beach is the Plage de la Conche. It used to be a nudist beach in the middle; it’s not, any more, but it’s still marked as one on the map, so it’s quieter. I also go to the Plage in Ars which is more for locals because it’s rocky, not sandy. ✿ What are the best ‘souvenirs’ to take home from the island? As a photographer, my summer souvenirs are usually hundreds of photos.

But nobody should miss the salted caramels, the Pineau des Charentes or the delicious jams from Les Confitures du Clocher. ✿ What’s your Spotify playlist for summer? Blondie, Lana del Rey, Abba, Ben Howard, Alicia Keys, the Beatles ­– and believe it or not, quite a lot of rap music!

✿ Best bar­ LE CAFÉ DU COMMERCE, on the port in Ars-en-Ré (+335 46 29 41 57) ✿ Best ice cream LA MARTINIÈRE, au Phare de St Clément (+335 46 43 36 42) and at Saint Martin, on the port (+335 46 09 20 99) ✿ Favourite hotel LE SÉNÉCHAL, 6 Rue Gambetta (+335 46 29 40 42) ‘My friends all love its relaxed style’ ✿ Best antique-ing ‘Look out for the brocante (antique fairs) advertised in the local papers, which happen all over the island.’

LONDON Before the pandemic I would travel to London at least once a month. I love the mix of history and modernity and I miss London so much; it is one of my favourite places on earth.

I keep discovering new places.

TOKYO Like London, it allows me to explore the city again and again. I always get lost in Tokyo, but I find other interesting things on the way and again, there is always somewhere new.

✿ Don’t miss… ‘The fireworks at Le Phare de St-Clément lighthouse, the herds of semi-wild donkeys, salted caramels - and horse-riding on the beach’ The Garden of Ninfa

✿ Favourite restaurants LA CABANE DU FIER, with a view over the salt marsh and the sunset in Le Martray (+335 46 29 64 84) LA VILLA, which has a nice garden at 20 rue de la mairie, 17590 St Clément des Baleines (+335 46 09 56 04) LE BALAOU, avenue de Nouralène, 17590 La Couarde (+335 46 29 86 07) ✿ Best oysters (the island’s oysters are said to be France’s finest) LA CABANE DU FENEAU À LOIX, surrounded by the marshes (+335 46 30 43 68)

POLYNESIA When I went there I had the feeling of being in the right place at the right moment.

And beyond that, I loved the scents: I was able to smell so many different smells, incredible flowers, the warm and damp forest, and then go down to the sea.

ITALY I went so many times with my mother, particularly to Tuscany. It is magical, timeless.

Of course, the food is good but it’s also such a tender, soft and peaceful place. (I would also recommend Ninfa, near Rome, to anyone, though – just check out when it’s open.)

Oysters – an

ÎÎÎIle de Ré delicacy

GUADELOUPE I love the mix of wild forest and sand beaches and the way it’s very laid-back and cool – a wonderfully simple lifestyle.

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FROM FIELD TO FLACON

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zest Only the

IS GOOD ENOUGH Acqua di Parma turned to a time-honoured technique to extract the precious essence of bergamot for their latest, sunlit limited edition WORDS: JO FAIRLEY

IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE who isn’t dreaming of sunshine, right now?

Whether we’ve dared to book an overseas escape, with all its associated stresses and uncertainties, or are planning to staycation – perhaps no further afield than the nearest park, since every last cottage and caravan across the land seems fully-booked – we are all craving the effect that sunlight has on our soul, lifting our spirits and soothing tense limbs.

Over the past 15 months or so, scents that make the soul soar and pierce the Groundhog Day repetitiveness of daily life have, perhaps unsurprisingly, been enjoying their moment – yes, in the sun. Time after time, I’ve spoken to perfumelovers who tell me that zingy scents have become their go-to, for their power to reboot a bad day, or jolt them out of the doldrums. (Doldrums that have now turned to mild exhaustion, as we all wonder how, in the past, we actually managed to have a social life as well as a work life.)

If there is one ingredient that can electrify our psyche, though, it is bergamot. And it is this ingredient that has been chosen by Acqua di Parma as the sun around which all other, carefully-crafted ingredients in the new Blue Mediterraneo Bergamotto di Calabria La Spugnatura revolve.

Now, ‘La Spugnatura’ is something of a mouthful, as names go. (First reaction: ‘WHAAAAT???’.) But the phrase refers to a centuries-old artisanal technique for extracting bergamot, now exclusively used by a single, fifth-generation Calabrian family business, Capua 1880, presided over

by Gianfranco Capua. The company processes 22,000 tons of bergamots, limes, lemons and sweet oranges each year – which sounds like a lot until you realise that in the case of bergamot, 200 kilos of fresh fruit typically yield just one kilo of essential oil.

‘La Spugnatura’ translates as ‘the sponging’, a hands-on process developed way back in 1700. First, the fruit is washed to avoid contamination, then halved. Then the flesh is scooped out using a special spoon called a cavatore, before the knobbly greengold rinds of bergamots are rubbed onto Mediterranean natural sponges which have been harvested from the sea around Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island.

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FROM FIELD TO FLACON

Once the sponges have absorbed all the tangy oil, the sponges are then squeezed into terracotta pots, which collect its precious bounty. The sponging can only be done by hand, in contrast to the modern mechanical technique, which deploys a peeler machine. La spugnatura is a craft which takes years to perfect, but the resulting oil, explains Signor Capua, ‘is very different to what we make in a big industrial process. With the sponge, we have the chance to collect exclusively the oil that is contained in the peel.’

Pure peel, not an atom of pith: this is bergamot in its most intense, precious and purest form – and it is this particular quality of bergamot oil which inspired Acqua di Parma to offer

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With the sponge, we have the chance to collect exclusively the oil that is contained in the peel

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GIANFRANCO CAPUA

perfume-lovers a limited edition run of one of their bestsellers (zestsellers, perhaps?), within their transportive Blue Mediterraneo collection.

The warm, windy, mineral-rich microclimate of Reggio Calabria offers the perfect growing conditions for bergamot, producing about a quarter of Italy’s citrus fruit, and over 90% of the world’s bergamots (Latin name: Citrus bergamia).

The fruit is thought originally to have been a hybrid of bitter oranges and lemons. Used since the 19th Century to add a refreshing tang to black China tea, enjoyed as Earl Grey (said to have been named after the second Earl Grey of Howick, Britain’s prime minister from 1830-1834), mass market tea brands more often use bergamot flavouring, nowadays. But in perfumery, no synthetic can mimic bergmot’s brightness. Fascinatingly, it also has powerful antiseptic and antibacterial qualities, and is used in hospitals all over the world to combat superbugs and post-operative infection, as well as in dentistry.

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Botanist Johann Christoph Volkamer wrote about bergamot, in 1708: ‘Gloria limonum et fructus inter omnes nobilissimus’ – which translates as ‘the glory of the most noble of all the lemon fruits’. As a perfume note, though, it was first popularised at around the same time by Jean Marie Farina, creator of the very first eau de Cologne – taking its name from the German city he’d moved to from Italy.

Neroli may be the prime constituent of a Cologne, but it is bergamot that polishes it, making a fragrance dazzle.

As Farina observed, of his eau de Cologne: ‘This perfume refreshes me and stimulates both my senses and imagination.’ And 300 years later, could anyone nail its mood-lifting power any better than that description?

This painstaking technique for bergamot extraction, however, is

Left: the la spugnaturra process, from scraping out the flesh to rubbing the halved bergamots with a natural sponge, resulting in the purest, brightest bergamot oil, bottom left

yet another example of how very precarious the future of the perfume industry is – and a reminder of how important it is to safeguard precious materials like bergamot. How extraordinary to think that perfumelovers depend on but a single factory for our continued enjoyment of this citrus treasure – but let us hope that this year’s limited edition is so successful that AdP will be back for more of la spugnatura, for 2022.

In which case, if travel gets any easier between now and November – the picking runs from then until late February – you can bet we’ll be on our knees begging Acqua di Parma for a fly-on-the-wall visit, to see (or more accurately smell) this near-extinct process. As it is? We’ll happily make do with unstoppering an exquisitely decorated bottle of Bergamotto di Calabria La Spugnatura, closing our eyes – and imagining ourselves basking in the luminous, sun-drenched bergamot orchards of Calabria.

Same blissful, uplifting feeling.

None of the tedious airport queues. £124 for 100ml eau de toilette acquadiparma.com

Bottling Bergamot To showcase this special edition, Acqua di Parma have created their very first porcelain bottle – an artisan masterpiece truly worthy of the contents. The porcelain is hand-poured into a mould in the Art Deco shape of the signature AdP bottle, rotated to ensure the clay mixture coats the sides, then turned upside-down to remove any excess. After drying for 30-40 minutes, it is removed from the mould, before an artisan buffs away any imperfections to create the perfect, smooth surface.

By hand, once again, it is dipped in a glaze bath, then baked for eight hours, before being adorned with the striking design of golden bergamot fruits and their white and gilded reflections, on an inky blue background. Then it’s back in the kiln again, for a second baking.

And in keeping with Acqua di Parma’s commitment to sustainability, this masterpiece of craftsmanship can be refilled at Acqua di Parma boutiques. Cheering news, because who’d want to throw something as beautiful as this away?

A CITRUSY READ If you’re fascinated to read more about Italy’s citrus fruits, bag a copy of The Land Where Lemons Grow – The Story of Italy and Its Citrus Fruit, by Helena Attlee, £9.99 (Penguin). A fascinating exploration of that country’s zestful bounty, its almost tangibly lemonscented pages are truly wanderlust-inspiring.

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The use of scented ‘attar’ oils is a strong fragrance trend. But just why are ancient, mindful methods of perfuming ourselves proving so popular? SUZY NIGHTINGALE reports

Sacred

UP AND ATTAR

scent rituals

AT TIMES OF TROUBLE, people have always turned to ritual for consolation. Which explains, perhaps, why many of us have found ourselves over the past year and a half drawn to quietly contemplative scents, at the polar opposite end of the perfume spectrum from shoulderpads-in-abottle or va-va-voom, ready-to-party fragrances. These blends – in the form of perfume oils – instead offer moments of meditation that stay close to the skin.

This style of perfumery dates back to the 1500s and the Mughal emperors of India [see chef Pratap Chahal’s column on page 41 for more about those fascinating figures], and they are often referred to as ‘attars’.

The etymology of this term stems from ‘ittar’ – the Arabic word for perfume or ‘sweet fragrance’. These were used by the aristocracy to scent their skin, hair and clothes, but also featured prominently in food and sacred ceremonies, for the healing and cleansing properties they were believed to contain.

These are intense and concentrated scents – but you’d be wrong to assume that these will announce your presence at 20 paces. ‘Attars don’t necessarily land on the skin with an impactful whomp, as an eau de parfum might,’ says perfumer Nancy Meiland, whose recently-launched GAIA attar has proved a huge hit. ‘They tend to be worn closely and mingle on your skin in warm “nuzzles” that you pick up throughout the day.’ The diffusion of these scents is hushed, whispering intriguingly yet also lingering on skin.

Nancy explains that she felt ‘intuitively drawn’ to creating her first attar during the early days of the pandemic. ‘GAIA’s ultra-soothing concentrated blend of Calabrian bergamot, nutmeg and jasmine sambac is centred around blue lotus absolute, which traditionally is seen as “a flower that can open your mind and is

“

powerfully protective during times of transformation.”’

Nancy confides that for her, personally, smelling the attar has ‘held my hand through difficult times, so I wanted to bring it to a wider audience.’ Atlas cedar and New Caledonian sandalwood are also infused in the organic jojoba oil base, which glides onto skin from the rollerball bottle onto pulse-points, to be breathed, when stress levels rise.

This method of application also holds special meaning, for Nancy.

Preferring to gently roll the scent on her clavicle, as well as the usual pulse points, ‘there is a feeling of ritual in the application,’ she smiles, ‘which I find both beguiling and nourishing.’ Much of the feedback from those who’ve purchased the attar references its soothing

The gentle massage involved in the application of an attar feels like a fragrant act of self-kindness

PHOTO: AMAN

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“

The application feels like a golden thread of balsam, soothing the skin and the senses while bringing warmth and serenity to the wearer NANCY MEILAND

Many GAIAlovers report using it as a meditation oil

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UP AND ATTAR

Sussex-based perfumer Nancy Meiland

nature. ‘Many GAIA-lovers use it as a meditation oil on the yoga mat, as part of their daily practice or before sleep,’ Nancy says.

She had long wanted to experiment with the process involved in making attars the traditional way. In northeast India’s Ganges region, artisans in the ancient city of Kannauj (pronounced kunh-nowj) still craft oil-based botanical attars using centuries-old distillation and maturation methods. Unlike modern scents, which have alcohol as a carrier, attars use sandalwood oil, so the scents linger on the skin not for hours, but days.

A recent edition of National Geographic shared a story on Kannauj’s fascinating attar production with the magazine’s global readership – but we were already aware of this scented city’s heaven-scented attar production, through contributor Amanda Carr’s piece, ‘The Scents of India’ (published in The Scented Letter ‘Solar Flair’ edition/2019), in which she also shared the legend of how the first attar was created.

While Nur Jahan – the twentieth, ‘and apparently favourite’, wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir – was trying to catch the attention of her busy husband, it is said that she filled the palace fountains with rose petals. As the tale goes, Noor ‘…noticed an oily, scented residue left by the flowers once the sun warmed the pools. This inspired further experimentation with local flowers and plants, kickstarting a busy distillation industry that has endured for 400 years, and a country-wide attar addiction.’

One of the most special and intriguing attars still produced in Kannauj today, however, is mitti, which captures the scent of the monsoon. Having not only observed production of the city’s attars, but smelled them with her own nose, I asked Amanda to describe this utterly unique scent. ‘It’s the aroma released from the baked earth as the first refreshing drops of rain soak through the cracked terracotta-coloured mud,’ she says. ‘That produces bacteria which give off a chemical (geosmin) that we all recognise as the smell of rain hitting the ground; perfumers refer to it as petrichor.’

ANCIENT SCENT RITUALS AROUND THE WORLD

● Ancient Egyptians believed perfumes conveyed messages to the gods and ensured safe passage to the afterlife. They used essentials oils of thyme, lavender, peppermint and rose, among many others, in the process of mumification. They also burned kyphi incense (still popular today), using ingredients like myrrh, sweet rush, wine, honey, raisins, resin and juniper. ● In the Middle East, the tradition of bakhoor is still practiced – chips of oudh soaked in fragrant oils, sometimes mixed with resin and ambergris, burned on coal discs and passed among guests as a sign of hospitality. Standing over the censer and allowing the scented smoke to infuse one’s clothing is refreshing, deodorising and was believed to dismiss evil spirits. ● During the winter solstice in Japan, a scented ritual using fragrant yuzu still takes place, dating back to the Edo period (1603–1868). The fruits are floated in hot baths, the steam releasing the precious and spiritreviving oils that lie just beneath their skin. Bathers are encouraged to wallow within their intense, regenerating aroma, the bright citrus scent a celebration of the sun. ● Greek Orthodox weddings have for centuries included fragrant crowns decorated and worn by the bride and groom. Scented white flowers such as jasmine and orange blossom are entwined with evergreen leaves to boost fertility, while aromatic herbs like oregano (representing joy) are woven throughout.

Egyptians conveyed messages to the gods, through smoke

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Striking oils An increasing number of fragrance houses now offer intensely perfume oils alongside their contemporary fragrance concentrations. Apply to skin still damp from the shower, or delicately dab on pulse points, and you’ll find the scent still lingering, some hours later. Or use them to add tenacity to other perfumes, creating unique blends that cling to skin and offer a sublime sillage

● Strangelove – from the creative trio of perfumer Christophe Laudamiel, supermodel Helena Christensen and naturals expert Elizabeth Gaynes – put thoroughly sophisticated (and utterly addictive) fragrance oils at the very heart of their collection.

We urge you to nuzzle into this euphoric Indian champaca and creamy gardenia enfleurage for a sultry scent ritual,

with the necklace a nod to traditional ways of carrying precious perfume about the body.

Strangelove lostinflowers Perfume Oil Necklace £195 for 1.25ml harrods.com ● If your summer scents perhaps lack depth, add interest with this deliciously fragrant oil.

An unexpected mix of spice-infused bergamot and plum with a ‘your30 THE scented LETTER

skin-but-so-much-better’, creamy leather dry-down, the warm tingle of amber then simmers for hours.

The rollerball bottle makes this especially useful for travelling (if you’re lucky enough!) or touching up your scent on the go.

Malin & Goetz Dark Rum Perfume Oil £25 for 9ml malinandgoetz.co.uk ● Oud du Bois fuse ancient Arabic traditions with Parisian style in their clickable ‘perfume pen’, and stroking on a

fragrant OdB balm is a wonderfully sensual way to ‘paint’ the skin with scent. Here, oudh adds a beguiling richness to almost banana-like ylang ylang and juicy pineapple, the headier heart of jasmine and orange blossom segueing to a silky vanilla musk base.

Fragrance du Bois Oud Jaune Intense Fragrance Pen £39 for 3ml eau de parfum ab-presents.co.uk

● Aman now offer fragrant rituals alongside their luxurious hotels, which are described as ‘intimate sanctuaries… a nurturing space for body, mind and spirit.’

We can now recreate the Aman experience at home via their rollerballs – here, featuring Palo Santo, a wonderfully earthy, deeply grounding ingredient used for thousands of years in

South American shamanic ceremonies, blended with sandalwood, another anciently soothing and spiritual scent ingredient, to provide inner strength and clarity of mind. Āman Purifying Pulse Point Remedy £40 for 10ml perfume oil shop.aman.com ● Christopher Yu and Laurent Delafon were inspired to create their Ostens collection by the incredible portfolio of naturals from LMR Naturals.

Each eau de parfum comes with a ‘Préparation Oil’ which you can layer or enjoy alone. Any and every fragrance in the Ostens portfolio of scents is gorgeous in its own right, but when layered in this way, become eat-yourown-arm divine.

Ostens Rose Oil Isparta £175 for 50ml eau de parfum + complimentary perfume oil ostens.com

UP AND ATTAR

Traditional attar production in Kannauj, in India

“

The mitti attar is distilled by the oil producers ‘by making up sun-dried discs of their local mud, exactly as they would use rose petals or jasmine flowers,’ Amanda explains. Incredibly, ‘recycled or broken locally made terracotta pots and plates’ are thrown into the mix before the scent is distilled.

The resulting attar is ‘a hot, mineral slick of a scent,’ she continues, ‘less a fragrance and more an emotion. It’s the memory of relief as tense rain clouds boil over onto baked terrain and offer up vibrant, earthy freshness in a kind of scented euphoric cloud.’ Amanda turns to her mitti attar regularly. ‘Dabbing it on my skin back in cold, grey London,’ she says, ‘it smells like wet stones, with a tang of petrol and the metallic newness of the insides of new cars. It’s very grounding, and I use it as a steady base for more ethereal eau de parfums to hold onto.’

I myself am lucky enough to have a little bottle of gulab (Indian rose) attar that Amanda gave me from the Saini Blends distillery she visited. I cannot tell you the utter bliss it has been to wear, and how grounding it’s proved during moments of emotional upheaval. A soft but fully

enveloping cloud of powdery, fruity petals that almost smells like Turkish Delight sprinkled with icing sugar, it has given me much comfort. But the popularity for wearing attars isn’t only the hushed nature of these scents.

The ritualistic process of stroking on scent and anointing our bodies with attars has also become a way of living mindfully. The gentle massage involved in the application of an attar feels like a fragrant act of self-kindness.

‘Within a global scene of rapid transformation,’ Nancy Meiland agrees, ‘the application of the attar feels like a golden thread of balsam, soothing the skin and the senses while bringing warmth and serenity to the wearer.’

These traditionally-inspired ways of using fragrance have offered a unique way of grounding us in moments of pandemic panic. They invite us to sniff and be reminded of the wider world of places we want to travel to and explore one day, when we can dare dream of such things again. But above all, perhaps, they remind us of the importance of taking time, for our own wellbeing, to stop and smell the sandalwood, the blue lotus – and, of course, the roses.

The gentle massage involved in the application of an attar feels like a fragrant act of self-kindness

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A DAY IN A (FRAGRANT) LIFE

The latest in our series exploring the working lives of perfumers, renowned nose Fabrice Pellegrin marks the launch of his latest creation – Diesel Sound of the Brave – by inviting SUZY NIGHTINGALE into his Paris lab (albeit virtually)

F

ABRICE PELLEGRIN’s father was a perfumer, in Grasse, his grandmother a jasmine picker, and his grandfather a supplier of natural ingredients – so is it any surprise that he became a perfumer? First apprenticed at his father’s side, Pellegrin went on to join Robertet, the Grasse-based house renowned for their work with natural ingredients. He joined Firmenich in 2008, where clients have been known known to refer to Pellegrin, who is now recognised as one of the world’s leading perfumers, as their ‘lucky star’. In 2017 he was honoured as ‘Perfumer of the Year’ by France’s Cosmétique magazine, recognising his mastery of natural ingredients and his passion for Grasse’s unique perfumery heritage.

How does your day start?

In the morning, when I am embarking on a new project, the very first thing I do is to try and understand the DNA of the brand whose fragrance I’m working on, the character and the emotions to be portrayed. Then for the creation, I will start looking for ideas and inspiration that will create the identity of the fragrance. And the way I create is to always start with the raw material, which, for me, is always natural. My mantra is that natural ingredients always bring poetry to a fragrance.

“

How do you compose your fragrances?

It’s a brain thing for me, when I’m composing. It all happens in my head, first. That’s how I’ve always worked, and only later do I work on the computer. The way it happens most of the time is that I’ve got ideas coming to my mind, then my job is to turn those ideas into the actual fragrance – it’s like a form of language translation, going from what’s inside my head to actuality.

Generally speaking, the job of a perfumer is a very lonely one, and I don’t usually have assistants working closely with me; the way I work is really quite solitary. However, for the creation of Diesel Sound of the Brave, we worked in really close connection with the marketing teams, so this was a different experience for me.

Where do you draw your inspirations?

I like to be inspired by nature, but most of the time I stay in the office. For that reason, something that’s absolutely vital to me is getting away.

I divide my time between Paris and Grasse, in the South of France, which is where I’m originally from. I need to go back there regularly to recharge my creative batteries, and I do this by seeing the specific quality of light that’s there, the blue of the sea. I find these things touch me deeply, and whenever I’m creating, having this escape really helps me.

My day never ends. I am always thinking of fragrances; perfume is my life

Where do you work?

Usually, I am tied to my desk in the office in Paris, but I’m really lucky in that the location is very sunny and overlooks a nice garden, and even looking out of the window at that helps with the creative dimension of my work.

How does your day break down?

My nose is always sharp. There isn’t a specific time of day I prefer working, I could work at day or night, it depends when the inspiration comes, basically. It can strike at any time.

How many fragrances might you be working on at any one time?

I work on several projects at the same time – that is quite normal for a perfumer. Currently these are fewer than they would otherwise normally be, because of the pandemic, which has slowed the pace of launches and put many projects on hold. But this does have an upside, in that it means that I can dedicate more time to each project.

32 THE scented LETTER

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Do you break for lunch?

I actually never eat lunch (just breakfast and dinner), so I don’t usually take a break. I’m often working, or every now and then, I allow myself the time to take a walk around Paris.

When does the working day end, for you?

My day never ends. I am always thinking of fragrances; perfume is my life.

Do you need to be in a particular mood, to create?

I don’t have to be in a particular mood, no; I find can create however I am feeling – although I have to say that I don’t think creating when you are angry is a good idea! Nothing good can come out of that. Personally, I always try to put myself in the shoes of the person who will be smelling the fragrance, and the emotion you should try to transmit is of wellbeing, something positive. There’s no positive creation without pleasure, for sure.

A WORKING NOSE

Fabrice Pellegrin

Pellegrin creations include Parfums de Marly Safanad

Diesel Sound of the Brave

Maison Martin Margiela Replica Tea Escape

Bison grass, which features in Diesel Sound of the Brave, above

Mugler Miroir, Miroir: Dis-Mois, Miroir

Diptyque Do Son

scentedPrivé LETTER 24 THEArmani Vert Malachite

Azzaro Wanted Eau de Toilette

Maison Lancôme Ôud Bouquet

A DAY IN A (FRAGRANT) LIFE

How long does it take from concept to finished fragrance, in general?

It varies. I think what takes longest is when you’re trying to make sure you’re being original. When you create a fragrance, as an artist you never want to repeat something you’ve done before; you always strive for something new.

It’s a very important dimension in my work.

Is a moodboard helpful to you?

The mapping goes on in my head, so I don’t need an actual moodboard, but I do try to convey moods through my creations. Generally, when I create any type of fragrance, what I try to share is this notion of travelling and escaping.

Especially in today’s world, we need to dream and have this getaway, especially when we can’t travel easily! For Diesel Sound of the Brave, I wanted to bring a feeling of newness, so I used a note of bison grass, but I also went for something lively and dynamic through the use of aromatic notes, and lastly something sensual in the amber of the base. The idea for the bison grass started when I was out drinking with friends, and we were drinking vodka. I noticed the taste was really interesting and knew I wanted to use this in a fragrance. Bison grass doesn’t exist in the perfume world, so it’s a notion I had to translate into reality.

For this, I went and got some actual bison grass, so I could touch it as well as smell it and imagine what kind of fragrance could come out of it.

The image I see in my head when I smell Sound of the Brave is a vista of wide-open spaces, where nature is very tidy somehow but super-green, and you’re immersed in what you’re seeing, in the smells carried on the wind.

There’s also a cocooning effect, which brings a lot of wellbeing in the fragrance. That’s something I really wanted to convey here. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s some kind of aromatherapy or anything like that – it remains a fine fragrance with a complex architecture – but I really hope it makes you feel good!

“

The image I see in my head when I smell Sound of the Brave is a vista of wideopen spaces

What is the most number of modifications you’ve ever had to do, on a fragrance? And the least?

On a project that lasted many years, for a well-known brand, with a long development time, I worked on more than 1,500 modifications. For a niche brand, who made a clear decision to have a strong signature with few reworks, two mods.

How many ingredients do you work with?

At Firmenich, our palette includes over 1500 raw materials, synthetic and natural. Over the years, I’ve built a personal palette with about 300 ingredients. I work with all of these in my head, and my assistants have access to them every day. But to me, nothing is more perfect than nature itself. In the perfumery industry, we often try to copy it

”

but the subtle facets of nature offer so many sophisticated details that the results are always far away from the original. Colours, scents, textures and tonalities… Nature is stunningly refined and deeply powerful. This is the very essence of perfection. This is the reason why I am so much in love with natural ingredients.

How much time do you spend on creating your own accords, for future use?

As perfumers, every fragrance we create is inspired by an idea we had during the day or the week. Often these ideas come unexpectedly, and we steal 15 minutes here or there to work on them. Altogether, it adds up to one or two hours a day that I work on my own ideas.

Do you listen to music while you work?

Actually, the very first thing I do when I arrive in the office, after opening the door, is immediately to put on my music.

I might be listening to anything, any genre; it depends on my mood or what I’m creating. I like a bit of everything, but I know that it definitely helps me to create my fragrances.

I think you have to bear in mind that there is a very strong connection between fragrance and music, because there’s no specific vocabulary for scent. So many of the words for fragrance are musically based. We talk of ‘notes’ and ‘harmony’, ‘accords’ and ‘tones.’ There’s a strong emotional connection between the two – when we listen to music, we instinctively feel something. And I certainly hope my fragrances also convey emotion.

Diesel Sound of the Brave is priced £50 for 50ml eau de toilette

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A GLASS ACT

Going, going, gone (around the globe!)

On 1st May 2021, yet another collection of breathtaking bottles went under the hammer – virtually, not literally – at the annual Perfume Bottles Auction WORDS: SUZY NIGHTINGALE

OUR JAWS collectively hit the floor when we opened this year’s Perfume Bottles Auction catalogue. And we now invite you to feast your eyes on some of its lust-worthy listings.

Since 1979, organiser and founder of the auction, Ken Leach (right), has passionately sought ‘to create public and corporate awareness of the artistry to be found in vintage perfume presentation.’ His New York antique shop’s show-stopping merchandise has inspired countless glass companies, package designers and celebrity perfumers, before ultimately entering the collections of perfume bottle enthusiasts worldwide.

In this second year of the pandemic, the auction was again held online, and the circumstances made sourcing items even more challenging than usual. ‘I’ve had to do a lot of FaceTime calls,’ Ken Leach reflects, ‘and even record instructional videos to teach consignors how to safely pack and ship bottles to me!’

However, says Mr. Leach, although he’s not been able to travel to view collections in-person, ‘fate smiled and among this year’s consignments are some of the rarest and most unusual items I’ve seen.’ Serendipitously for ‘The Perfumed Vagabond’ issue of The Scented Letter, a travel theme ran through this scented auction, with historic bottles inspired by exotic animals, iconic landmarks and – yes – even a suitcase (top right).

Previously, Mr. Leach has ‘sourced bottles from a hilltop château in Belgium, and from an underground 36 THE scented LETTER

ABOVE: Ken Leach, with some of this year’s extraordinary auction lots

cave in Mexico. I never quite know where I’m going, but am always happy I’ve been.’ Having dealt in perfume bottles for nearly 50 years, he marvels that ‘I’ve found bottles just about anywhere I’ve been.’ A favourite memory of successful scent-bottlesleuthing was the time when, idly killing time before heading to the airport in Paris, he came across ‘a spectacular 1920s Czechoslovakian Hoffmann perfume bottle with Austrian decoration by Turret & Bardach, that was sitting in a shop merely as decoration.’

He maintains that he doesn’t form attachments to the bottles assembled for the auction. (We’re not sure we’d be capable of such restraint.) He does, however, feel a thrill of excitement, especially with ‘bottles that I’ve never seen in real life, or never knew existed. In this auction we have many in that category; foremost is the

Baccarat “Osiris” on our catalogue cover’. (Catalogue pictured below.)

When pressed as to why he thinks perfume bottles still hold so much allure for us, Mr. Leach says: ‘I don’t want to sound trite, but there truly is a message in each bottle; they carry history and romance.’ And his advice to those of us wishing to start a collection? ‘You never go wrong with quality. Choose a fine glassmaker or perfume house you admire and build from there.’

2021’s line-up of bottles really does reflect the role of travel in fragrance, emphasising how perfume has always been linked to journeys. As new methods of transport opened up, for the scented vagabond, the world became their oyster, with flacons offered to the new breed of holidaygoers as scented souvenirs. Other bottles that we delightedly showcase here were clearly inspired by the growing lust for fragrances evoking far-flung climes.

And until we holiday again, we’ll swoon over these, ourselves…

The catalogue – a collector’s item in its own right – is available for $85 (International Priority Mail) or $60 (US Priority Mail) from the address below. All auction lots are available to view via a link from perfumebottlesauction.com

$343.75

or... ld f

$6,600

So

So

or... ld f

1920s Hetra elephant bottle

Ricksecker Suitcase Presentation

or... ld f

So

$312.50

or... ld f

$15,600 Terre de Retz Pirate Ship bottle

or... ld f

$2,250

So

So

Japanese Scene bottle, from 1940s

Philadelphia Novelty & Perfume Co. Superba Hot Air Balloon Bottle from 1892

So

A GLASS ACT

or... ld f

$39,000

Heinrich Hoffmann Buddha bottle, from 1920s

“ 38 THE scented LETTER

There truly is a message in each bottle; they carry history and romance KEN LEACH

”

So

or... ld f

or... ld f

So

$1,000

$1,250

Asian fanciful elephant bottle from 1920s

or... ld f

So

So

$750

or... ld f

Hetra kangaroo bottle

$4,800

So

or... ld f

$3,000 Rosine Aladin bottle, from 1919

So

B. Nessler Le Réveil de L’Égypte

or... ld f

$1,188 Two wooden obelisk perfume cases

Akron Extract Co. Sphinx Perfumes English Violet, from 1900s

An ode to Dubai, to its spirit and essence.

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scented LETTER

XX

THE FRAGRANT FOODIE

THE SCENT OF FLAVOUR PRATAP CHAHAL explores the fascinating, fragrant Mughal art of using perfume in food

THE

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41

THE FRAGRANT FOODIE

42 THE scented LETTER

PANEER NARANJ

SERVES 4

DUMPLINGS 250g paneer, grated

1 teaspoon kewda/screwpine water (available at all Indian grocery stores and many supermarkets) 1 teaspoon salt

150g potatoes, boiled whole, chilled and grated

½ teaspoon turmeric

40g ground almonds

¼ teaspoon garam masala

35g pistachios, chopped 25g raisins 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon green cardamom, ground ½ teaspoon ground black pepper ½ teaspoon gram flour, lightly toasted in a pan 3 cloves, ground A pinch of ground asafoetida CURRY Spice paste: 1 onion, sliced 1 tablespoon ghee ½ teaspoon black pepper ½ teaspoon cashews Three cloves Around a centimetre of cinnamon stick Two green cardamom pods One black cardamom pod ½ cup natural yoghurt whisked with ½ tablespoon gram flour 300ml single cream ½ tablespoon fennel seed, ground ½ tablespoon coriander seed, ground 1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped 1 teaspoon jaggery or soft brown sugar 1 teaspoon deggi mirch chilli powder (or any mild chilli powder)

½ teaspoon saffron strands

METHOD l To make the dumplings, mix and knead all the ingredients until thoroughly combined. Divide the mix into 10-12 sections and shape into balls, making sure to squeeze and pack the mix as you shape them. Chill the dumplings for an hour before deep frying them until golden. Drain on kitchen paper and reserve. l To make the spice paste, heat the ghee in a pan and add the whole spices listed in the spice paste section. When they start to crackle, add the onion and fry until the onion is browned. Add the ginger, turmeric and yoghurt and cook for a further five minutes, stirring constantly. Add the deggi mirch/chilli powder, single cream, sugar, salt, saffron, fennel, coriander, and a splash of water. Bring the mix to a gentle simmer and then blend until you get a smooth sauce. Strain the sauce through a sieve and return to the pan. Add the garam masala and kewda water. Before serving, add the fried dumplings to the sauce and gently warm through.

Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Finish with a squeeze of lime and freshly chopped coriander.

thathungrychef.com

I WANT YOU to close your eyes and take a deep breath. Now, imagine a garden, bursting with the vibrant colours of the Damask rose. Take another deep breath as the intoxicating sweet and floral aroma imbues your soul, whisking you back in time 500 years to the time of Nur Jahan, the queen of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. The queen, for whom the Taj Mahal was built, stood in this rose garden and upon being overcome by the heady aroma of the roses, requested her physician to concoct a sherbet so that she could savour this ethereal aroma whenever she wished.

The scent legacy of the grand Mughal Empire is as timeless and majestic as their cuisine – and indeed, the two are utterly interwoven. Long before the advent of technology, Mughal kitchens perfected the art of slow and intricate cooking that reflected the finest produce across the empire – always, a delight for the nose as well as the palate.

There are accounts of rice being boiled in rose water before adding spices, jasmine flowers and copious amounts of silver leaf to make the showstopping biryanis and pulaos, while whole game birds would be coated in a sandalwood paste and Fuller’s Earth to clean and scent them before marinating further with saffron, lime and spices. While the queens bathed in rose water, the courtesans adorned their necks with bejewelled vials of gold and silver, filled with exotic attars.

The third Mughal Emperor, Akbar the Great (16th Century) was known to be a connoisseur of fine food with Turkish, Persian and Indian flavours gracing his table. (He is pictured on the previous page.) Akbar even had a department in his court responsible for developing scents especially for culinary purposes. In deference to his various Hindu queens, he became a quasi-vegetarian and his alliances saw many regional influences work their way into the palace kitchens such as Paneer Naranj – a paneer kofta with nuts and spices bathed in a rich onion and yoghurt gravy scented with saffron and screwpine, from a palm-like plant.

The Portuguese had, by then, introduced potatoes and chilli to the Indian culinary spectrum and both find their way into this recipe, one of my favourite vegetarian dishes from the Mughal repertoire. Here, the richness of the kofta with its delicate fragrance of cardamom and cloves is accentuated by a cashew gravy bursting with saffron and brightened with a note of screwpine (also known as kewra). A floral water obtained from the production of screwpine attar, kewra is reminiscent of rose, hyacinth and honey with a sparkling crispness – and if you’ve an Indian grocery nearby, it’s easy to find.

Best eaten with rice, you can add a whiff of decadence by adding a splash of rose water to the rice during cooking. And then, may I suggest you close your eyes once more, to truly savour a dish that teases the tastebuds, and delights your nose.

Opening page: Akbar the Great. Left: Paneer Naranj Main picture: Taj Mahal.

Below right: the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II

“

There are accounts of rice being boiled in rose water before adding spices, jasmine flowers and of silver leaf to make biryanis

”

ASK UNCLE JAMES

the perfumed agony uncle

SUMMER SCENT DILEMMAS

© Masheter Movie Archive / Alamy Stock Photo

Our ‘Uncle James’, better known as JAMES CRAVEN – Jasmine Award-winning writer, scent archivist and fragrance retail expert – answers your seasonal scent conundrums

44 THE scented LETTER

Rita Hayworth soaking up the Holllywood sun

Q. As we’re unlikely to go abroad this year, what are some notes to look for in a fragrance that feel like a holiday in a bottle?

A. Perfume is a spell which can whisk you away as on a magic carpet, so pick a fragrance that’s something of an adventure in itself. Back in the long-lost days of Duty Free shopping it was fun to wave your boarding pass at a couple of new scents to explore in foreign parts. So remember that, and branch out a little. Try a perfume family or an ingredient you have always fancied but never quite dared to wear. Reverse your usual tastes. Take a chance on a holiday romance with fragrance – even if it’s a staycation.

Avoid perfumes that are too grand and stately; make friends with the fantastical and frivolous. Conjure up mirages of tropical heat with heady jungle florals oozing gardenia, tuberose, frangipani and ylang ylang.

There is a world of fragrances inspired by shimmering sands – look for ones described as ‘solar’, which conjure up that sun-drenched feeling, in a bottle. Many wonderful escapist fragrances evoke the atmosphere of foreign parts, meanwhile; Cologne-style scents can sketch la dolce vita in perfume: herb gardens, baking terraces, lemon groves. Try gourmand scents which feature succulent accords such as plum, peach or pineapple, or those that fizz with alcoholic notes like rum. A good holiday scent makes you laugh, makes you sexy and – in lieu of travel – broadens the mind.

Q: How can I make fragrance last longer on my skin in hot weather? I’ve heard that spraying it in your hair can make it last longer, but won’t that just dry my hair out?

A. Be sure to moisturise well and frequently; the answer lies in hydration. Fragrance and over-dry skin are incompatible: perfume needs oils to cling to.

You can use a fragrance-free lotion before applying perfume, or you can choose a scent that has a matching body cream; wear that on its own or layer assiduously with teamed lotion, oil, gel, deodorant etc. After showering, wait a while before using fragrance in order to give the skin time return to its normal temperature and moisture level.

And because hair is porous, it’s also an excellent conductor of scent. There is a multiplicity of luxury hair mists now on the market, all designed to protect and nourish your hair besides scenting it. Or copy Ava Gardner and Rita Hayworth in the old movies: dab perfume on your throat and lightly run your scented fingers through your hair.

Q. When you’re layering perfume, should you start with lighter or heavier notes? Or does this depend on the time of year?

A. Layering or combining different perfumes can be highly satisfying and inventive. You are effectively creating a unique personalised fragrance. There are no hard and fast rules in perfume; you must always do what suits your own nose, skin chemistry and temperament. For most people it works best to apply the stronger perfume concentrations first and then top up with the lighter; the heavier notes such as woods, resins, spices, amber will provide a slowly evolving tenacious base.

The brilliant dancing top notes of (say) a Cologne – such as citrus, leafy, delicate florals – are more volatile and evaporate much quicker, especially in hot weather; if you apply a Cologne first, you may find the sparkle is too ephemeral.

But by all means experiment: it’s the way forward and it’s fun. My only caution would be to advise no more than a maximum of three perfumes at any one time: just two is probably better for beginners.

Try one fairly simple fragrance and one more complex together and away you go!

Q. Is it true you should keep perfumes in the fridge, in summer?

Also, the room I have them in now gets quite sunny and I do like some bottles on display.

Must I put *everything* back in the box?

A. Let’s start with that sunny room: I’m afraid it won’t do. You should not have any perfume bottles on show: not even opaque or boxed ones. I know this is a tiresome boring thing to hear but the more that scent is exposed to light and heat the faster it will begin to disintegrate. So, please! Keep everything in a deep drawer or dark cupboard. Here’s an idea : why not curate a choice collection of decorative empty bottles, and keep them on your dressing table? I do sometimes use my fridge for storage – roses rambling among the rosé! - but it’s by no means essential. It does impart a lovely sensuous and refreshing feeling of cool on a hot day, though. However, be careful not to have the fridge too cold for perfume, which may inhibit the expansion of scent. Aim for an average wine cooler temperature and you’ll be fine.

Q. Is it true you shouldn’t wear perfume on your skin in sunny weather?

A. A light application of perfume on an averagely sunny day is fine, but summer sunlight can be powerful, even on a dull, overcast day. This can react adversely with perfume oils, both natural and synthetic, contributing to burning, irritation, reddening, rashes and discoloured patches of skin.

You can still enjoy fragrance to the max. Lightly spritz clothing, sun hat, beach bag. Spray a favourite scent on a filmy scarf and let the sillage float on the breeze. And the subtle fragrances of delicious soap, shampoo, sun cream and salt have their own magic.

Do you really need perfume on the beach? Wait for sundown and then allow yourself to go wild!

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PERFUME IS AN ADDICTION

#sharemystash

ALICE DU PARCQ The Jasmine Award-winning writer, star of Instagram ‘Desert Island Spritz’ videos and all-round scent obsessive comes out of her (bright blue) closet for JO FAIRLEY

PHOTOS: JO FAIRLEY

IN A CORNER OF SOUTH-WEST LONDON sits every perfume-lover’s wildest fantasy. Shelf upon shelf of classic scents, niche fragrances – and more than 650 perfume bottles (including tiny vials) – it is Alice du Parcq’s reference library, helping to shape and inform the writing and broadcasting that have made her one of the UK’s leading fragrance writers.

The cupboard sits in her decidedly dinky but beautifullywallpapered office on the first floor of a busy family home where Alice lives with her pathologist husband John and two young daughters, Poppy and Belle. ‘It had everything but the kitchen sink in there,’ Alice explains. ‘Mountains of press releases, a Coty megaphone, Chanel coffee cups (from a launch), countless bottles. I’d close the door and worry that it was all going to come crashing down, in the night.’

46 THE scented LETTER

Alice’s candle stash is pretty impressive, too

So earlier this year, as documented step-by-step on her Instagram, Alice gave the cupboard a dramatic makeover, transforming it from boring beige to an eye-popping electric blue reminiscent of Yves Saint Laurent’s Majorelle Gardens, in Marrakech, or perhaps an Yves Klein painting. ‘John built some shelves, and also found the stick of LED disco lights which change from gold to white. I used a LOT of paint – Little Green’s Smalt – but it was really quite meditative, painting to the background of Angel Vintage Radio – which felt like a good musical “friend” to be listening to, because it’s run by OAPs, all rockabilly, Elvis and adverts for stairlifts!’

Alice then set about organising her stash, amassed over a career which began with work experience at Tatler while studying Fashion Promotion at the London College of Fashion, before landing a full-time role on that magazine.

There have been beauty stints at The Telegraph mag, Glamour, Sunday Times Style, and on to Brides, where she became Deputy Editor after beauty journalism. ‘That’s where I got into perfume-writing,’ she says. ‘I think it’s one of the nicest parts of organising your wedding; the rest is stress, but choosing your scent is something you do for yourself.’

Alice’s role at spiffy Condé Nast afforded her ‘above top secret’ access to perfumers, as well as invites to coveted junkets such as visiting the Chanel jasmine harvest. ‘I remember the thrill of meeting the perfumers, the lady who grew the jasmine, going to other launches – and I remember thinking: “I’ve found my tribe.” My passion and profession melted into one.’

More recently, Alice has edited SpaceNK’s magazine, and just three months ago began a riveting series of Instagram Lives titled ‘Desert Island Spritz’, in which ‘cast-a-sprays’, including Sali Hughes, Persolaise and The Scented Letter’s own Suzy Nightingale, have shared their top six scents.

Alice’s own love of aromas, if not yet of actual composed fragrances, dates back to childhood. ‘The smell of my mum and dad’s garden, and of foraging with my father – who is French – in forests, where he helped fine-tune our noses to pick up the sweet, nutty, damp smell of chanterelles and porcini. Of my grandmother’s dressing table, with its Guerlain Météorites powder, Giorgio Beverly Hills. Wisteria and lilac, from the garden in France that my granddad put his passion into. My auntie made baskets and I loved

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I look at some of the collectors who only buy expensive things, and they sound lovely – but then you think, HOW much is that?!

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I remember the thrill of meeting perfumers… and thinking: ‘I’ve found my tribe’

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Alice’s Top 10

Far more generous than the six she allows her own guests, NB!

A close-up of Alice’s stash in the blue cupboard of dreams

the smell of the wicker in our old barn. Oh, and turpentine, when doing my “A” Levels. Basically, I’m obsessed.’

At school, Alice recalls, ‘I was not the prettiest, not the tallest, or the coolest. But I always enjoyed smelling nice and I ended up being called “The Best Smelling Girl in the School”, which was just fine by me.’ At the time, her signature scent happened to be Gap Heaven. ‘As far as I’m concerned, there should be no judgment, no snobbery in perfume,’ maintains Alice. ‘But one of the things I do love about it, being a plus size, is that fragrance always fits. I worked in a part of the fashion world where everyone’s fabulous and glamorous and skinny, but perfume was the part of that world where it didn’t matter what size you were.

You could always squeeze into No5.’

A fragrance which, of course, has a spot in Alice’s sodesirable, so-blue cupboard. As a perfume-writing VIP on every brand’s mailing list, she is lucky enough to be sent new launches – but much of this collection has been put together by Alice herself, purchased online or on her travels, or (in the case of the classics), acquired as tiny decant vials from brands who have helped build her ‘library’, which is now displayed to perfection.

‘After a lot of thought, I decided to group it by brand, rather than fragrance family.’ So there’s the Guerlain corner, the Chanel department, the Diptyque zone, etc. – with some wild cards (think 4711 and YSL Kouros) on the top shelf. ‘And I cleaned and polished every bottle, before I put them back,’ she smiles, proudly.

‘I’m very much a life enthusiast,’ Alice says. ‘Doing the cupboard up really helped me out of a dark lockdown corner, when I was home-schooling and couldn’t have long stretches of work. Smelling the contents reminded me of great trips and events and lovely people. The whole project was a really therapeutic experience.’

And as for the rest of us? Do Little Green Paint also make a colour called ‘Envy’, I wonder?

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1 JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER Le Male Eau de Toilette My dad currently wears this. We have very similar tastes and I think I’ve always tried to be like him (he’s been a hair colourist for 50 years; I’ve worked in the beauty industry since I was 17), so I instinctively like the same perfumes as he does. I wear this often – part Liaisons Dangereuses powdered cleavages and towering wigs, but also fresh-out-the-shower, clean-shaven jawlines. So perfectly paired with that stonkingly naughty bottle!

2 Chanel No19 Poudré Eau de Parfum I absolutely love the ballsy green bite and soapy leather tang of the original No19, but I have a weakness for buttery, creamy iris too. Fused together in this bottle they all collide and emit a real ‘glow’, like you’re standing in a wet jungle in a soft white sundress wearing an Indiana Jones hat and belt.

3 Tom Ford Métallique Eau de Parfum There’s something a bit Play-Doh and a bit plasticky, ‘box-fresh-trainers’ about this one that keeps me coming back again and again. It’s smudgy and cosy, moreish and malleable, but it’s so luminous and glossy too. I wear it all year round and I’ve lost count of how many strangers stop me to ask what it is.

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Doing the cupboard up really helped me out of a dark corner, when I was home-schooling

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D.S. & Durga Bowmakers Eau de Parfum I only discovered this recently but I’m hooked for life.

It smells like wood varnish, sticky, pharmaceuticalfresh sap and oak-panelled dining halls with the rich amber gleam of an obsessively polished violin.

5 Diptyque L’Ombre Dans L’Eau Eau de Toilette I really got into this during each of the lockdowns; I had some very low phases – like most people I imagine – where I lost myself and my purpose, and felt physically and emotionally trapped at home with no creative outlet. In those suffocating dips I reached for this bottle to ease me off the ledge and brush away the dark filter. The cold, tart blackcurrant leaves flood through you and as you breathe in you can feel your lungs expanding in such a therapeutic way. I truly believe this is the scented self-care that healed me after catching COVID and kept me sane during home-schooling.

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6 Maison Christian Dior Eden-Roc I aim to make my Instagram reviews as objective as possible, but I really couldn’t conceal my deep, deep love for this one on screen! The salty, mineral twang, cool smooth stone, lush garden greens and a faint smother of greasy suntan lotion…

7 Hermes Terre d’Hermès Eau de Toilette My husband wears this (not merely on my own insistence; he really does like it!), so I have a readymade association and inexorable love for Terre d’Hermès. Rich soil, dry bark, damp trunk, long lush branches – it’s the whole tree, root to tip – and so beautifully balanced and handsome. I had a phase a few years ago where I was getting panic attacks on the Tube: the world felt frightening and edgy and I was spinning too many work-life plates. So I carried a little Travalo atomiser of this and as I dug my nose into my wrist it felt like two kind hands resting on my shoulders, guiding me out of my spin to somewhere safe and familiar. I now spray this before an important Zoom meeting and it has the same grounding effect.

8 Guerlain Cuir Beluga Eau de Parfum There are so many Guerlain masterpieces I love and wear regularly (Après L’Ondée, Héritage, Habit Rouge, Shalimar) but this fits into my pores like a perfect jigsaw piece. It has similar vanilla vibes to Shalimar (which my mum wore for a while when I was a teenager), but with fewer spices and more of a buttery suede texture. I spray it in buckets during the winter so that every scarf and coat is drenched in it!

9 Jo Malone London Basil & Neroli Cologne My hot weather sanctuary scent. The crunchy, dewy stems, sharp herbal pings and sweet, succulent petals make me salivate, like the first sip of an icy mojito. My daughters really love this one, so I made sure I sprayed it every single day when I was very sick with COVID in March 2020. I looked horrific, my morale was so low and I was miserable to be around – plus I had lost my sense of smell for three weeks, which sent me to somewhere very dark. I tried to maintain some sense of ‘mum’ so I sprayed this familiar, gentle and refreshing splash daily. When I smell it now, I am so grateful for its beam of optimism.

10 Acqua di Parma Colonia Essenza Eau de Cologne I adore this brand – we share the same initials and I admire their artisanal craftsmanship and heritage DNA, the spectacular scents and next-level luxury vibes, and it’s all done with emotion and heart on their own terms. Essenza is my go-to: richer, deeper and more concentrated than the original Colonia – it still has those juicy citrus pings, herb-border sage and lavender blast and smooth amber-wood stretch, but with a bit of smudgy black eyeliner and day-two hair thrown in. It works for every event, with every outfit and in any kind of weather.

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AN AROMATIC LIFE

MEMORIES, DREAMS, REFLECTIONS

Abi Cleeve

The British beauty dynamo who has brought us the hugely successful SkinSense and Ultrasun brands is also a passionate perfume-lover. Here, she shares a touching life in scents

When did you realise that scent was really important to you?

The first time I went to Fortnum & Mason and just stared in wonder at the amazing dramatic perfume display. The feeling of escapism and excitement was overwhelming, and I can’t wait to be back there and stare in wonder all over again!

What’s your favourite scented flower? Freesias – I adore them – so light and pretty; they just take me to my mum’s bedroom when I was little, watching her sit at her dressing table and put magic creams on. She had pretty bottles and potions and I would sit and stare at her, in awe of her light and beauty.

What was the first fragrance you were given? Ô de Lancôme, for my fourteenth birthday, from my Dad. I felt so sophisticated. It was proper, ‘grown-up’ fragrance. I used it so sparingly and kept it in the box throughout. Even opening the box each time and removing the bottle 50 THE scented LETTER

and making those light spritzes felt very special.

What was the first fragrance you bought for yourself? Estée Lauder Beautiful, at around 18 with my very first pay packet. I remember buying that and the Housemartins LP. What a combination!

Have you had different fragrances for different phases of your life…? Oh, yes. My early twenties was such a time of freedom that I really enjoyed lighter, more unisex fragrances. ckOne is a scent that takes me right back to that time.

Then, as I got married and became a mother, I came to love the more gentle feminine notes in Lalique Soleil – a celebration of the sun (I have it on my dressing table today).

The smell that always makes me feel happy is… beautiful, fresh, ozonic seaside air. It takes me to glittering coastlines and time with my family. Or fresh bakery bread in the morning – I can’t actually eat bread any more, ironically, but the smell is divine and makes me feel that I could be in France awaiting a chocolate chaud and beautiful fresh French bread to dip in – hmmm, maybe not so sophisticated after all!

The smell that always makes me feel a bit sad is... YSL Rive Gauche,

as it reminds me of my lovely Granny.

She was such a strong lady and I have learned so much from her. I do miss her wise words and ‘pull yourself together’ approach to life.

The scent that I love on a man is… vetiver – I love the earthiness.

Guerlain have a lovely one that I really must seek out again.

The scent I love to smell on a woman is… Jean Paul Gautier Classique – it’s so cheeky, but I am just not confident enough to wear it.

The fragrance from the past that I’ve always wanted to smell (again) is… La Fin d’un Été, by Pierre Bourdon. I loved this and it was my signature scent for many years, but alas, it’s not in production anymore.

He’s a very inspiring nose – a great talent, and yet so modest, soft and and very kind.

What is your favourite book about fragrance? My favourite book about perfume is most definitely The Perfume Bible by Josephine Fairley and Lorna McKay! It was a real first for me – the first time I had really looked into the world of fragrance. I was lucky enough to be at the launch and it felt so incredibly special and I felt very lucky to be there.

For all your summer suncare needs, visit ultrasun.co.uk

© ANNIE SPRATT - UNSPLASH

What’s the very first thing you remember smelling? Crisp, clean muslins fresh from the line. I can remember being tiny and finding that smell so comforting. I kept hold of one for years and made me feel very secure and homey. I think I even took one to university with me (but didn’t let on to my new supercool friends!)

‘Beautiful, fresh, ozonic seaside air’ makes Abi feel happy

Abi’s five favourite smells 1 A ROAST DINNER I do love food but it would have to be a proper roast with loads of extras…hundreds of roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, mashed swede, red cabbage, a load of gravy and mint sauce don’t care what the meat is but have to have mint sauce!

2 WISTERIA My mum had wisteria growing all over the back of the house. The smell always reminds me of summer days as a child playing in the back garden.

Some of the fragrances Abi has worn and loved – and one she loves to smell on others Muslins drying on the line – an early memory.

Right: the freesias Abi loves. Below right: her favourite perfume book

3 FRESH TARMAC More than a little odd, perhaps, but I craved that smell through my pregnancy with twins!

4 FRESH PRETZELS I worked in San Francisco when I was 16 and would walk through Presidio Park on my way to work and the smell was amazing.

5 DEEP HEAT I know it’s crazy but this muscle rub takes me straight back to rugby playing days.

Such a great bunch of women and all pretty poor at rugby, but a fabulous camaraderie. My face would hurt from laughing!

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FIRST WHIFFS

latest launches

We bring you 14 spritztastic pages of bright Colognes, solar/sunset scents, airy florals and smoky sensuality

The Niche VI Discovery Box is The Perfume Society’s latest curation of fab indie scents, from some of the most exciting perfume houses around. Find it at perfumesociety.org/ SHOP, price £23 (£19 to our VIPs). Here's a taster of what you'll enjoy...

✶ NEW

● ESCENTRIC MOLECULES MOLECULE O1 (7.5 ML SIZE) ● LA MAISON J.U.S. SEXY CRUSH ● ST. GILES THE WRITER ● LALIQUE NOIR PREMIER PRUNE BLANCHE 1901 ● INITIO ADDICTIVE VIBRATION ● ÅND FRAGRANCE SÅND ● BRIONI EAU DE PARFUM

THE FRAGRANCE FAMILIES

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As scentophiles know, fragrances fall into different ‘families’. So we’ve used the same classification system for launches as on our perfumesociety.org website. Just look for the coloured strip above the name of the perfume, which is your visual clue to the families. These are listed below. Most of us are drawn to a specific family/families: once you know which you fall into, that colour can act as a cue – and help you take a short-cut to the ones you may want to try first.

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ALL STOCKISTS CHECKED AT TIME OF PRESS BUT DUE TO COVID-19 CHALLENGES THESE MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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Rich Mandarin

Wandervogel

King Louis XIV was responsible for transforming Versailles from a dilapidated hunting lodge to an exquisite palace, insisting courtiers only wore the finest fabrics… and fragrances. This new collection pays homage to his taste, here the succulent freshness of juicy mandarin and a sparkle of pink pepper granted a rich swathe of vanilla-infused leather as it’s skin-warmed. Citrus notes don’t often get to swagger about opulently, but this positively sashays. £175 for 100ml eau de parfum thefragranceshop.co.uk

‘Wandervogel’ was a popular German folk movement from 1896, where youths were inspired by Medieval scholars to commune with nature. So authentically refreshing is perfumer Shyamala Maisondieu’s combination of shiso leaves and Moroccan mint atop a white flowers and a fenneltinged marine breeze that we’re plunged straight into a scent memory of sipping mint tea beside a pool in Morocco – a reminder of scent’s power to reconnect us with nature. £155 for 87ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com

AMAN

ATELIER VESPER

Haru

Aman’s scents are inspired by their famously understated luxury destinations around the world – in this case, Aman Tokyo. ‘Haru’ translates as ‘spring’; Tokyo is renowned for its cherry blossom festival, thus perfumer Jacques Chabert (who has applied his talents across all the Aman scents) layers the floatiest petalled floral notes with apricot and green tea, fluttering towards a dry-down that whispers with tobacco and maté tea for a sense of calming harmony. £220 for 50ml eau de parfum shop.aman.com

Ēdhen

This new niche house is inspired by the transportive powers of scent, Ēdhen (‘Eden’) born from a moment contemplating perfection from a boat on the Riviera, gazing at the Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc. (Which was also the inspiration for Dior, see p.56.) Milky fig laps a balmy breeze of jasmine, sweet orange and ylang ylang, tingling with a touch of clove which is then cooled by the freshness of cypress. A reminder of better days to come again. €111 for 50ml eau de parfum ateliervesper.com

ABERCROMBIE & FITCH

Naturally Fierce Perfume

Admire your reflection in the mirror adorning this bottle, as you spritz an opening burst of cactus water, agave and solar blooms.

Orange blossom and plumeria then unfurl to a base that pulses with vetiver, sandalwood and moss. ‘More than a scent, Naturally Fierce Perfume is an invitation to laugh, love, and be 100% your natural self,’ A&F tell us. (And after the past 15 months, we’re so up for that.) £58 for 50ml eau de parfum abercrombie.com

BEL REBEL

Stunned

Cannabis and candyfloss might have you clutching your pearls, but all is not quite what it seems with this herbaceous take on gourmand.

It’s the resinous labdanum and vanilla you’ll fall for, we’re sure, with a fluff of pink sweetness infused with incense. More like falling into a deliciously drowsy slumber while nestled in green leaves and wrapped in cashmere than a party with Snoop Dogg, we’re rather relieved to say. £139 for 69ml parfum belrebel.com

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BOUCHERON

BOY SMELLS

Violet Ends

La Gemme Astrea

Venice is renowned for its leather craftsmanship, which kickstarted the creative process for Michel Almairac and Clément Marx’s smooth, woodyleathery creation – an olfactory magic carpet, designed to whisk the wearer to the narrow streets of Venice, where these artisans can be glimpsed at work.

Ginger and cinnamon evoke the watery city’s legendary spice route heritage, with cocoa absolute and vanilla reminding of us of its gourmet pleasures. Venice, we’ll be back. £175 for 125ml eau de parfum harrods.com

Many already swooned over this cult brand’s candles; now their debut collection of fine fragrances has been created by perfumer Jérôme Epinette.

Playing with ‘the idea of ‘genderfulness’, this begins with playfully tart rhubarb, then swathes purple petals in smoked papyrus, black tea and tobacco leaves on a textural woody leather base.

Granting ‘permission to thrive and flourish, cutting off anything that doesn’t serve you’, we say: all’s well that Violet Ends well… £105 for 65ml Cologne de parfum spacenk.com

Alberto Morillas has worked for so long with Bulgari, he once told us there’s almost a shorthand between him and this jewellery house, when it comes to understanding their vision for new fragrances. Joining the La Gemme collection, inspired by precious stones, is a scent inspired by blue aventurine, forged from natural saffron (the world’s priciest spice), jasmine sambac and a velvety honey, which delivers ‘unparalleled intensity’, in the perfumer’s words. Masterful, as we’d expect. £268 for 100ml eau de parfum harrods.com

BVLGARI

BYREDO

Cuir de Venise

Splendida Patchouli Tentation

We happen to be fully signed-up members of the filthy patchouli fan club at TPS, marvelling that many are still put off by the ‘hippy headshop’ legacy. Fear not, naysayers; this contains a patchouli accord exclusively designed for the house – but it’s a gauzy shimmer of orris-dusted white peach on a sumptuously soft caress of white musk. Enough to convert anyone, we feel, and fresh enough for the most humid of days. £112 for 100ml eau de parfum selfridges.com 54 THE

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BVLGARI

CALVIN KLEIN

Open Sky

Eternity Summer

‘While being stuck in one place, our memories have become particularly vivid,’ muses founder Ben Gorham.

Capturing our collective desire to travel, this scent segues from the pepper-flecked freshness of pomelo to the mind-expanding hemp leaf and spiritual palo santo hushed by vetiver in the base. ‘Beyond the physicality of spaces,’ Gorham explains, this celebrates ‘that idea of movement – of journeys, being on your way somewhere…’ Plane tickets and a plan, bottled. £178 for 100ml eau de parfum libertylondon.com

Another in the evolving ‘solar floral’ fragrance trend, gleaming bright sunlight glints through the zing of Italian bergamot and luminescent jasmine, shimmering in a heat haze of desert rose oil and tingling ginger.

Echoing the sunset colours of the bottle, this captures the watercolourdipped radiance melting into evening, cool violet leaves, coconut water and vetiver whispering on still sun-warmed skin. Immediately evocative (and as ever, one for Eternity collectors). £74 for 100ml eau de toilette superdrug.com

CAROLINA HERRERA

CAROLINA HERRERA CONFIDENTIAL

CARTIER

212 VIP Wins Woman

Gold Myrrh Absolute

Rivières de Cartier Insouciance

Symrise perfumer Emilie Coppermann definitely evokes the vibrant green of the bottle in her verdant composition. Can a fragrance smell ‘shiny’, too? Somehow, this does – the bracing chlorophyll of the top notes freshened further by a squeeze of mandarin’s juiciness.

Luscious pomegranate marries perfectly with a fruity rose, while the fizzy delight of the heart mellows to a smooth base as it warms to a trail of musk and silky woods. £89 for 80ml eau de parfum carolinaherrera.com

Myrrh has been a cornerstone of Middle Eastern perfumery – well, since Three Kings presented it to you-knowwho, two millennia ago. Resinous, mysterious, it is the protagonist of Carolina Herrera’s latest exotic treasure, spiced by black pepper, rendered aromatic by immortelle and given delicious gourmand flourishes of cacao and liquorice, delectably sweetened by vanilla in the base. Proferred in the most eye-catching gilded flacon that is another gift for the senses. £235 for 100ml eau de parfum harrods.com

A water-inspired trio of eau de toilettes (read about the third, Luxuriance, on p.16), Rivières de Cartier are the olfactory expression of Mathilde Laurent’s belief that water carries within it ‘the scent of every organic or mineral element that it meets: leaves, flowers, wood, roots, fruits…’ The first, Insouciance, is playful, sparkling with radiant light, contrasted with the cool shade of fruit trees, so deftly conjured up via notes of irises, violets and green elements. £84 for 100ml eau de toilette selfridges.com

Rivières de Cartier Allégresse

CARTIER

Dreams Sunset

COACH

COMME DES GARÇONS

This river is awash with tuberose, normally so heady but here rendered with a fresh transparency, with the deftness we’ve come to expect from Mathilde Laurent. The most sensual of the three Rivières de Cartier, it is splashed with citrus notes of petitgrain and bergamot, the unmistakeable tart tang of blackcurrant bud and intriguing flashes of green notes beckoning you beyond the shallows. These pastel glass flacons, meanwhile, are as pretty as the scents inside. £84 for 100ml eau de toilette selfridges.com

Inspired by ‘golden hours and one-of-a-kind journeys with friends’ – of which we are indeed dreaming – this ombré bottle, echoing the colours of sunset, perfectly shows off a floriental composition crafted by the brilliant Nathalie Lorson. Refreshing pear sorbet and bergamot playfully tease the wearer, before jasmine sambac and magnolia dial up the intrigue. But what keeps this beach party rocking is the smoochy, sultry base of tonka and vanilla. We’re right there, baby.

From £35 for 40ml eau de parfum uk.coach.com (nationwide from July)

A warm, ambered base grounds this wonderfully weird (and very wearable) concoction. CDG never do anything humdrum, so our eyes were immediately drawn to the beetroot note listed. Of course, we’re used to it combined with chocolate in cookery, and it blends just as well here with the Egyptian geranium to create an almost-rose. Pink pepper simmers through the layers to the smouldering incense and refined patchouli base.

Clever and intriguing. £120 for 100ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

Rouge

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DOLCE & GABBANA

ELLA K

La Collection Privé Eden-Roc

Light Blue Forever for Women

Rose de Pushkar

We rather suspect that Dior’s resident perfumer, François Demachy, enjoyed even more than usual his ‘research’ for this fragrance, a hymn to one of the world’s most legendary hotels, on the rocky shore of the Côte d’Azur. Flooded with sunlight, this is cooled and ruffled by a salty breeze, revealing an accord reminiscent of nothing so much as expensive suntan oil, suffused with jasmine and a touch of coconut. Truly the stuff of holiday dreams.

From £99 for 40ml eau de parfum dior.com

A summer ‘21 limited edition of contemporary classic Light Blue, this spins the iconic original with Granny Smith apple and lemon essence crisply making way for armfuls of orange blossom and white flowers, finishing with a sun-warmed caress of Virginia cedar and cashmere woods. A stunning way to celebrate 20 years of David Gandy and Bianca Balti as ambassadors for this so-fresh scent duo, too, which sells one bottle every 20 seconds.

From £53 for 25ml eau de parfum lookfantastic.com

Perfumer Sonia Constant adds to her olfactory travelogue with this shareable Rajasthan-inspired offering, capturing the visual opulence of this so-colourful corner of India through armfuls of rose, swirling in a heart of oudh, sandalwood, patchouli and white cedar. It opens with saffron, black pepper, frankincense and lychee, concludes with leather, tonka and cistus absolutes, amber and musk, the juice as deliciously pink as Rajasthan’s fabled palaces. Travel in a bottle, indeed. £175 for 70ml eau de parfum harrods.com

ETRO

FLORIS

White Magnolia

Golden Amber

Gorgeously gauzy, creamy yet sheer, ETRO’s latest is a nod to their stunning designs, the sublime floralcy shot through with Calabrian bergamot – extracted using traditional techniques to maintain the liveliness of the freshly picked fruit.

The bouquet of ethereal white flowers is contained within the heart, refined, waxy magnolia borne aloft on a breeze of airy hellebore, while dry cedar and glowing amber ground the lasting trail of the base, beautifully. £145 for 100ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com

Just 200 bottles have been handpoured of this limited edition, portraying a summer stay at Lake Garda – ‘the home of ever-changing sunlight, the aperitif lifestyle, and the picturesque destination for many legendary Floris customers.’ Freshly Oriental, it bursts open with cassis and bergamot, with milky fig and sparkling aqua notes, a breeze of flowers and an ambery finale of tonka, patchouli, almond blossoms and sandalwood that is warm, wearable and wonderful. £200 for 100ml eau de parfum florislondon.com

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FURLA

Preziosa

A glorious first collection of fragrances from the renowned Italian leather goods house, the elegant curvature of the bottles is based on the arch of their historic 18th-century HQ in Bologna. This one’s a stunning saffron and pink pepper atop rose and geranium in the heart, but it’s the base that will have you swooning – creamy yet never too sweet vanilla caressed by chocolate-y suede. We adore that it comes in 10ml & 30ml sizes.

From £17 for 10ml eau de parfum next.co.uk

GHOST

Night Orb

Setting a darker, moodier tone to the pantheon of Ghost perfumes, Night Orb glimmers with a dark cherry almond accord, kissed with mandarin before plunging deeper into a heady orange blossom, ylang ylang and freesia heart. The sandalwood base has rivulets of caramel running through it, but being rippled with a salty, slightly animalic ambergris, is rendered salty and moreish. From the rose gold bottle to the vegan certification, it impresses. £22.95 for 30ml eau de parfum escentual.com

GUERLAIN

Aqua Allegoria Flora Salvaggia

Who hasn’t fantasised about running through a meadow of wildflowers, wind in our hair? That’s the vibe that Guerlain seek to evoke with this second of 2021’s Aqua Allegoria, composed to conjure up the ‘poetry’ of the scent of wild flora, lifted by a drift of clean musks.

We know many a collector of these Guerlain creations who’ll be thrilled to add this gilded bottle (with its lavender-tinted juice) to their summer scent wardrobe.

From £69 for 75ml eau de toilette guerlain.com

GUCCI

The Alchemist’s Garden 1921

Happy 100th birthday, Gucci – you’re sure looking timeless, for your age.

To celebrate, perfumer Alberto Morillas and Gucci Creative Director Alessandra Michele mark their collaboration with an eleventh eau de parfum in The Alchemist’s Garden collection – our favourite yet, shot through with almost fizzy notes of neroli and zesty lemon cedrato, then stepping into the cool shade via the earthy lushness of oakmoss. And oh, that green glass apothecary bottle! £240 for 100ml eau de parfum net-a-porter.com

HOLLISTER

Canyon Escape For Her

Another trend we’re noticing this year is a shimmering sunrise of desertthemed scents – the olfactory oasis here blooming with rose, orange blossom and dusty iris, freshened up top with juicy mandarin, blood orange and a shot of cool cactus, smoothed beneath by cedarwood and a soft waft of musk. We imagine sun-blushed skin, floral crowns and the glamorous yet laid-back escapism of the baking Californian desert, while sniffing this so-happy scent. £16.50 for 100ml eau de parfum very.co.uk

GUERLAIN

Aqua Allegoria Nettare di Sole

There is just so much anticipation, each year, for Guerlain’s fresh-inevery-way duo of Aqua Allegoria, always sophisticated, always breezy, always wonderfully escapist. The star of the show as ever is a central note of citrusy bergamot, this time wrapped in luminous white florals and aquatic notes and then drizzled tantalisingly in honey. Guerlain’s own description nails it: ‘A delicious icy floral honey.’ To which we can only respond: ‘More, please.’

From £69 for 75ml eau de toilette guerlain.com

INITIO PARFUMS

Musk Therapy

Initio fragrances ‘initiate perfume as an object of power’ – a concept we very much connect with. We could all do with some therapy after the past year, and the feather-soft white musk here fluffs around the edges of magnolia – we told you last year this flower would be blooming, big-time!

Blackcurrant provides a piquant edge, immediately smoothed and soothed by the assuring purity of sandalwood. Spray whenever you need a ‘me-moment’ of escape. £205 for 90ml eau de parfum harrods.com

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ISSEY MIYAKE

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER

Almost 30 years on from the launch of the iconic L’Eau d’Issey, it’s still blazing a trail. This exquisite droplet-design bottle is created from recycled glass, the outer box with 70% recycled paper, many ingredients are sourced via ethical and sustainable partnerships – and oh, did we mention that Ane Ayo’s creation smells sublime? A gauzy, feminine veil pairing lilac and orange blossom, star anise and jasmine, resting on creamy musks, biovanillin and Ambrox.

From £46 for 30ml eau de parfum boots.com

We can just imagine the fun that Givaudan’s Sonia Constant and Quentin Bisch – a most mischievous creative pairing – got up to here, fully intending to lead us into temptation, casting an olfactory spell via a succulent, sensual cocktail of vanilla, pear, almond, belladonna, musk, bergamot and roasted tonka, which dance around each other like nothing so much as naughty nymphs. You might succumb to this for the rose-bedecked bottle alone, but inside, it’s 100% fun. £102 for 100ml eau de parfum jeanpaulgaultier.com

Also unapologetically naughty: a scandalous interlude conducted on silky raspberry velvet, the milkiness of warm, bare skin caressed by softness and ‘a threesome of white flowers.’

Oh, my! Bright orange blossom, opulent jasmine and heady tuberose are dusted in powder, a feeling of feathers exploding from the tussle of a pillow-fight. Most of all, this too is fun, fun, FUN – and gosh, how we’ve craved the frivolity, granted by noses Daphne Bugey and Fabrice Pellegrin. £68.50 for 50ml eau de parfum boots.com

KENZO

LA MAISON VALMONT

A Drop d’Issey

JULIETTE HAS A GUN

Pear Inc.

A twist of muskiness and juicy yet crisp pear, another element we found prominent in this construction is the milky heart (milk fragrances, too, are trending of late), laced with Ambroxan for a modern touch. Neither totally green or fresh due to the gauzy gourmand vibe throughout, it’s ‘a heavenly fragrance evoking happiness, sunny days and positivity,’ which founder Romano Ricci wanted to be ‘like the promise of a beautiful summer.’ £85 for 50ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com 58 THE

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La Belle Le Parfum

L’Eau Kenzo Pour Femme Hyper Wave

Riding the new wave of aquaticinspired fragrances for summer 2021 (a trend which you can read more about on p.12), Olivier Cresp brings us a citrusy-aquatic-floral spin on L’Eau Kenzo, the original pink grapefruit note surging into orange blossom, on a transparent base of airy lotus blossom. Youthful, spirited but definitely wearable by those of us who like to watch surfers from the shore, rather than get wet ourselves. £46 for 50ml eau de toilette kenzoparfums.com

So Scandal!

Fizzy Mint

Imagine crumpled mint leaves, tangy bergamot and lemon verbena: could there be a more refreshing cocktail?

The ‘fizz’ alluded to here is a real quality – the Venice-based perfume house describe it as ‘comparable to that of summertime champagne cocktails’ and we’d hesitate to disagree. It joins La Maison Valmont’s airy line-up of Palazzo Nobile fragrances – and if you’re anything like us, you’ll find the terrazzo-splashed box impossible to throw away. £136 for 100ml eau de toilette harveynichols.com

LACOSTE

L.12.12 Eau de Parfum Rose

It’s game, set and match to Lacoste for the way they brilliantly reinvent their crocodile-adorned flacons, inspired by the polo shirts that have remained classic ever since René Lacoste all but invented the athletic ‘lifestyle’. The bottle finish here echoes the shirt’s famous piqué fabric, proffering a scent that’s equally crisp and fresh, luminous with mint and mandarin, soft notes of frangipani and rose, and an endgame of ambrette and musk. £65 for 100ml eau de parfum lacoste.co.uk

L’OCCITANE

Osmanthus

Ah, the velvety, apricot-tinged splendour of osmanthus – another floral note we predicted last year would be blooming by now. L’Occitane fuse a fruity mélange of ‘apricot delight’, pear accord and bitter orange with absolute of osmanthus from China, for a sun-dappled scent that resonates carefree days. Earthy carrot seed and the feather-light yet faintly berry-like musk of Ambrettolide make us think of clean washing drying in a bright orchard. £52 for 75ml eau de toilette uk.loccitane.com

MICHAEL KORS

MAISON FRANCIS KURKDJIAN

We could all be forgiven for having felt less than gorgeous over the past 15 months. Enter Michael Kors, whose life’s work is to make us all feel glam, 24/7, which he achieves here from the first sassy zhoosh of bergamot, pink pepper and mandarin, through the voluminous floral heart (ylang ylang, orange blossom, jasmine sambac and tuberose), and on to the dry-down of Cashmeran, suede notes, cedar and guaiac woods, benzoin and tonka.

From £70 for 50ml eau de parfum michaelkors.co.uk

‘Freshness is to perfume what water is to life,’ believes our perfumer friend Francis Kurkdjian, who’s unveiled three new Cologne Forte scents (see also p.65). After a soaring opening of dazzlingly bright bergamot and mandarin, Francis evokes the sun at its peak in this offering, firing it up to deliver a gust of summery warmth. The trail is saturated with sensual musks, swirling with Indian sandalwood – and doesn’t that flacon positively glow, in its own right? £165 for 70ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

Gorgeous!

Aqua Vitae Cologne Forte

LOEWE

Paula’s Ibiza

Will we, won’t we be able to head Ibiza-wards this summer? It matters less, now that we can conjure up the carefree hedonism of the Balearic island with this creation from Loewe’s in-house perfumer Nuria Cruelles – and it’s a rare luxury for any brand to have one of those. Layering coconut water, green galbanum and mandarin over driftwood, sand lily and frangipani, warmed by pulsing patchouli, ambergris and vanilla. The bottle’s a party in its own right. £68 for 50ml eau de toilette loewe.com

MILLER HARRIS

Rêverie de Bergamote

Tangerine, herbs and woods cosset the central sunshine of bright bergamot, with the intense yellow of the bottle enough to cheer the soul before a single spritz. The first fragrance from the house in 18 months, they describe it as ‘the post-lockdown scent to help bring your spark back.’ Perfumer Emilie Bouge weaves a damp earth note of patchouli into moss and vetiver to literally ground the base, offering a soul-cheering feeling of escape. £85 for 50ml eau de parfum millerharris.com

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MISSGUIDED

MOSCHINO

MUGLER

Real Babe

Toy 2 Bubblegum

Angel Iced Star

In this first gender-neutral fragrance for the house, a fizz of optimism bursts forth in a froth of citrus studded with pink peppercorns. Once the initial whoosh quietens, a wave of frosted pineapple reveals the brightness of jasmine blossoms underlit by sunshine and dusted with ambrette. The base is a smooth, silky pillow of dry amber muskiness plumped with toasty tonka – perfect for feeling (and smelling) your most delicious self, daily. £28 for 80ml eau de parfum superdrug.com

Continuing their teddy bear’s picnic of perfumes, Moschino’s creative director, Jeremy Scott, is in full-on fun and flirty mode with this one. Outrageously cute, the pink bottle (and name) is immediately apparent with wafts of childhood nostalgia. But it quickly moves from the playground to a surprisingly sophisticated Bulgarian rose shot through with blackcurrant and peach on a lightly spiced, polished wood base. Cheeky and playful, but actually really pretty.

From £39 for 30ml eau de toilette theperfumeshop.com

Housed in what is possibly Mugler’s most stunning, kaleidoscopically colourful flacon yet, this latest twist offers up a cocktail of mouth-watering deliciousness from the get-go.

Imagine sitting by a pool, sipping a long, cool concoction of coconut water and juicy pineapple. The praline base feels suitably icy – a freshlyscooped gelato, perhaps, but not over-sweet – and we’re sure the many Angel collectors will be snapping this edition up, pronto! £50 for 50ml eau de toilette harrods.com

NARCISO RODRIGUEZ

NUXE

PACO RABANNE

Narciso Eau Neroli Ambrée

Prodigieux Le Parfum Florale

Lady Million Fabulous Intense

Neroli is one of the most instantly sunshine-y, happy-making notes on the scentscape (we took an office poll last year, and it came out on top for evoking bright light and happy, holiday memories). The brilliant Aurélien Guichard packs pleasure into every spritz, here – a veritable whoosh of optimism, tempered with comfort, in this slinky, silky dream. Orange blossom and soft woods sigh contentedly to the so-iconic white musk trail. £65 for 50ml eau de parfum johnlewis.com

Lovers of Nuxe’s iconic Huile Prodigieuse Florale body oil are legion. And while the skin-smoothing power of the silky oil is undeniable, it’s the scent that perhaps triggers true addiction. Nuxe recreates that here, with upliftingly fresh and delicate notes that awaken the senses from first spritz, invigorating grapefruit transitioning to a heart of magnoliapetalled floral notes, concluding with a clean, subtle white musk. Get that soft skin out – and spritz it. £45 for 50ml eau de parfum lookfantastic.com

Perfumer Anne Flipo goes deeper and darker with this iteration of the golden scented success story. Pink pepper-flecked mandarin and orange fizzes appealingly to the addictive note of tuberose. Jasmine is again described as ‘solar’, its luminescence draped in the liquid, languid glam of ylang ylang. Toasty tonka bean and vanilla are finally swathed in moss as the base swoons on warm skin. One for the roof-top parties and VIP areas. £87.50 for 80ml eau de parfum pacorabanne.com

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PAPILLON

Spell 125

Referencing ‘the longest spell in the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead’, for a ceremony to cross the underworld and reach the eternity of afterlife, here’s a scent to be intrigued and enraptured by. Marking the seventh year of self-taught perfumer Liz Moores’ founding of Papillon, the ‘green sacra’ incense swirls amidst resinous pine and black hemlock, sandalwood beckoning you to submit to the ancient, fluttering mystery. £150 for 50ml eau de parfum papillonperfumery.co.uk com (from 7th July)

PERFUMER H

PARFUMS DE MARLY

Delina La Rosée

With the original Delina having been such a scented success story, what a delight to reach for this as the weather warms up. In place of rhubarb, crisp pear juice trickles through the composition, armfuls of roses dew-speckled and luminous – still sumptuous, but with more of a transparent rosewater feel amidst the powdery peonies. Lychee adds a mouth-watering, icy appeal while the wisps of white musk tendrils suffuse cool vetiver in the base. £190 for 75ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

SUNSPEL

Orange Leaf

Neroli Sun

Also for spring/summer 2021: a citrus bouquet created from all the elements of the precious orange tree. Juicy Valencia orange (extracted from the fruit), eau de brouts absolute (from petitgrain water) and petitgrain itself (from the twigs and leaves) are enriched with basil and angelica. The homage to this tree – such a cornerstone of perfumery – continues with a dry-down of resinous elemi, incense and Virginian cedarwood (and in the glass flacon, here, is £400).

From £120 for 50ml eau de parfum perfumerh.com

Lyn Harris has also brought her talents to the fragrances for fashion brand Sunspel, her second creation setting out to capture ‘the essence of a carefree, sun-dappled English summer.’ (Which we’d like to last forever, please.) Sunny citrus fruits bring crispness, while the heart is wonderfully aromatic with lavender, rosemary and angelica. The finishing flourish of vetiver, patchouli and sea moss make for an instant, completely shareable classic. £90 for 100ml eau de parfum sunspel.com

PERFUMER H

Fig

British perfumer Lyn Harris creates seasonal collections for her Perfumer H house, which at their most luxe are housed in hand-blown flacons created

by Michael Ruh; in this case, filled with 100ml of eau de parfum, the investment is £400. But the exact same scents are also proffered in apothecary-style glass bottles – in this case, a green fig kissed with Turkish rose, atop a cedarwood, musk and black pepper base, with drifts of frankincense snaking through.

From £120 for 50ml eau de parfum perfumerh.com

VAN CLEEF & ARPELS

Orchid Leather

You may think you know leather, but you’ve not yet smelled this, which conjures up a supple, almost silken floral around that note. The vanilla bean (fruit of the orchid) here feels lithe and smoky, while cardamom and plum deliver opulence – but there’s something animalic, too, a subtle snarl tangled amidst the cistus and a swirl of incense in the base.

Fabulously feminine, we’d also adore this on a man’s skin. £130 for 75ml eau de parfum harrods.com

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ACQUA DI PARMA

Bergamotto di Calabria La Spugnatura

Read much more about this, on p.22: a limited edition offered in a real treasure of a collectible, hand-crafted porcelain bottle – refillable, too, in line with AdP’s focus on sustainability.

Imagine a fresh breeze, lightly rippling through the air, sun sparkling on the water, evoked here via the citrus refreshment of bitter orange, mandarin and grapefruit. Alongside the signature bergamot, enjoy green galbanum and geranium, before the lasting impression of cedarwood and vetiver. £124 for 100ml eau de toilette acquadiparma.com

ATELIER VESPER

AMAN

Sei

Aman’s hotels are among the world’s most dreamed-of, but we can now at least ride an olfactory magic carpet to their destinations. It was the desert resort of Amangiri which was the creative trigger, here: juniper and pine needles, crisply introducing aromatic clary sage and lavender, before the fire element is kindled: a smouldering dry-down of cedar and cistus labdanum. Gender-neutral, but of the collection, we’d say this is more cowboy than cowgirl. £220 for 50ml eau de parfum shop.aman.com

BENTLEY

ATELIER MATERI

Narcisse Taiji

We’re fascinated by the way floral notes will be expressed quite differently on a man’s skin to a woman’s. So we suggest a paired, controlled spritzing of this, to discern how the central note of narcissus unfurls, on different bodies. Hay and bran, patchouli, leather and musk create a nimbus around the narcissus – a note which requires a staggering 1,600 kilograms of blooms, to create a kilo of narcissus absolute. £195 for 100ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com

BVLGARI

Badawï

Momentum Unbreakable

La Gemme Azaran

Translating as ‘Desert Dweller’, from a traditional nomadic tribe, this fragrance positively thrums to a flickering heat of spiced tobacco. Pink pepper and cardamom tingle the senses while ylang ylang and the dried fruit/tea-like davana is swathed in a comforting cloud of white oudh and woodsmoke from a bonfire. Conjuring scenes of adventure, this is a scent to wear when following your dream starts with a single step but requires an enveloping, emboldening beginning. €111 for 50ml eau de parfum ateliervesper.com

Master Perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin teams with up-and-coming talent Ane Ayo, to take the dual steering wheels of this scent. DreamwoodTM is a key ingredient – the supremely smooth woody note being a 100% natural ingredient used in place of highly protected Mysore sandalwood, obtained through carbon-neutral biotechnology. Cool violet shimmers through verdant greenery to liquorice-y dried fruits and immortellefluffed amber. Another instant classic. £69.50 for 100ml eau de parfum harrods.com

The polished-in-every way counterpoint to La Gemme Astrea (see p.54), this is a creation by none other than Jacques Cavallier – more usually to be found pursuing his craft elsewhere in the LVMH empire, nowadays, for Louis Vuitton. Taking fiery aventurine as his mineral muse, this eau de parfum showcases leather, precious saffron and red cedarwood, to create (in Cavallier’s own words) ‘a sophisticated and powerful fragrance leaving a luxurious woody signature in its trail.’ £268 for 100ml eau de parfum harrods.com

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THE MEN’S ROOM

CALVIN KLEIN

Eternity Men Summer

If you still can’t get away, this really feels like a holiday in a bottle. Evoking the unique air temperature of a summer’s dawn, the airy exhilaration of bergamot oil sparkles like the first fingers of sunlight illuminating the sea, the glittering waves bringing coconut water and a smooth, creamy breeze of Australian sandalwood – and you’ll be glad to know this precious ingredient was sustainably sourced. As ever, Eternity feels like a perfect summer’s day, freeze-framed. £60 for 100ml eau de toilette superdrug.com

CREED

CHANEL

Les Eaux de Chanel Paris-Édimbourg

The most shareable yet, we’d say, of Les Eaux – indeed, in the words of perfumer Olivier Polge, this ‘could be the fragrance of a tweed jacket borrowed from the men’s wardrobe that was such an inspiration to Gabrielle Chanel. Like the scent after a stroll through the countryside, it is steeped in the odours of the wild landscape.’ Lush, damp, dewy, it is juniper, cypress, vetiver and cedar, with wisps of smoke – and utterly magnifique. £112 for 125ml eau de toilette chanel.com

DIESEL

CHANEL

Bleu de Chanel All-Over Spray

You read right: all over. And why not?

This new composition of Chanel’s bestseller, with its ultra-fresh masculinity, invites generous spritzing morning, noon, night (and post-gym, whenever that might be), yet without the risk of overdosing on its aromaticwoodsiness. Typically, body sprays have emerged at the mass end of the scent market, but this is as sophisticated as it gets – and do also look out for new shaving essentials, for additional layering opportunities. £61 for 150ml eau de toilette chanel.com

DUNHILL

Viking Cologne

Sound of the Brave

Signature Collection Agar Wood

Combining the headiness of an eau de parfum with the refreshing signature of an eau de Cologne, this layers bright citrus over a woody base for a warmcool contrast already hinted at by the bottle, with its flash of orange against silver. After a zesty intro, Olivier and Erwin Creed serve up classic fougère elements of geranium and lavender with nutmeg, rosemary and sage, ultimately cosying things up invitingly with frankincense, patchouli, cedarwood and vetiver. £175 for 50ml eau de Cologne creedfragrances.co.uk

Employing the talents of Fabrice Pellegrin – one of the world’s top perfumers (see p.32) – Sound of the Brave resonates with a unique heart of bison grass accord. A reminder, says Pellegrin, of good times with friends.

The sizzle of bold spices vibrates through vibrant lemon as a powerful base (or should that be ‘bassline’?) throbs with amber wood and musk.

The electric blue, clenched-fist flacon combined with hip-hop legend Skepta as ambassador should ensure it’s a hit. £69 for 125ml eau de toilette boot.com

A handsome duo joins Dunhill’s sophisticated Signature Collection – here Mane’s Gino Percontino offers us a flacon encasing fabulously contrasting accords: salted ginger and bergamot, brightening black iris and saffron, mellowed by resinous mastic, and – in the tail – a powerful element of oudh that has been softly, almost tenderly enfolded in suede, musk and tobacco. The effect is elegant, refined and velvety – for going out-out, we’d say, rather than another day of Zooms. £120 for 100ml eau de parfum harrods.com

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THE MEN’S ROOM

DUNHILL

Signature Collection Egyptian Smoke

D.S. & DURGA

HOLLISTER

St. Vetyver

Canyon Escape For Him

Smoke is snaking its way through many of this season’s scent compositions, conjured up here by Robertet’s Jérôme Épinette. ‘Always surprising and vibrating, like a warm golden light on a star-covered deep blue sky,’ is how menswear brand aptly sums it up – an is-it-a-Chypre-is-it-anOriental creation that surrounds classic Grasse roses with papyrus, black tea, pink pepper and ginger, segueing to patchouli, vanilla bean and curls of smoky labdanum. £120 for 100ml eau de parfum harrods.com

Bringing their concept of ‘armchair travel’ to life once again in fragrant form, we’re transported this time to ‘an idyllic Caribbean island’ (yes, please and thank you). Sun-scorched grass and sugarcane mingles with sailors’ Colognes and a salt breeze, the Haitian vetiver whispering of cool shadows and ice cubes rattled in large glasses of aged rum. If you can’t physically be there, wear this woody summer stunner, pull down your Panama hat and dream. £148 for 50ml eau de parfum libertylondon.com

Perfumer Linda Chinery took inspiration from ‘…the spirit of the Hollister guy who is energised by his love of the unknown and adventure that is made even better when shared with friends.’

Black pepper and cardamom provide a tingle of contradicting temperatures – imagine a heat wave relieved by jumping into a lake as blue as the juice. Soothing sage and a refreshingly piquant note of Californian juniper beckons the oakmoss, amber-rich base. Worth a detour! £16.50 for 100ml eau de toilette very.co.uk

ISSEY MIYAKE

JONES & MODHA

LACOSTE

Fusion d’Issey Extreme

No.1 Eau de Parfum

L.12.12 Blanc Eau de Toilette for Him

One bottle of original L’Eau d’Issey is sold every 14 seconds in the world, so we’re told – and this may get those tills ringing even more frequently (exclusively at Boots till July, NB).

‘Contrast’ is a word we’re hearing so much of in fragrance at the moment, here expressed by renowned perfumer Nathalie Lorson who sets fresh cardamom, peppermint, lavender and coconut against the comforting warmth of a solar amber accord, with her usual flair.

From £51 for 50ml eau de parfum boots.com

As Jones & Modha point out on their website: it’s difficult to find a beautifully-blended, sophisticated perfume that is made from 100% naturally derived ingredients. Well, this eco-brand has risen to the challenge, with small-batch scents based on plant alchemy – here, a cool, almost tangibly damp blend of citrus fruits and cut leaves, woods and lush foliage, kissed with spices. If this perfume was a colour, it would be green – aptly, in the circs. £69 for 50ml eau de parfum jonesandmodha.co.uk

In a wonderfully textural white ‘piqué’ bottle, this is a bold serve from Lacoste. The classic fresh opening – grapefruit, rosemary, cardamom – is given a most intriguing spin, with Lacoste incorporating more traditionally female elements of ylang ylang and tuberose in the heart of this masculine scent. The dry-down is more familiar: earthy vetiver, dry cedarwood, wrapped in the surprising softness of suede. But after the year we’ve had, anything goes, right? £52 for 100ml eau de toilette boots.com

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MAISON FRANCIS KURKDJIAN

Aqua Celestia Cologne Forte

All three of MFK’s recently unveiled Cologne Forte scents are shareable, but we’d definitely love to smell this on a man’s skin: a bergamotbrightened intense Cologne that is a true breath of fresh air, carrying on the breeze the floral whispers of rose, mock orange and sweet peas.

The freshly-washed linen dry-down of a white musk accord makes for a veritable crisp white shirt of a scent that is ultimately superbly nuzzleable, as it warms on the skin. £165 for 70ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

PARLE MOI DE PARFUM

Haute Provence / 89

Endless vistas of Provençal lavender fields and their ‘glorious explosion of purple, mauve, lilac and blue’ were the inspiration behind this wonderfully soothing, aromatic ‘memory of France in high summer.’ Until we can wander those fields in person, this cool, dry and immediately nostalgic scent spirits us there with every spritz.

Refreshing watermelon and hypnotic narcissus only add to the bucolic charms, and once again we must praise the nose of Michel Almairac. £98 for 50ml eau de parfum lessenteurs.com

PACO RABANNE

PARFUMS DE MARLY

The latest incarnation of the heroically themed fragrances ‘seizes with its power and seduces with its freshness.’

Freshly-squeezed lemons offer the juicy bite here, while the woody notes of incense wrap tendrils of soft smoke around a purr of vanilla in the base.

Spiced tonka bean is the delicious finale for this scent inspired by ‘subtly celebrating modern masculinity.’ Give this to someone you consider your personal hero – beats a golfing trophy, any day! £56 for 50ml eau de parfum pacorabanne.com

A distinctly greener vibe for this much-loved niche house, bringing the feeling of a Cologne but with the benefit of far greater staying power in a concentrated eau de parfum.

Bursting with citrus, the petitgrain grants an immediate freshness, a fruity interpretation of cashmere wood fused with crisp apple and the shady cool of violet. Amberwood drifts throughout, making this feel like a much-needed stroll through the woodlands when you need to escape. £160 for 75ml eau de parfum harrods.com

PENHALIGON’S

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO

Invictus Victory

Racquets

Originally part of their collection in the 1970s, Racquets has been dashingly revived and refreshed by Penhaligon’s for a grand slam of a scent, just in time for the traditional British summer sporting season getting properly into gear. Bright lemon provides a bounce in your step and makes us think of freshly pressed white tennis togs while supple leather feels like the welcome shade of the Members Club. New balls, please! £76 for 30ml eau de parfum penhaligons.com

Greenley

Intense Leather

Surging with freshness then taking an unexpected twist into supple, sensuous leather, perfumer Antoine Maisondieu fuses summer’s sparkling mandarin and crisp apple with flecks of pink peppercorn’s fizz. The heart sings of spring, meanwhile – lily of the valley’s verdancy dusted with a sprinkle of orris – and proving a scent for all seasons, the base is a warm hug of nuzzle-worthy oakmoss and musk.

Beneath it all the leather invites caress, closeness, all you’ve been missing… £56 for 50ml eau de parfum ferragamo.com

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IT TAKES ME RIGHT BACK

“

RATTAN isn’t the most that let me know I had most pungent of aromas, but wet definitely arrived. I crossed rattan has a stickiness to it the threshold via a giant mat reminiscent of tropical storms emblazoned with the Hotel and wet bodies fresh from the Providence Paris logo and pulled beach. And for me the smell of open the heavy brass-handled wet rattan brings me back to door, into an oasis of tranquillity.

Paris, circa 2012.

I entered the quaint but elegant Fresh from my triple stint lobby, checked in and took the as a student, first in Classics, glass lift up to my room. then in newspaper and Fashion The walls were dressed in Journalism, this trip was my 17th Century-inspired red velvet first foray into solo travel and everything from the French and the first glimpse of real shutters and crisp white sheets, freedom I’d seen in six years – a to the antique brass and marble liberating opportunity to lean bathroom, was sublime. I spent into adulthood. I booked the the evening exploring the first Eurostar I could, to visit JAMILA ROBERTSON remembers neighbourhood, experiencing my one of my dearest friends and first solo dinner in a restaurant, her first taste – and smell – of adult before returning to feast on red utterly immerse myself in all things French. wine and cookies in bed. It was freedom, on a trip to Paris My friend, who was now a indulgent, soothingly solitary bona fide French newspaper and convinced me that I could journalist, advised that he would not be in town for my first happily be in my own company forever. night, so it was up to me to fend for myself. At the time I It was my first glimpse into what living alone might be had just started blogging and managed to bag myself a like and it was utterly glorious. The next morning, after press discount at the achingly chic Hotel Providence. croissants and coffee, I ventured out into the Marais. On my I had solo travelled for the past 14 years to visit my dad in travels I made friends with a skater dude who turned out to Hong Kong. This time there would be no one to greet me at be my shining light through the COVID lockdown nearly 10 the other end, but I was excited to explore Paris on my own years later. We talked endlessly about creativity, London, terms. So I packed up all of my new favourite things and all Paris, fashion et al, and still do. of my beauty products (because this would undoubtedly After buying a little too much from Aesop I returned to be an Instagrammable trip!) and grabbed my giant fedora, the hotel to prepare for part two of my trip. I hopped into ready for my adventure to begin. a cab off to Montmartre, where the I headed off to St. Pancras with my real adventure began, staying with my huge suitcase and even bigger hat, friend. The next few blissful days were ready to see what Paris had in store for spent devouring pastries from local me. But as I arrived at my destination bakeries, (elegantly) chowing down – République Metro station – I found on charcuterie and indulging in the myself lugging my now pain of a best red wines we could afford at local suitcase up the stone steps and into neighbourhood haunts. a sea unfamiliar faces and clued-up Today, the occasional encounter locals going about their daily lives. with the smell of wet rattan takes And then the heavens opened. me back to this trip; straight back As I stumbled down the slippery to lugging my suitcase across town, cobbled side street, I could see the my first taste of living alone and to green awnings of the Hotel Providence evenings spent with new French in the distance. Alongside the hotel friends talking into the wee hours. sat a row of ivy and wicker-hued rattan As I emerge from the most solitary chairs, soaked through from the rain, of years, I, like so many of us, now but alluding to convivial times. truly cherish the renewed sense of Jamila, beauty The weather was bleak but the solidarité and days spent feasting and shopping in Paris smell of wet wicker somehow gave a chatting with friends. warmth to the air, and a cosy familiarity Hopefully, in the dry.

Wet rattan

”

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