Fragrances for Archives - The Perfume Society (2024)

It’s still officially summer, but – dare we say it? – there feels like a an autumnal touch to the air of late. Some may sigh and bemoan the lack of a proper summer, but really, when was the British summer ever a given? We say: grab some of these scents to try, and make the most of what’s left – they beautifully bridge the seasons, and provide sunlit warmth while welcoming an olfactory change…

Molton Brown Sunlit Clementine & Vetiver

Celebrating lazy, hazy days of endless summer (we wish!), Molton Brown sets the perfume bar high, yet again proving that fresh and citrussy needn’t be a fleeting, linear experience. Perfumer Julie Massé brings a long-lasting smile of sunshine with sophisticated, lightly smoky vetiver in the base – patches of dabbled shade offering a hint of mellow woodland leaves in a breeze. Creamy fig leaf and the delicious drift of roasted hazelnut add to the so-chic trail. Feel-better, bottled!

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

Ormonde Jayne Vanille Afrique Intensivo

Oh yes, it’s a vanilla – being filled to maximum strength with a superbly smooth Madagascan vanilla absolute – but the orris butter entwines so well with the aphrodisiac qualities it becomes a scent to enrapture with ‘…a level of comfort and quiet contemplation,’ they say. Spray this when you need to remember to love yourself, to entice the senses of all who come near, and to dream of balmy summer sunsets and billowing breezes.

£295 for 88ml parfum ormondejayne.com

Thameen Chords

Two cultural inspirations reverberate through this celebratory scent: British-German composer Handel’s London residency at 25 Brook Street (did you know?) and the gloriously swelling score used for the 1975 (rambunctious, 18thC-set) film, Barry Lyndon. Picture whispers and scandals within wood-panelled rooms, the soft spread of candlelight illuminating honey-drizzled, summer-plucked orange blossom with the flickering brightness of neroli. Meanwhile, plumes of tobacco smoke hazily settle on everything within Nathalie Lorson’s virtuoso performance. A welcome bridge between scented seasons, we feel. Encore!

£250 for 100ml Cologne elixir selfridges.com

Sarah Baker Peach’s Revenge

This ain’t no innocent prissy summer peach perfume, that’s for sure. Describing it as a ‘Viciously juicy peach for Renaissance power plays,’ perfumer Chris Maurice leans into the ripe summer fruitiness, which veritably drips deception, being laced with amaretto and hiding a sizzle of ginger and cinnamon in the flesh. Imagining ‘A handsome villain [strutting] out of the orchard trumpeting an exuberance of salacious fruit,’ the creamy caramel builds a delicious throb of anticipation.

£145 for 50ml extrait de parfum sarahbakerperfumes.com

Maison Crivelli Tubéreuse Astrale

Developed in collaboration with perfumer Quentin Bisch, this is tuberose, but not a summer white floral as we know it. For any of you naysayers who steer away from the heady bloom lest is screeches: relax. Inspired as this is by breathing in the scent of tuberoses while gazing in rapture at the night sky; expect tingling twinkles of cinnamon atop this creamy, dreamy white floral; all nuzzled in the most softly draped peach-y osmanthus leather. Perfect for summer star-gazers and rapturous reveries of warmer days through to autumn.

£205 for 50ml extrait harveynichols.com

Written by Suzy Nightingale

Considering the colder, grey days and longer, darker nights (not to mention the current state of the world at large) we reckon it’s time to fully embrace the spirit of World Smile Day. Started by Harvey Ball, a business craftsman from Worcester in Massachusetts; he was best known as the creator of the now iconic ‘Smiley Face‘ symbol in 1963. In 1999 the first ‘World Smile Day’ was held and has since become an annual tradition. Perhaps right now we’re needing smiles more than ever? Thus, we present an array of perfumes that make us smile every time we wear them, and encourage you to seek these out – or perhaps bring a smile to someone else’s face and treat them to one of these…?

Happy Paul Bright Spice
Crafted to trigger a little happy from the outside in,’ this immediately mood-lifting fragrance was ‘conceived by a not-so-happy Paul…’ who’s lived with depression. Bright bergamot and lemon sparkle with a frost of spearmint leaves and almost fruity/fresh eucalptus. A tingle of pink pepper and cinnamon bark segue to contemplative heart of frankincense and rosemary, all resting on a woody base. 20% of the profits from sales go to mental health charity YoungMinds – so you smell good while doing good.

£21 for 10ml fragrance oil
happypaul.co.uk

Bath House Climbing Trees
A collaboration with British perfumer Ruth Mastenbroek, the name alone conjures wonderful images, while the scent doesn’t disappoint. Memories of carefree childhood summers and fields of sun-scorched grass are evoked through vetiver, cedar and amber representing the woodland floor. Clambering effortlessly through canopies of aromatic green leaves, sweet bergamot and radiant jasmine sparkle like dappled sunshine, while lemon and rosemary feel like smiling in crisp countryside air. Basically, the scent of freedom, bottled!

£74 for 60ml eau de parfum
thebathhouseshop.co.uk

Valentino Born in Roma Yellow Dream
Celebrating ‘a new beginning, full of life, hope and optimism’ (YES please!) we’re imagining a golden sunrise over Rome – lemon coloured blossom carpets the pavement as a confident woman strides forth to greet the new day. Floral yet fruity (in the most grown up, effervescent way), this gives us vibes of just-washed hair gleaming in the sun, a vibrant yellow dress, heels kicked off, a musky trail followed in bare feet on sun-warmed cobbles, smiles all the way.

£83 for 50ml eau de parfum
boots.com

SKANDINAVISK Kapitel 12 Freedom To Roam
We’ve come to love the great outdoors more than ever these past few years – catching up with our Scandinavian contemporaries, here, Skandinavisk capture the joyful spirit of wilderness with Freedom to Roam. Eliciting smiles at the mere thought of escaping to the forest and leaving everyday stresses behind, the scent reflects an ancient Scandinavian law which invites exploration and adventure, imagining heather-line trails above the tree line via notes of wild berries, herbs and woods. Simply glorious.

£45 for 50ml eau de toilette
skandinavisk.com

MOSCHINO Toy 2 Bubblegum
Continuing their teddy bear’s picnic of perfumes, Moschino’s creative director, Jeremy Scott, was 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, and the smiles they bring. 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 and very werable beyond those smiles.

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

Yorkshire Day is an annual celebration of the British county, held on August 1st, and of course we’re using it for an olfactory celebration – this time focussing on fragrant ingredients the region is famed for. Think white roses, rhubarb, tea and biscuits (hey, we can’t think of a brew, even fragrantly, without biscuits!)

If you’re wondering the signifigance of the date, The Yorkshire Society explains: ‘The date alludes to the regimental anniversary of the Battle of Minden on 1st August and the wearing of roses in the headdress on that day. In the case of the Light Infantry, successors to the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, a white rose. The date is also the anniversary of the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, for which a Yorkshire MP, William Wilberforce, campaigned.’

The Yorkshire Post tell us that ‘the white rose came to prominence again during the Seven Years War, when the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry fought at the Battle of Minden in Prussia. They picked white roses from bushes on the battlefields as a tribute to their fallen comrades, and wore them in their buttonholes.’ Floris’ fragrance was a favourite of Florence Nightingale, no less – velvety roses dusted with soft iris, swathed in warm amber and grounded with earthy musk. At once strikingly elegant and wonderfully confident.

Floris White Rose From £17 for 10ml eau de toilette

Molton Brown are right on the trend for good-enough-to-eat fragrances, firmly rooted in cherished childhood memories of baking with rhubarb’s unique tartness sprinkled by just enough sweetness. In the eau de parfum, those seeking scrumptiousness can indulge with joyfully juicy raspberry and a vivacious kick of pink pepper enhancing rhubarb’s sparkle, as luscious lychee and the tender peony showcase rose’s powdered charm, with a soothingly sensual base of cedarwood and musk swathing you in a gossamer soft trail.

Molton Brown Delicious Rhubarb & Rose £120 for 100ml eau de parfum

An article on the BBC’s website explains the fascinating history of Yorkshire’s association with licorice. Dating back to 1760, when George Dunhill, an apothecary chemist in Pontefract, added sugar to liquorice (then used as medicine) creating ‘a chewable non-medicinal lozenge, inventing the sweet as we know it today.’ In fragrance, licorice adds an aromatic yet resinous stickiness, adding the ‘noir’ when used in wonderful juxtaposition against billowing gardenia, luminous jasmine and creamy almond.

Bvlgari Splendida Jasmin Noir £79 for 50ml eau de parfum

When perfumer and founder of 4160 Tuesdays, Sarah McCartney, moved her studio to Hammersmith, ‘she made Tea & Biscuits as a symbol of the British way of making friends and getting through a crisis’ – The biscuit-y notes feature wholemeal bran, lemon and ginger with toasted hazelnuts, while the tea is taken ‘black, with oat milk.’ Eyebrows might be raised at that by Yorkshire traditionalists, but we think they’ll be swayed by the sheer comforting deliciousness of the scent. It’s utterly addictive all year ’round.

4160 Tuesdays Hammersmith Tea & Biscuits from £25 for 15ml eau de parfum

We know how seriously people from Yorkshire take their tea, and we couldn’t agree more, but what if you fancy a little tot of something more bracing in your brew? The resinous warmth of oak-casked whisky is laced through this most potent blend of their black tea, rose and juniper aromatic sensation, and harks back to the heritage of this cheekily eccentric, British brand. Named for their original address of their flagship store, it’s the kind of scent that imbues you with a uniquely winsome character.

Atkinsons 24 Old Bond Street £99 for 100ml eau de Cologne

With a summer of sporting events ahead, in our Fragrances For series this time we’re suggesting Track & Field as a fragrant theme. The Commonwealth Games 2022 have begun in Birmingham, and of course we’re also celebrating the ongoing success of the brilliant women’s England football team getting to the final, woo hoo! Whether you’re sporty yourself, prefer being a spectator or are simply looking for some lovely fresh, summer-y scents to wear – we got you covered, no matter what your team’s colours are…

Freshly snapped stems and verdantly green undergrowth give the feeling of being in the middle of a field on a summer’s day (now that could be indulging in your favourite sport, or perhaps watching on the sidelines with a picnic, which is our preference!) A gorgeously dewy floral bouquet at the heart features hyacinth florets, wild freesia greens and zesty mandarin leaves, with blossoming rose centifolia stems and jasmine buds on an earthier, soul-nourishing base. The flowers proffered to the winners on the podium, perhaps?

Malin + Goetz Stem £78 for 50ml eau de parfum

Sneaker addicts will want to get their noses on this – an amazingly lifelike scent of new out the box sports pumps in perfumed form! Think the squeak of clean rubber on a court, freshly buffed white leather gleaming in sunshine. What’s more, sing a clever micro-encapsulation technology in a water-based solution, the spray, they say, ‘works the miracle: a scent of newness and cleanliness will diffuse for a long time as you walk. At ease in your shoes, the world and success lie beneath your feet!’

Officine Universelle Buly 1803 Eau Gymnastique €70 for 500ml spray

Creative Director Jeremy Scott knows about delivering freshness, and always with a cheeky wink. Having done a limited edition scent for Adidas Originals in a shoe-shaped bottle, we think sporting types will love the wonderful whimsy of seeming to spray a cleaning product on your body in the locker-room! In fact, inside, the juice itself is a joyously refreshing blast of zesty mandarin and bergamot going to work on your nose, before a raspberry juiciness, rich ylang ylang and luminescent woodiness.

Moschino Fresh Couture £51 for 50ml eau de toilette

A suitably victorious 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.’ We say: any gender who adores the juxtopsition of vibrancy and woodiness would love this – leave everyone else on the track in your smoke trail!

Paco Rabanne Invictus Victory £58 for 50ml eau de parfum

We’ve not forgotten about the swimmers – those of you plunging in to the pool (whether it’s in a stadium, or more serene settings on holiday) might like to imagine for a moment that you’re bathing ‘In a mythical ocean,’ where ‘a sea shell gives birth to the goddess of love.’ Well it’s more romantic than a swimming cap and dry robe, anyway! Here, ‘Desire lingers beneath the shimmering surface’ with yuzu, pink pepper and seaweed glistening on slippery rocks, a salty undertow of ambergris and driftwood beckoning you further in.

Sarah Baker Atlante £145 for 50ml extrait de parfum

Written by Suzy Nightingale

The turning of the seasons is the perfect time to explore a new scent, to draw a metaphorical line under the colder months behind us and look forward to brighter days in fragrant form! Spring can be beautifully welcomed-in with these softly blossoming (and blooming lovely) recent launches. Which would you like to try, first, we wonder…?

COLLEZIONE PRIVATA BY VALMONT
Collezione Privata Just Bloom
For the fourth fragrance in the collection, we’re presented with a stunning bouquet of white flowers, traditionally a symbol of femininity but chicly paired back, here, allowing the blossoms to fully bloom. CEO Sophie Vann Guillon’s favourite flower happens to be lily of the valley, so joyfully evoked in the top notes, and complemented by the creamy exoticism of gardenia in the heart. Finally caressed by the ethereal woodiness of ambergris, it’s a sun-dappled delight.
£230 for 100ml eau de parfum
harrods.com

CHLOÉ
Nomade Eau de Parfum Naturelle
Celebrating ‘the merging of cultures and the poetry of encounters’ this new, 100% natural origin evocation is an olfactory exploration that whisks us to distant landscapes as dusk falls. Bergamot breezes its zesty freshness over sandy dunes, Egyptian jasmine absolute’s joyful glow meets the addictive smoothness of succulent date accord, rippled with creamy sandalwood and vanilla. It seems to billow hopefulness, somehow: soothing memories of skin still warm from a day’s adventures.
£54 for 30ml eau de parfum
lookfantastic.com

BVLGARI
Rose Goldea Blossom Delight
Swapping out heavier scents for fresher fragrances feel like a proper escape from winter, an exuberant change in the weather here evoked by the delicacy of lily of the valley, powdery peony and a kiss of musk. This pretty bouquet is further refreshed ‘by incorporating the freshness of the rosebuds at sunrise, embraced by just-picked spring flowers.’ We’re dropping down the denier scale in olfactory form, wearing this joyous ode to spring.
£65 for 50ml eau de toilette
bvlgari.com

CREED
Wind Flowers
Inspired by the flowing movements of a dancer, this feminine fragrance feels like a handful of petals tossed to the breeze. Indian jasmine and Tunisian orange blossom are twirled with a peachy softness, the perfumer adding a further flurry of jasmine sambac, tuberose and the fruity notes of the Centifolia rose into the fragrant ballet. Orange blossom blankets the base, with a delicious praline that swirls to a finale of hushed musk.
£260 for 75ml eau de parfum
creedfragrances.co.uk

GABAR
Ground II
‘We’re rooted in Myanmar and made for the world,’ the founders of this niche house rather beautifully explain, and the inspirations are firmly planted there, too. Based on traditional La Phet (tea leaf salad) and Thanaka (tree bark) the verdant crunch of stalks is seamlessly stirred into dough-like orris, fig, saffron and sandalwood silkiness that had us burying our noses in our wrists. A majestic oudh, patchouli and vetiver trail truly feel grounding, hours later.
£120 for 50ml eau de parfum
gabarmyanmar.com

With the world in turmoil and so much uncertainty it might seem, to some, an act of ‘frivolity’ to turn to fragrance. But we know – and we hear from you all the time – how important scent can be at times of extreme stress. Rising sales in personal and home fragrance attested to this during lockdowns, and so we offer a spread of recently launched scents that can help soothe frazzled nerves, remind us of happier times and, most importantly, give us hope…

MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA
Replica When The Rain Stops
As if the name wasn’t evocative enough, this is fresh air, bottled: the scent of flowers and leaves, after a summer rainstorm, via bergamot, nose-tingling pink pepper, an aquatic accord, Isparta rose petal essence and jasmine, on a base that hums with pine needle oil, the dampness of moss, and Bali patchouli. Crystal-clear in colour – like the rain-washed air it evokes – this has us believing that the storm clouds are beginning to part, at last.
From £49 for 50ml eau de toilette
selfridges.com

MOLTON BROWN
Delicious Rhubarb & Rose
Celebrating ‘home is where the heart is’, Molton Brown showcase a duo of star ingredients often grown in our own gardens, much beloved by us Brits. Perfumer Vanessa Prudent conjures comforting childhood memories of baking, a sprinkle of sugar and pink pepper dusting rhubarb’s crispness, the leaves swagged by armfuls of soft pink roses. Marrying crisp fruitiness to the cedar muskiness of the base via silky cream ribbons, it’s an elegant reverie, bottled.
£85 for 100ml eau de toilette
moltonbrown.co.uk

TO THE FAIREST
ODRE COSMIQUE
Inspired by ‘the magic and connectivity of the cosmos’, this gender-neutral scent opens with unusual notes of cool, silvery cardamom and calming water lily. Shimmering like the night sky, the sparkle hushes to a warmer base of soothing sandalwood, rippled through with the addictive nature of the chocolate cosmos flower. Gourmand-shunners need not worry, this is no ‘foodie’ type concoction – it feels far more sophisticated than that; a subtle addiction, if you will.
£85 for 50ml eau de parfum
tothefairest.com

EMPORIO ARMANI
Stronger With You Only
Chock full of assured suaveness, the character of the beloved original juice is allowed to shine through but there’s a zing up top with a generous squeeze of grapefruit. Meanwhile, an extra dose of freshness is granted by aromatic lavender and geranium in the heart. An intriguingly smoky is joined by a chestnut accord that’s sugar-coated yet still masculine. It feels like having your favourite jacket re-made in a differing material: the perfect fragrant fit.
£54 for 50ml eau de toilette
armanibeauty.co.uk

GABAR
Ground II
‘We’re rooted in Myanmar and made for the world,’ the founders of this niche house rather beautifully explain, and the inspirations are firmly planted there, too. Based on traditional La Phet (tea leaf salad) and Thanaka (tree bark) the verdant crunch of stalks is seamlessly stirred into dough-like orris, fig, saffron and sandalwood silkiness that had us burying our noses in our wrists. A majestic oudh, patchouli and vetiver trail truly feel grounding, hours later.
£120 for 50ml eau de parfum
gabarmyanmar.com

We wanted to bring you some ideas of fragrances to wear when you should be kind to yourself, most especially on this day when ‘love is in the air’, but we often put ourselves at the bottom of a long list of people we need to show how much we care. Valentines Day can be difficult for many, so we say grab a cuppa (and a box of chocolates), and treat yourself to trying one of these recently launched, and all so-beautiful fragrances…

AEMIUM
Rouge Confidence
Swathing ourselves in amber-rich, beautifully-balanced scents is exactly what we want to be doing right now. This suffuses a buoyant, gilded warmth with, notes of supple leather (think freshly polished new boots, joyously kicking through leaves), phosphorescent citrus beaming through cheering freesia and violet. Here’s a new-to-us French house which equates luxury with eco-kind credentials, too – everything sourced, manufactured, and packaged in France to reduce their carbon footprint, and zero petrochemicals.
£125 for 100ml eau de parfum
selfridges.com

DIOR LA COLLECTION PRIVÉE
La Collection Privée Vanilla Diorama
Here is Dior perfumer-creator François Demachy’s ‘ode to vanilla’, which from the initial sparkle of orange to the swoon of that sticky, dark pod’s scent, does not disappoint. Like wearing an amber cloak of silk velvet, texturally cosy with a glamorous, golden sheen, with undulating seams of rum, cocoa and patchouli throughout. Apparently inspired by an off-menu dessert created for Demachy by Parisian restaurant Maxim’s, we’re going to need a bigger spoon…
From £99 for 40ml eau de parfum
dior.com

VERONIQUE GABAI
Le Point G
This swooningly sensual fragrance ‘draws inspiration from the G spot’ (chaps: if you can’t find it in Liberty’s, just ask!), which ‘grows on skin until it reaches a full completion in an exhale of pleasure.’ Gosh. Softly sexy, not brashly obvious, spicy pepper, silky vanilla and soft white musk drape the skin for hours. Don’t think of this as a pulling perfume – more an invitation to wear fragrance for self-pleasure.
£245 for 85ml eau de parfum
libertylondon.com

BURBERRY SIGNATURES
Windsor Tonic
This collection, ‘inspired by British heritage, artistry, and eccentricities’, really showcases the Burberry DNA. Evoking the royal town it’s named for, expect a certain insouciant grandeur to overcome you as the Cologne-like freshness of piercing petitgrain, bergamot and mandarin sweep to the cool green cardamom and orange blossom heart. Buoyed with wafts of green cypress to the refined woody dry-down, it feels like nothing bad can happen when you wear this.
£190 for 90ml eau de parfum
harrods.com

MONT BLANC
LEGEND
At once familiar and yet excitingly different to the original, Mont Blanc invite you to push the boundaries of your life but in the most reassuringly comforting way. Here, the addition of green violet leaves harmonises with the addictively creamy (almost waxy) floral note of magnolia and a warm, woody, burnished leather as it deliciously dries down. A new signature scent, perhaps, if you need a gentle push out of your comfort zone.
£48.50 for 50ml eau de toilette
johnlewis.com

January often feels like a month (or two!) of Mondays, so we’re reaching for bright and brilliant fragrances to help us look forward again. From vibrant, luminous florals to lightly frosted but sunshine-filled foresty walks and fruity, opulently warm concoctions; why not seek these recent launches out to try on your own skin? The future is bright(er), so let’s still snuggle-up, but also welcome the turning of the seasons, looking forward with these fantastic scents…

BAMFORD
Woodland Moss
We love Carole Bamford’s description that her new fine fragrance duo is ‘layered, rich and uplifting, much like the natural ingredients in which they are so deeply rooted.’ The ingredients in Woodland Moss and its ‘sister’, Wild Meadow, definitely evoke a sense of the natural world, harnessed here in a woody masterpiece that is at once damp and mossy, earthy and intriguing, rendered elegant and soft by an exquisite garland of dew-drenched rose.
From £25 for 10ml eau de parfum
bamford.com

BYREDO
Young Rose
Debuted in China – a country just awakening to the joys of perfume –Ben Gorham refers to this as ‘an ode to the perennial restlessness of youth: an olfactive diary of those who are writing their own future.’ But we’d say this should most definitely appeal to those outside the ‘Gen Z’ or ‘millennial’ age brackets, a joyous clash of Sichuan pepper and Damascus rose, buffed by orris, musk and Ambroxan. What is Mandarin for ‘fabulous’, again?
£122 for 50ml eau de parfum
byredo.com

JEROBOAM
Floro
Jeroboam pioneered downsized flacons: easy on the back, easier on the pocket, now offering this ‘flurry of flowers’. Fruit notes first capture the attention: green and red apples, and luscious pineapple. Then the flowers burst open: jasmine and airy, transparent petal notes, rendered a touch creamy by sandalwood and finished with a flourish of dry woods, white musk and cedar. Eminently shareable, Jeroboam suggest (and oh, we do love flowers, on a chap!)
£90 for 30ml eau de parfum
jovoyparis.uk

DUNHILL
Icon Racing Red
There’s some extra pep in this engine – perhaps the sizzle of spicier notes with the warm glow of that rich amber base does it, but nonetheless we can say the red is – racier than its somewhat sleeker Racing Blue garage-mate. Solar notes remind us of driving, top down, ‘round winding lanes on holiday with a carefree abandon, the citrus speeding leafy fern and geranium before the frankincense-like base kicks in.
£88 for 100ml eau de parfum
fenwick.co.uk

JIMMY CHOO
Urban Hero Gold Edition
Luscious pineapple and ripe blood orange offer the most welcome kind of bracing opening, perfectly offsetting the more balsamic sweetness of soothing lavandin and rich, creamy tonka bean (think roasted almonds, lapped in milk) at the heart. This fragrance of contrasts, reflecting the inspiration of street art and free-spirited creatives amidst a city environment, is captured in a special edition golden bottle that will steal the show on his side of the bathroom shelf.
£72 for 100ml eau de parfum
boots.com

Following the whirlwind of festive treating that’s gone on, we’re betting you’ve been at the very bottom of your own ‘to do’ list (if you appeared on it at all!) It’s time now to stop and treat yourself for a change – perhaps use up some of those vouchers or consider at least making the time to wonder what you want to wear, next, and who you want to be? Perfume can be a dressing-up-box of possibilities, so try these on for size…

KYLIE MINOGUE
Darling
If this is ringing bells, you’re spot-on: Kylie debuted Darling in 2006, acquiring quite the following, who grieved when their favoured fragrance was discontinued. Darling’s making a comeback – but with a modern spin; Firmenich perfumer Ilias Eremendis has captured the ‘architecture’ of the original in a vegan formula that offers up a bouquet of freesia, lily, boronia flower, topped by juicy fruits, with a curtain call of sandalwood, vanilla and amber.
£22 for 30ml eau de parfum
theperfumeshop.com

NISHANE
Favonius
Romantically inspired, the mythology and olfactory intelligence of this niche house radiate with every spritz of their floral-swagged invitation to dream. The Roman goddess of flowers is invoked via a clarion call of bright bergamot flecked with sparkling pink pepper; a ribbon of incense twirling to the geranium heart, twisted with a dash of herbaceous clary sage. This hint of verdant greenery soon segues to a dry-down that’s grounded in sweet, musky patchouli.
£295 for 100ml extrait de parfum
harrods.com

PACO RABANNE
Pacollection Blossom Me
Pacollection has been making quite the packaging splash, via innovative, patented ‘Airmetal’ pouches, comprised of 50% natural origin materials. We now welcome three additions to the line-up: fruity oudh Major Me (Emilie Coppermann), irreverent Dandy Me, and Marie Salamagne’s Blossom Me, an ‘eccentric’ floral infusion in which soft orange blossoms, cool vetiver, mandarin and mint combine to offer a first-of-its-kind harmony, in the intriguing form of a ‘solar vegetal’ splash.
£65 for 62ml eau de parfum
pacorabanne.com

TOM FORD
PRIVATE BLEND ÉBÈNE FUMÉ
Palo Santo is a purifying, sacred incense wood, used in ritual, that has curled smokily though many recent creations. Here, this woody-amber incarnation is deliberately meditative; as Tom Ford says, it has ‘an almost spiritual sensuality that uplifts your mood.’ It smoulders alongside dry cade essence, resinous cistus absolute, roses, guaiac and ebony woods. The trick it carries off? This would be equally at home in a yoga class or on the dance floor.
£178 for 50ml eau de parfum
tomford.co.uk

BRIONI
Eau de Parfum Intense
A Lusciously luminous duo of citrus oils first beguiles the senses, radiant bergamot and juicy mandarin studded with highly aromatic pink peppercorn in cool opening notes. A deeper plunge into the suave world of this sophisticated fashion house’s aesthetic, Michel Almairac suffuses the base with patchouli, oudh and Ambroxan, threads of suede-like saffron woven with a swoosh of crisp apple, a fragrant flash akin to the silky moiré that lines their wool jackets.
From £85 for 60ml eau de parfum
brioni.com

The skies this time of year are ablaze with colour as the sun sets – the heavens awash with purples, reds and pinks that melt into the darkness like nature’s fireworks. And fragrances are often inspired by this spectacular display, too – perfumers creating scents that light us up even on the dullest days. Here’s five we feel so colourful wearing right now…

COACH
Dreams Sunset
Inspired by ‘golden hours and one-of-a-kind journeys with friends’ – which we are indeed dreaming of – 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 so there.
From £34.50 for 40ml eau de parfum
johnlewis.com

GHOST
Orb of Night
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

BVLGARI
Omnia by Mary Katrantzou
The most glorious, iridescent sunset-esque bottle acts as a vase for Alberto Morrilas’s beautifully composed ‘maximalist bouquet’, as Bulgari describe it. A green rustle of fig leaf unfurls to billowing orange blossom and gardenia before settling to underpinnings of fluffy musk and a deeper, woody base. An exclusive collaboration with fashion designer Mary Katrantzou, this vibrant scent reflects her designs, and we can almost feel the fabric flowing around us as we wear this.
£87 for 65ml eau de parfum
bulgari.com

MAISON CRIVELLI
Osmanthe Kōdoshān
A sublime portrait of the apricot-y bloom, this is inspired by a trip to ‘a tropical mountain shrouded in mist.’ We sense sunsets, height and grandeur in a scent that slowly unfurls itself as it warms. Curls of fog clear to reveal a forest far below, the resinous scent of verdant vegetation and grounding woodiness rising to meet you, the osmanthus swathing your skin in a leathery embrace. Calming, mysterious, transcendentally beautiful.
From £170 for 100ml eau de parfum
harveynichols.com

PENHALIGON’S
Constantinople
On spraying this, we were immediately greeted with a highly refined, almost leathery iris – the image of an intricately carved wooden shutter suddenly flung open to welcome evening air and blazing skies, a tang of salty shores nearby carrying waves of delicate, powdered spices on the breeze. Beneath an earthy, mossy layer nestles seams of liquid vanilla, milky ripples later reflect moonlight, harbouring the expectation and tingling anticipation of tomorrow’s exotic adventures…
£178 for 100ml eau de parfum
penhaligons.com