Saturday 10 May 2014 14:30 Today’s the day that my best friend and I get married. He’s wearing […]
Month: May 2014
It may not look like summer outside but the perfume industry is certainly preparing for a long hot season of scented sunshine. When summer rolls around one takes the opportunity to dust the cobwebs off of those lighter, brighter and more citrus-centric fragrances that will cut through the unrelenting heat and will smell thoroughly alive under the gaze of the hot summer sun.
In preparation for summer my Escentual column this week takes a tour of some great summer fragrances. It covers some of my go-to summer scents (my ‘summer staples’, if you will) such as Mugler Cologne as well as some brand new perfumes launched for summer 2014. Click here to head on over to Escentual and read my ‘Summer Scent Edit’ and don’t forget to let me know what your summer staples are!
I never know what to expect when a new Amouage lands on my doorstep. The entire output from the industry’s most luxurious of houses is complex, intricate and grand beyond much else found in perfume stores. This complexity means that they’re not always the easiest perfumes to pin down and I personally find that one has to spend a fair bit of time with an Amouage before they can truly say they know it.
Amouage’s latest edition to their experimental Library Collection, ‘Opus VIII‘, is no exception and much like the wickedly dangerous, galbanum-soaked leather jacket of Opus VII and the delectably intense, salty amber of Opus VI that have preceded it, this beguiling perfume created by perfumers Pierre Negrin and Richard Herpin in conjunction with Creative Director Christopher Chong, is perhaps the most labyrinthine composition to have ever exited Amouage’s doors.
This week’s Perfume Pic of the Week is a double-whammy of the colour pink. As you may tell from the slight overuse of varying shades of the colour on this website, pink is one of my favourite colours and to me, evokes feelings of joy. After all, some of the best things in life are pink, such as; roses, macarons and Womanity, just to name a few. So this week I’m celebrating a duo of fuchsia fancies that bring brightness in a rather lovely composite image.
Peonies are the first subject of this mini ode to the colour pink, and what a beautiful topic they are. Nigel and I adore fresh flowers and the number of filled vases in our house definitely outweighs the space found in a one bedroom apartment. This weekend we picked up some beautiful, pink peonies (wonderfully ‘snapped’ by Nigel in the picture above) that are grabbing our attention with their huge, showy buds and softly sweet/spicy odour.
I like the note of peony in perfume too, especially in Penhaligon’s rather marvellous Peoneve. What Peoneve does quite remarkably, is capture the sharp, peppery, spicy and rosy facets of the flower to create a perfume that presents the image of peonies in the ground with the petals and stems all present and correct, and surrounded by soft soil. Both the flowers and the perfume speak of a self-assured beauty that is both casual and striking.
When one amasses a decent collection of perfumes it is inevitable that hidden gems will get forgotten amongst the plentiful array of bottles. This is most certainly the case with me and my incredibly disorganised system of filing perfumes (in two boxes and numerous drawers around the house) means that I will often find myself discovering long-lost loves whilst in the midst of a decent rummaging session. Lanvin’s wonderful Arpège was one of these unfairly neglected perfumes.
I rediscovered my bottle of Arpège this week and couldn’t get it off my brain. Out of all of the aldehydic florals (Nº5 and Nº22 etc) it is easily my favourite but it simply doesn’t get talked about enough, despite the fact that it radiates with cuddly, maternal warmth. Inspired by my rediscovery, this week’s Escentual column focuses on this most timeless of perfumes that seems to have aged rather well. If you’d like to read my review please click here to head on over to the Escentual Blog. Don’t forget to leave your thoughts about the perfume, whilst you’re there!
The Candy Perfume Boy 