In this new series, I put together a quarterly overview of five of my favourite fragrant subjects that have been piquing my interest over the last three months. These items can be individual perfumes, brands or houses, genres or even themes that have been taking my fancy. They can even include other books, bottles and other blogs that have been keeping me entertained. There are no rules. Well, there are three rules with this series; 1) the subjects must be linked to fragrance somehow (a rule that I’m allowed to bend); and 2) the hitlist is to be published towards the end of each quarter; and 3) the list must include my favourite things, as if I were a fragrant sort-of Oprah.
So, now we’re heading towards the end of March what’s topping my hitlist for quarter one of 2015?
It’s been a good few years since I’ve properly worn Jean Paul Gaultier’s Le Mâle (Francis Kurkdjian; 1995), but with the launch of the brand’s limited Pirate Edition (same scent, different (read: swashbuckling and amazing) bottle) the fragrance re-entered my life and I’ve been giving it a good airing over the last couple of weeks. Le Mâle, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, takes me way back to my misspent youth – Friday evenings spent sneaking in to the local gay bar and dancing on the pool table in a neon cloud of vanilla and lavender. The raging hormones, the crippling insecurities and the beautiful boys – those were the days (although, I have managed to hang on to one of those handsome fellows to the present day)! Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Le Mâle.
London-based fragrance and lifestyle brand, Jo Malone London seem to be coming up trumps with their recent offerings. Last year’s Rain & Angelica and Wood Sage & Sea Salt were delightfully offbeat and terrifically well done, and it seems they are continuing in the same vein of olfactory intrigue this year. We’ve already seen the launch of the Rock the Ages collection, which included the inky and smoky, Birch & Black Pepper, a must sniff if you’re into birch tar fragrances, and in June we shall see the release of Incense & Cedrat, a truly wonderful addition to the Cologne Intense range (review coming this week). Keep up the good work, JML!
There’s always room for Thierry Mugler on a Candy Perfume Boy list – in fact, it would just be plain weird for me to not acknowledge something from the brand, seeing as I am a card carrying member of the Muglerati and all. One thing from Mugler that has really taken me by surprise is the transcendently beautiful new bottle for Angel – the Gravity Star. Crafted in the same beautifully futuristic manner as all of Angel’s other vessels, this new refillable 75ml star is designed to change its form dependent on what side it is laid. It’s gorgeous and you can view it, along with a retrospective of Angel bottles here.
The weather seems to slowly kicking it up to summer gear. The temperature is rising and we’ve even had a bit of sun. Granted, we’ve had lots of rain, fog and dull, cloudy weather too, but one can tell that summer is not far off. Of course, this means that one’s fragrance wardrobe brushes off its winter cobwebs and pushes forward those lighter, more summery and citrus-inflected perfumes. For me, those tend to be the pure waters from French house, Hermès. Recently I’ve been flitting between the flinty grapefruit of Terre d’Hermès Eau Très Fraîche, the salty orange brine of Eau de Merveilles and the rain-drench waxy white petals of Le Jardin de Monsieur Li. Who knew that transparent summer scents could smell so darn luxurious?
Finally, if one word has had huge significance over the last few months it is ‘jasmine’. I am of course referring to the build up to the 2015 Jasmine Awards, at which I was lucky enough to take home a trophy for my Escentual article ‘M is for Mugler‘ (final plug, I promise). There is more to jasmine than just the awards though, and this month I took an in-depth look at the note, and some of the reference fragrances within the genre, in The Candy Perfume Boy’s Guide to Jasmine. I even have a jasmine plant in my house right this very second (see the above image) and it smells fantastic. So, for all of the above, ‘jasmine’ simply has to be on my quarter one hitlist.
Join the Discussion!
What fragrant things have been on your hitlist this quarter?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments box below!
Disclaimer
Image 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6 my own. Image 2 via lemale.co.ul [cropped].
The Candy Perfume Boy 