I Can Hear The Bells – An Escentual Post & The Hunt for My Wedding Scent

I is For ‘I Do’…

I have weddings on the brain at the moment, mainly for two reasons: firstly, this week’s Escentual post (click on the image above to view) takes a look at some fragrances suitable for rocking on the ‘big day’ for both brides and grooms; and secondly, because after what seems like a million years being engaged, Nigel and I have finally set a date for our big gay wedding.

We are both incredibly excited about exchanging our vows next May and are finding ourselves to be surprisingly organised in terms of planning everything – we’ve picked our outfits (matching, obviously), the theme, the best man and woman, the cake, the venue and pretty much everything else. There is however, one small detail that we have not been able to agree on as yet – the wedding scents.

We have just under 11 months until the big day and I think we’re going to need most of that to make a decision. Do we go for something old? Something new? Something blue? OK, maybe we won’t go for anything blue (there will be no Bleu de Chanel at my wedding thank you very much) but there is an interesting decision to be made in terms of whether the perfumes should be new – in order to create a scented association with the day – or whether they should be old and already hold a significant amount of sentimental value.

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The Iris Arabesque – Penhaligon’s Iris Prima Perfume Review

The Spirit of the Ballet. Bottled.
“The Spirit of the Ballet. Bottled.”

Perfumers and brands can take their inspiration from a wide variety of mediums when creating a perfume: music, nature, people, memories, places and food; just to name a small few. As perfume lovers we welcome a wealth of muses – after all it’s always interesting to see perfumes based on new and exciting things rather than the usual set of notes and themes.

Penhaligon’s is a brand that seems to have a far reaching nose, in the sense that they like to seek out unusual inspirations and over the years have created a number of perfumes inspired by weird and wonderful things. Take their wonderful Sartorial for example, a fragrance that accurately captures the scent of a Saville Row tailor’s workroom or the equally-wonderful Juniper Sling, a perfect olfactory tribute to the quintessentially English drink of Gin.

For their latest offering, the brand has teamed up with English National Ballet to create a fragrance that captures the spirit of the ballet – a perfume that they describe as being “a work of olfactory choreography”. Having had exclusive access to dancers Nathan Young and Lauretta Summerscales, in addition to behind the scenes visits, perfumer Alberto Morillas has created a beautiful ode to the most graceful of dances.

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The Deadly Perfumes of Pride

The Sin of Pride
The Sin of Pride

My lovely perfume sisters and brothers – Persolaise, Eyeliner on a Cat, Fragrant Moments and Olfactoria’s Travels – and I, have yet again clubbed together to bring you  an olfactory group project. This time we’re focusing on the seven deadly sins and have cooked up our very best selections of the most sinful perfumes.

“A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of one’s close associates, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.”

The Oxford English Dictionary’s
Definition of ‘Pride’

When given the choice of picking a sin for my article I opted for ‘Pride’. The sin of pride focuses on self-adoration and vanity – taking pleasure and satisfaction from our own achievements, looks and attractive qualities. Pride intrigues me because I think it’s the sin that nearly everybody is guilty of at some time in their lives and it can be a key driver for us to continue to succeed in our professional and personal lives.

The perfumes I have picked for this article all display an element of pride – each in a slight different way. Whether it’s vanity, pride in artistry, the pride that precedes a fall or even a faceless pride, these perfumes are subtly sinful in a subversive and utterly compelling way

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Hothouse Flowers – Byredo Inflorescence Perfume Review

Hothouse Flowers by Steven Klein for Vogue January 2013
Hothouse Flowers by Steven Klein for Vogue January 2013

It surprises me that this is my first review of a Byredo perfume. I haven’t tried everything they have to offer but most of what I have sampled has been well made, if not rather interesting (it’s hard to ignore the genius of the tinsel-esque M/Mink and Solero-esque Pulp). Still, my laziness as a blogger has resulted in the brand not being featured and for that I shall have to give myself a large slap on the wrist.

That was until a sample of the latest Byredo fragrance – ‘Infloresence’ – arrived on my door step. They pretty much had me at the name, but it was the brand’s description of the scent that got me;

“to celebrate the beginning of spring, nature’s perennial and powerful rebirth, Ben Gorham (Founder and Creative Director of Byredo) envisaged a wild garden and a floral scent that would capture the strength and beauty of its blossoms, just as they reach their dramatic peak.”

It didn’t take much more than that to get me salivating! According to my good friend Wikipedia, inflorescence means; “a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches” [1], and this is entirely in keeping with the fragrance’s theme of a bouquet of intensely aromatic flowers.

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Fatal Attraction – Amouage Opus VII Perfume Review

Amouage Opus VII
Amouage Opus VII

There should be a club for those that consider themselves as ‘Amouage Addicts’. We could all sit around discussing our adoration for the Omani house, pouring over our favourites and consoling each other over the fact that we’ll never be able to own them all. One matter that definitely would not be up for discussion however, is the idea of giving the house up any time soon. It’s simply not on the table.

We are truly helpless really, what with the annual masculine and feminine pairings. Not to mention special editions such as Beloved and the highly artistic and fascinating Library Collection. The truth is that we are mere lemmings for Amouage and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

This year’s addition to the Library Collection is Opus VII. Created by perfumers Pierre Negrin and Alberto Morillas it “arouses the juxtaposition of harmon with the intensity of reasoning between conflicting ideas and beliefs” [1]. Much like the chaos of the Interlude duo from last year, Opus VII appears to take a slightly more abstract approach with its dark black flacon serving as a small hint for the wild ride that’s unleashed upon the very first spritz.

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New Escentual Post: For My Father, For Father’s Day

Scent Memories of My Father

Father’s Day is fast approaching and to celebrate my weekly Escentual post focuses on the best father of them all (in my humble opinion) – my dad. The post is a not only a tribute to the man himself but also a look back at the scents he has worn over the years – scents that have had an impact on the masculines I wear and enjoy.

Please click on the image above to head over to Escentual and peruse the article. Don’t forget to leave a comment whilst you are there! Also, below the jump you’ll find another link to a Fragrant Father’s Day Gift Guide for every type of dad there is. Enjoy!

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Escentual Post Round-Up – Spring Flowers, 20 Years of Classique, Meeting Mark Buxton and More!

The Candy Perfume Boy Meets Mark Buxton

Over the last few weeks I have continued to fulfil my duties as Escentual.com‘s Fragrance Expert with weekly articles on a wide range of subjects ranging from spring flowers to a fascinating talk hosted by Perfume Lovers London and venerable perfumer Mark Buxton.

You can find links to my recent articles below the jump (with the Mark Buxton article above) so please head on over to Escentual for a quick read and feel free to leave comments whilst you’re there! You may also find my Father’s Day Fragrant Gift Guide on your travels.

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Gone, But Not Forgotten Series Part 9: Queen of Violets – MyQueen by Alexander McQueen

MyQueen by Alexander McQueen
MyQueen by Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen’s perfume line was both infamous and short lived. Perhaps better known for the erotically charged skank-bomb Kingdom than its other offerings, McQueen’s perfumes were nowhere near as successful as they were artistic or ultimately as they deserved to be.

Following in the same vein as his fashion output McQueen’s first perfume Kingdom was a renegade scent created to shock, however the second and final perfume from the brand – MyQueen – was something entirely different, opting to reference the subtle intricacies of the designer’s sculptural tailoring rather than courting the realms of controversy.

Created in 2005 by perfumers Anne Flipo (Ananas Fizz, La Chasse aux Papillons & Donna Karan Woman) and Dominique Ropion (Carnal Flower, Alien & Portrait of a Lady) MyQueen was created to represent the McQueen woman – “a vision of the woman of his (McQueen’s) dreams” – with the kaleidoscopic bottle representing not only the many facets of this woman but also McQueen’s love for antique glass.

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New Escentual Post: Givenchy Dahlia Noir L’Eau Perfume Review

Givenchy Dahlia Noir L’Eau

This week’s Escentual post is a review of a fragrance that took me wholely by surprise – Dahlia Noir L’Eau by Givenchy. The original Dahlia Noir made next to no impression on me whatsover (very much in line with most Givenchy offerings) and I am, as you know, not a massive fan of anything remotely green – so it is with great surprise that I give a big thumbs up to Dahlia Noir L’Eau!

Please click on the image above to head over to Escentual.com and read the full review. Don’t forget to leave a comment!

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