Image: CHANEL

Candy Crush is where I write about scent-related things that I’m currently obsessed with.

The brand new, very exciting, and you-just-know-it’s-going-to-be-beautiful, CHANEL Nº5 campaign with Academy Award winning actress, Marion Cotillard, is about to land and as a self-confessed CHANEL fanboy, I could not be more excited. The actual film doesn’t land until Thursday, but to tide you over until then (I know, it’s going to be a long wait of two whole days) I’ve got all the details AND some exclusive behind the scenes shots. Don’t say I never give you anything…

Candy Crush is where I write about scent-related things that I’m currently obsessed with.

Candy Crush is back! Yeah I know, it’s been a while, but seeing as I am fully back in the swing of blogging, it’s time to revive the series. After all, my crushes never go away – they’re still there, whether I’m writing or not! If you’re new to the blog or Candy Crush, this series is where I share scented things or scent-related things that I’m enjoying – the things I’m crushing on right now. They range from home fragrance products to body products, marketing campaigns and much more. They are as varied as my mood!

This week I’m crushing on something I’ve never shared on the blog before: a car fragrance. You see, I treated myself to a new car last month. I went for an electric BMW and it is by far the best car I’ve ever owned (I am so smug, it’s awful). It looks great, is ridiculously fast and I can plug it in at home to charge. What’s not to love? Anyway, my crush is not my car (even though I do love it very much) it’s in fact something much more fragrant…

I’m always crushing on something scented or other. My nose knows no limits. Candy Crush is where I showcase the beautifully scented things I’m crushing on right now so you can hopefully develop a crush too.

There is a lot of perfume out there, let’s be real. Each year we see about 2,000 new launches which makes it pretty impossible to smell them all – heck, that makes it difficult to even know about them all! So what’s a perfume lover to do? Scour the department stores for what’s good and exciting? Traverse the many corners of the internet to compile a shortlist of things to go out and try? Or maybe there’s another way? Indeed there is – Sniph!

 

I’m always crushing on something scented or other. My nose knows no limits. Candy Crush is where I showcase the beautifully scented things I’m crushing on right now so you can hopefully develop a crush too.

It’s been over 25 years since MUGLER launched ANGEL, their divisive flagship perfume. Since then the signature ANGEL accord of patchouli and vanilla has been copied thousands of times over, birthing the likes of Coco Mademoiselle (CHANEL) and Flowerbomb (Viktor & Rolf) amongst many others. MUGLER too, have spent their time reimagining ANGEL, offering up a host of flankers, swirling their flagship scent into gourmand treats ranging from the boozy to the fruity, and all that’s in between.

In 2011, MUGLER launched an Eau de Toilette version of ANGEL (created by Perfumer Amandine Marie) that was lighter and more diluted (but not fresher) than the original. I’m not sure how well this version resonated but I suppose it didn’t feel different enough to really justify its existence. Perhaps MUGLER felt the same because for 2019 they have launched an entirely new ANGEL EDT created by Perfumer Louise Turner. New juice, new bottle, same old ANGEL.

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I’m always crushing on something scented or other. My nose knows no limits. Candy Crush is where I showcase the beautifully scented things I’m crushing on right now so you can hopefully develop a crush too.

I’m a big fan of Atelier Cologne. They are a house with a distinct but varied style and they reall excel at crafting beautiful, long-lasting citrus fragrances that are simply a joy to wear. This is no surprise, after all, Atelier Cologne pioneered the ‘Cologne Absolue’ a highly-concentrated take on the classic Eau de Cologne that seeks to create more intense colognes with increased stamina.

Atelier Cologne is one of those brands that has got their retailing absolutely spot on. If you’ve never made it into their Covent Garden store (or any of their boutiques around the world) then you simply must go. All of their fragrances are presented so openly, with beautiful tableaus showcasing their olfactory inspirations.  What’s more, one can personalise fragrances there with customisable leather cases, which are presented in an eye-catching, rainbow fashion on the wall.

Anyway, I could go on about my love for Atelier Cologne and their boutiques until I have bored you all half to death, but I shall spare you today, because today we are going to talk about something else quite lovely from the brand: the deliciously zesty Orange Positano Scented Candle.

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I’m always crushing on something scented or other. My nose knows no limits. Candy Crush is where I showcase the beautifully scented things I’m crushing on right now so you can hopefully develop a crush too.

I wear Nº5 L’Eau a lot. It’s easily one of my favourite CHANEL fragrances and it gets a huge amount of skin time in comparison to many other things in my vast collection. What I like about L’Eau is how it captures the spirit of Nº5 but has enough of its own character to be its own entity entirely. Nº5 L’Eau is fresh, sparkling, crystalline, luminous, lovely *insert lightweight, gleaming adjectives here* and next to BOY, it is my most worn CHANEL. So, it’s no surprise that I’m crushing on these new Nº5 L’Eau body products now, is it? Nope.

I’m always crushing on something scented or other. My nose knows no limits. Candy Crush is where I showcase the beautifully scented things I’m crushing on right now so you can hopefully develop a crush too.

A well-fragranced home is an important thing in my book. A scented candle can create a pleasing olfactory ambience for when friends are over for dinner, whilst a room spray can provide scented refreshment to stale air and cover up unpleasant pet or cooking odours. Then there’s the reed diffuser, now these are interesting. I’ve always looked at reed diffusers as the background noise of home fragrance – they provide a fragrant hum in the background, adding a more subtle ambience to a room. These three methods of home fragrance – the candles, room sprays and reed diffusers – can be used together, of course, to compliment and contrast, but it is the reed diffuser that makes for the perfect base layer in one’s home fragrance arsenal.

I am guilty of being both a home fragrance lover and a Miller Harris fanboy, so it was no surprise that when the brand launched their dedicated collection of home fragrances, I was most intrigued. The crown jewel of this collection, which features room sprays (one of which is an aquatic oriental called ‘Periwinkle’ that I must have) to compliment their existing series of candles, is the ceramic reed diffusers. Available in four fragrances (Cadimus – a tuberose, Narcoflor – a huge floral bouquet, Verditer – an ode to figs, and Mossket – an earthy chypre), these diffusers are as much an enviable decorative object as they are a vessel of beautiful fragrance. I was sent Narcoflor to try and it’s officially a Candy Crush!

I’m always crushing on something scented or other. My nose knows no limits. Candy Crush is where I showcase the beautifully scented things I’m crushing on right now so you can hopefully develop a crush too.

I worry about plastic, I really do. As I get older and more aware of my impact on the environment I worry about the products I use and the waste that they produce. Recently I made the decision to stop eating meat, not because I don’t like it, but predominately because of the environmental impact of mass-rearing animals (and the treatment of said animals). I also find myself making considerations about the beauty products I use and asking myself questions like, can I reuse this packaging, and is this refillable etc.? A good place where one can make a change is with their shower gel – switching out the convenience of gels for traditional soaps.

Now, I love a good shower gel, but more often than not they come in a plastic bottle, and they don’t last very long. So a soap, which may come in minimal, recyclable packaging, and which will ultimately last longer, may actually be a good alternative. What’s even greater is that many of our favourite fragrance brands still continue to make soaps so it’s not too difficult for one to get their hands on a lovely bar of something scented with their favourite fragrance. This week’s Candy Crush is just that and more: the entire collection of fragranced soaps from Penhaligon’s.

I’m always crushing on something scented or other. My nose knows no limits. Candy Crush is where I showcase the beautifully scented things I’m crushing on right now so you can hopefully develop a crush too.

 I love Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle. It is, hands down, one of my favourite fragrance brands and I’ve said many times before that it’s one of those rare cases where I would happily own every single fragrance in the collection. Honestly, there isn’t a single dud in the entire line and that too, is quite rare. Malle has curated a fine collection of scents – perfumes created by the greatest perfumers and presented without fuss, allowing the fragrances to speak for themselves. They are some of the best, if not the very best perfumes on the market – fact.

I’ve think I’ve hammered the point home, haven’t I? If I haven’t, let me summarise: Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle is amazing. The end.

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I’m always crushing on something scented or other. My nose knows no limits. Candy Crush is where I showcase the beautifully scented things I’m crushing on right now so you can hopefully develop a crush too.

I challenge you to find me a more iconic modern masculine fragrance than Terre d’Hermès. Go on, I’ll wait… OK, so I’m sure there are actually quite a few modern masculines out there as good this iconic ode to the earth and sky created by legendary perfume Jean-Claude Ellena (formerly the in-house Perfumer at the brand), but still, it’s one of the very best, not to mention the most unique mainstream masculine offerings out there.

For Hermès, the aesthetic design of their olfactory output is as important as the fragrances themselves. Hermès is a luxury brand and they present their distinct fragrances in innovative, high-end flacons that capture the heritage and eccentricity of this idiosyncratic house. Terre is no exception, with its solid, statuesque H-shaped flacon of weighty glass featuring a twistable spray mechanism – showcasing heritage and innovation in one handsome object.

This month, Hermès launch Terre d’Hermès in a beautiful limited edition bottle featuring a unique design.