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scented The

www.perfumesociety.org

letter

Issue 5

It ’s

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CANDLES GALORE PERFUMED PRESENTS spicy scents THE LATEST LAUNCHES

be t o gin l a ning to smell

k i l

Chrıstmas

The New Eau de Toilette

editor’s letter

We love this aromatic time of year.

For us, it’s not just about presents and parties: it’s about glorious seasonal smells. Special occasion perfumes: the most precious scents in our wardrobe, which have us feeling festive with just a dab. Fires, smoking gently in the grate.

And the spices which fill the air: cinnamon scenting the whole house where wine’s mulling on a stove, that grind of fresh nutmeg in the bread sauce, the ginger in a hot toddy…

One of the spices which is getting perfumers most excited right now is black pepper.

As well as making our food more appetising, piper nigrum (its Latin name) is appearing in an increasing number of fragrances, we’ve observed. So on p.26 of this edition of The Scented Letter, Sunil Makan explores an ingredient which may be ‘everyday’ when it comes to food – but is also proving incredibly versatile, in a perfumer’s hands.

Now, who doesn’t love a fragrant gift…? We’ve got plenty of those on our own ‘Dear Santa’ lists, but in this edition we’re dedicating lots of space to gorgeous gift sets (for women and men), bath and body delights – and some aromatherapeutic ‘treats’, too.

(We know from your feedback that many of you are interested in aromatherapy, as well as traditional perfumery – and we’ll be devoting a bit more space to this on-line, as well as in future editions of The Scented Letter.)

If you’re stuck when buying a fragrance for someone else for Christmas, though, don’t forget FR.eD. FR.eD (short for ‘fragrance editor’) is the ‘virtual’ fragrance advisor on perfumesociety.org. And if you know a friend or colleague loves a particular fragrance, you can input the name of that fragrance via our FIND A FRAGRANCE button and receive six recommendations for other scents they’re likely to love…

Remember: you can now view all previous editions of The Scented Letter via our website. Simply go to SUBSCRIBER AREA (top right-hand corner mauve button), log in – and go to The Scented Letter section in the left-hand column, just beneath the main stories. You’ll see some blue text which says ‘click here to view previous editions’ – and hey, presto: all four previous editions are there for you to wallow in.

© ub-foto; picsfive; both

Fotolia.com

We’ll be back with our next edition in February. But for now, we’d like to wish you the most fantastic ‘holiday’ season – whatever you’re celebrating, wherever you are, whoever you’re with. (And whichever scent/s you choose to wear, over the break…)

With fragrant love,

www.perfumesociety.org

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contributors

Alice Crocker

an aromatic life

memories, dreams, reflections

My Christmas smells...

These scents remind me of relaxing and spending Christmas with my large family, sitting by the fire in our house in Provence or in a chalet in the alps…

Terry de Gunzburg is a make-up artist extraordinaire (among other triumphs, she brought us YSL Touche Eclat!) But her true, life-long obsession is scent – so for this edition, Terry shares the scents and smells which catapult her through time and space

What was the first fragrance you bought for yourself?

I certainly remember the first perfume bottle I was gifted: I was 16 and it was from my parents - L’Air du Temps by Nina Ricci. It was a beautiful Lalique bottle with crystallised wings which I would have wanted to keep forever, but one day it fell to the ground and it shattered in thousands of crystal pieces!

When did you realise that scent was really important to you?

From a very young age I wanted to understand how to recreate the beautiful scents of nature. It was in my DNA as I came from a family of scientists and I watched my grandfather use nature to make the most incredible things - it has always been a fascination to me…

Have you had different fragrances for different phases of your life…?

Absolutely; I have had so many different fragrances through the various stages of my life – and beyond that, I also use different fragrances at the same time. I change them depending on my moods, feelings, according to an occasion - or just for fun! I also love the art of layering fragrances; by doing this you are able to create your own personal scent. That is why I created a collection of fragrances that are all complementary to each other, but so unique at the same time. They can be worn on their own and be interchangeable too.

If you could only take one of your fragrances to a desert island, what would it be?

It would definitely be my own creations, but choosing between one of them is like asking me to choose between my children! I would bring the whole collection!

freshly picked lavender burning on firewood

The smell that always makes me feel happy is… … the divine and addictive smell of the Parisian boulangeries early in the morning.

The smell that always makes me feel a bit sad is… … all the artificial scents! This was one of my main priorities when I started my fragrances: I wanted everything to be 100% natural.

citrus

2

The scent that I love on a man is… … the combination of a great perfume mixed with the man’s natural scent.. irresistible and so sexy! My fig-based Flagrant Délice is fantastic on men!

I’d love to have smelled…

Madame de Pompadour’s dressing room; she was an absolute fragrance fanatic! Her favourite was called ‘Huile de Venus’. © Natika; stockphoto-graf; Schlierner; Selecstock; Scisetti Alfio; womue; furtseff - Fotolia.com

What’s the very first thing you remember smelling?

The fragrant scents that surrounded me while growing up on the shores of Egypt. The pungent scent of citruses, the spices, the incense, the fresh rose bushes from which my grandfather used to distil pure rose water in which I used to bathe... Warm and musky, but sweet and fresh at the same time.

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What is your favourite book about perfume…?

Perfume by Patrick Suskind, the novel set in the 18th century France where the main character himself is born with no bodily scent and is obsessed with finding the perfect scent. It is all about the exploration of smell: a dark novel at times, but I love the references to the history of French perfumery, which is a big inspiration to me.

Jasmine

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5

pine

Sunil Makan

all sorts of spices

Find Terry de Gunzburg’s fragrance collection (as well as her make-up and skincare) at uk.spacenk.com, price from £71 for 50ml eau de parfum. Follow her @BYTERRYPARIS

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Jo Fairley

Terry de Gunzberg Terry began her glittering career with the Carita sisters in Paris, soon becoming a sought-after session make-up artist. At YSL, where she moved next, Terry was responsible for countless colour cosmetic innovations during her 15-year tenure, leaving in 2000 after launching her first BY TERRY store in Paris. Since then, this devoted mother-of-four’s make-up creations have excited journalists and make-up hounds all over the world - but it’s her fragrances which most thrill us: a stunning, rich (often rose-inspired) collection, which she worked on for 14 years. ‘I’m a true perfectionist,’ insists Terry...

Jo has been a journalist and author for longer than she cares to remember, and at the age of 23 was Britain’s youngest-ever magazine editor, editing first Look Now and then Honey magazines. She’s also a long-standing Contributing Editor to the Mail on Sunday’s YOU Magazine, and co-author of The Beauty Bible series of books. Her real writing passion, though, has always been fragrance, and she has won two Jasmine Awards (the perfume writing ‘Oscars’). She also co-founded Green & Black’s Chocolate with her husband, Craig Sams, and is Co-Founder of The Perfume Society with Lorna McKay. Follow her @jojosams

Sunil is a Londonbased writer, picture editor and obsessive fragrance-hoarder*.

He started his career at British ELLE and has since worked at a digital start-up at Shortlist Media and countless freelance gigs. His love of fragrance is down to his intense sense of smell, his bad eyesight and his belief that when one of the senses fails the others make up for it. His most recent obsession is Houbigant’s Fougère Royale. *current count is 56 bottles - and yes, he wears them all.

Alice reveals her life-long love affair with the embrocation Deep Heat in ‘It Takes Me Right Back’ this month. Alice has been our oh-socapable Project Manager for the past 16 months, and has probably sniffed more fragrances in that time than the whole of the rest of her life put together. (She happens to love anything with gardenia at its heart.)

This will also be Alice’s last edition as a full-time team member at The Scented Letter: at the end of January, she’s off to Manhattan – where she’ll be our New York fragrance correspondent…

Alice Jones We’re also sad to say ‘goodbye’ to Alice Jones this edition, who’s off to be a Beauty Editor. Says Alice: ‘It feels like a long time ago that I sent the first- ever Tweet from The Perfume Society’s gleaming, neverused Twitter account back in May, when we launched! I have loved learning everything you could wish to know about perfume, improving my sense of smell and most of all working with a great team. It’s amazing to see how far the Society has come in such a short space of time and I’m very excited to see how it continues to blossom in the future.’

editorial TEAM Editor: Josephine Fairley jo@perfumesociety.org Designer: Jenny Semple enquiries@jennysempledesign.co.uk PROJECT MANAGER: Alice Crocker alice@perfumesociety.org fragrances Editor: Alice Jones alice.jones@perfumesociety.org Advertising Manager: Lorna McKay lorna@perfumesociety.org EA to the Editor: Amy Eason amy@josephinefairley.com

Contact us: info@perfumesociety.org Liberty House 222 Regent Street, London W1B 5TR Tel: 01424-439580 The Scented Letter is a free online/ downloadable magazine for subscribers to The Perfume Society; visit www.perfumesociety.org for more information

The Scented Letter is produced for The Perfume Society by Perfume Discovery Ltd. All information and prices are correct at the time of going to press and may no longer be so on the date of publication. © 2014 The Perfume Society All text, graphics and illustrations in The Scented Letter are protected by UK and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted or otherwise distributed by any means without explicit permission.

4 The scented Letter

contents fragrance-to-go

perfume gift guide

the Belgravia chandler

THE WOMAN IN THE VAN

PRESENT SCENTS

LIGHTING UP LONDON

We dispatch our ace reporter to tour the streets of London in the so-stylish Jo Malone Morris Minor van

From ‘boxed sets’ (the scented kind) to just-for-the-season limited editions, our gorgeous and glamorous round-up

Rachel Vosper is the candlemaker-to-the-stars; read her story (and maybe have her teach you to make candles yourself)

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10

18

the 12 scents of Christmas

the heat is on

an aromatic life

FESTIVE FLICKERS

BLACK PEPPER

Terry de Gunzburg

Log fires, Christmas trees, precious spices: a dozen other candles to scent your home beautifully over the holiday season

We think of it as spicing up our food – but increasingly, black pepper’s warming up the world of perfume

The creator of By Terry make-up and skincare and her own scent line time-travels through her favourite smells

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26

28

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6

25

EDITOR’S LETTER

nosing around

THE HOLIDAY BOX

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36

38

LATEST LAUNCHES

events

IT TAKES ME BACK

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on the scent of news

nosing around Here’s what we’re finding exciting in the world of scent right now: people, places – and one of the most headling-grabbing fragrance launches of 2014…

bloom in

Follow the bear

© Tamara Kulikova - Fotolia.com

lilies

+ paperwhites + hyacinths + mimosa + tuberose + freesia

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Which gets our vote for the wittiest launch of 2014?

The much talked-about debut of Moschino TOY, which had fans of Moschino’s designer Jeremy Scott queueing round the block for its Harrods debut. Simply decapitate, to spray! (Though there’s no truth in the rumour that Moschino are being pursued by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Soft Toys.)

Currently exclusive to Harrods, price £80 for 50ml eau de toilette, Moschino TOY is launching nationwide in 2015. (While he was in the UK, we pinned down Jeremy Scott for The Scented Letter – coming in February’s edition...)

“

The smells of Christmas

are the smells of childhood Richard Paul Evans, The Christmas Box

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candles, candles everywhere

It’s definitely a home fragrance time of year: on p.22, discover our 12 Candles of Christmas. But could we stop at juar 12…? Not with these divine new discoveries. (And because we’ve a hunch you share our addiction, coming soon, on www.perfumesociety.org will be our ‘HOME, SWEET-SCENTED HOME’ zone…)

THE POWER OF FLOWERS POWER

FOR FORNASETTILOVERS

AIN’T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH…

Timothy Dunn is one of London’s leading florists – known for showstoppingly bold displays and striking colour schemes, and loved by his A-list clients. We were honoured to have Tim do the flowers for The Perfume Society’s Cosmetic Executive Women ‘Big Breakfast’ industry event back in September – and have since been enjoying Tim’s beautiful candles. Timothy Dunn Etrusca turbocharges the scent of your Christmas tree, with its cypress notes, twinned with green olive, and is priced £34.

Plates. Chairs. Screens. And definitely, scented candles: Fornasetti’s fans (as we know) like to add to their collections constantly. The fifth fragrance in the scented candle line was inspired by the mineral malachite.

Just what does that smell like? Think: rich green notes and smoky warmth, conjured up via notes of pine needle, galbanum, cedarwood, patchouli, frankincense and amber. Find the absolutely vast Fornasetti Malachite candle exclusively at Selfridges – at the slightly lottery-win price of £420.

… to keep us away from Cassandra Hall’s new candle range, inspired by the mountain in Spain where she moved a couple of years ago (after a career in beauty and perfume PR). Blended with high-quality perfume oils, La Montaña’s scents conjure up the feeling of living in a Spanish village – most seasonally, through Winter Oranges, which fuses orange, cinnamon and clove with a sophisticated touch, hinting at the creator’s childhood English Christmases. £35 each.

timothydunn.com

selfridges.com

lamontana.co.uk

TIME FOR T As refreshing as a cuppa: that’s how we’re finding the collection from T London – a new British bath/body/home fragrance name, inspired by the delicate aromas of tea. In the ‘Darjeeling’ collection, enjoy a twist of sweet orange, a hint of zesty lemongrass and the warmth of nutmeg alongside the uplifting note of tea – with no caffeine come-down, either. The Darjeeling Reed Diffuser is priced £65, with refills are available from £22 – a great alternative to scented candles for those averse to naked flames… t-london.com

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the master modern femininity driving missofalice

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE

Jo Malone van Not so much dashing through the snow as dodging the London traffic: we sent our intrepid reporter Alice Jones out with the Jo Malone van, delivering scented treats around the capital…

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There’s a new addition to the Jo Malone

London family. Meet Mitty, a 1966 custom-painted Morris Minor van charged with the very important daily task of ferrying beautifully bow-wrapped cream boxes to some of the most exclusive postcodes in London – chauffeured by her smartly-dressed driver, Jamie. (He’s the one hiding behind the stack of cream and black presents…!)

Mitty and Jamie whizz around the capital as part of Jo Malone London’s new same-day delivery service ‘Scent Around Town’ - and they certainly attract a lot of attention, en route. ‘So many people take photos as we drive past,’ notes Jamie. ‘ I must have been in hundreds of pictures by now’. (He’s so right: Mitty’s all over Instagram!)

Mitty and Jamie first hit the streets together at the beginning of October - and have since covered hundreds of miles, hand-delivering thousands of packages. From detached oligarchs’ mansions in Holland Park to chic flats in Hampstead via minimalist lofts in the City, Mitty can end up with 60+ additional miles on her mileometer, by the end of a busy day criss-crossing London’s postcodes.

In retail, of course, the ‘buzzwords’ today are ‘service’ and ‘convenience’. And Mitty ticks both boxes. Having your perfume shopping personally delivered saves having to brave the Oxford Street or Bond Street crowds. And for anyone who tends to leave their gift list till the very last minute (which happens to include half the gentlemen we know), Mitty and Jamie can absolutely save the day, purring up to your front door with a vanful of scented goodies right up till the afternoon of Christmas Eve. It takes anticipating the postman to a whole new, sophisticated level. And as Jamie put it, one of the best parts of his job is ‘bringing smiles to a lot of faces.’ (Often, of course, the gifts being delivered are a total surprise…)

But after more than 20 years, Jo Malone London understand ‘gifting’ like few other brands. Those boxes: thick creamy card, with black interiors. Black grosgrain hand-tied bows. And inside, as you unfold the scented tissue paper…? Maybe a gloriously fragrant candle, an indulgent body cream or a favourite bottle of Cologne.

(Or if we’re really lucky, all three: these boxes come in all sizes. And prove completely impossible to throw away, if you’re anything like us: we use them for costume jewellery, birthday cards, all sorts of keepsakes...)

I’ve often seen Mitty and Jamie cruising by the streets of the West End. But on a blustery December morning just a few days ago, I got the chance to experience ‘a day in the life of the Jo Malone van’ from the passenger’s perspective. Our assignment? To deliver festive wreaths to

“

I do occasionally get hooted at by people who are a little impatient at how long Mitty takes to change gear journalists across town. We set off at 9 a.m. from Jo Malone’s stunning Georgian townhouse in West London’s Marylebone, loading the van with wreaths, hand-made from eucalyptus, spruce and myrtle, filling the car with their wintry, aromatic scent.

Our first drop was Vogue House. Then Hearst’s HQ, just off Carnaby Street, and onwards to Bauer Media and Shortlist Media. Not a normal day for Mitty, to be sure – but one which got quite a few journalists’ hearts beating a little faster, as they unpacked their Christmassy thank-yous from this iconic British fragrance brand. (We were actually lucky to escape with the van, as one of the recipients was pleading with us to leave it behind along with their wreath!)

For those who’ve never sat in a vintage Morris Minor, I can only compare it to a toy car - like something out of Wallace & Gromit, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or Herbie The Love Bug. (Actually, I was half expecting Mitty to start talking.) Mitty isn’t the only Jo Malone London delivery vehicle, by the way: for shorter

”

trips, the customised scooter (which you can see left) might rev into action, instead.

Is it stressful, navigating one-way streets, getting cut up by buses and sitting in traffic jams? Not for Jamie (maybe it’s the aromatherapeutic action of his fragrant cargo). ‘But I do occasionally get hooted at by people who are a little impatient at how long Mitty takes to change gear,’ he grins.

More often than not, though, Mitty isn’t the cause of road rage among fellow drivers - but instead, ends up putting a smile on the face of everyone who pulls up alongside her at traffic lights.

So: ’tis most definitely the season to be jolly. But if there’s one way to ramp up the jolliness that bit further, we think it’s having Mitty pull up outside your front door…

The Jo Malone London Delivery Service is priced £15 in addition to the cost of items ordered; to enquire, call 0870-192 5901. Last orders must be placed by 12 midday on Wednesday 24th December.

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❅scented The

GIFT GUIDE

Over the next few pages, discover our edited ‘picks’ from the dozens of perfumed pressies out there right now – starting with the ‘boxed sets’ we’ve fallen in love with. (You can keep your House of Cards and your Homeland: we’d rather snuggle up with these sense-drenchers, thanks…)

TED BAKER ELLA PURSE SPRAY & COMPACT MIRROR The perfect handbag combo? We think so. From Ted Baker’s everpopular Sweet Treats range, a 15ml Ella and a matching Ted Baker Compact Mirror. £15/Superdrug

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BURBERRY MY BURBERRY Treat a chic someone to a 90ml bottle of Burberry’s iconic new scent, packaged in a decadent box and accompanied by 100ml luxurious nourishing body mist. £61.20/johnlewis.com

ESTÉE LAUDER BEAUTIFUL TO GO The gift of a thousand flowers: a 30ml parfum spray, 100ml body lotion and 4.7ml eau de parfum purse spray of Estée Lauder’s much-loved Beautiful is just – well, they did call it ‘beautiful’… £42/selfridges.com

JIMMY CHOO EAU DE PARFUM Rich with the scent of Jimmy Choo’s signature eau de parfum, whoever’s lucky enough to be given this glamorous set will be treated to a 60ml bottle of fragrance matched to the 100ml perfumed body cream. £49/Debenhams 10 The scented Letter

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boxing clever

GUERLAIN LA PETITE ROBE NOIRE

JUICY COUTURE VIVA LA JUICY

A duo from Guerlain that’s perfect for the would-be belle of the festive ball. Alongside the 50ml bottle is a Guerlain Maxi Shine lipgloss in a perfect powdery pink - and named after La Petite Robe Noire itself. £50/feelunique.com

Spoil someone special with this three-piece gift set, showcasing a 100ml size of the signature fragrance, a miniature handbag-perfect version plus a body lotion – all presented in a gorgeous sequined gift box! £80/selfridges.com

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LIZ EARLE BOTANICAL ESSENCE NO.15

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JO MALONE LONDON 'HOUSE OF JO MALONE LONDON' Lust object alert: who wouldn’t love to discover this under the tree on Christmas morning? Open the doors to find six of the brands most-loved scents, as candles, fragrances, bath/body treats. £125/jomalone.co.uk

JUICY COUTURE VIVA LA JUICY Spoil someone special with this threepiece gift set, showcasing a 100ml size of the signature fragrance, a miniature handbag-perfect version plus a body lotion – all presented in a gorgeous gift box! £80/selfridges.com

tip

‘Layering’ fragrance onto a body lotion boosts its staying power, time-releasing the scent as the body warms and cools The

scented Letter

All gifts were still available at the time of going to press.

An indulgent trio of beauty treats.

Alongside a 50ml bottle of Botanical Essense No.15, also enjoy a Sheer Lip Gloss in Water Lily and a baby pink Strengthening Nail Colour in ‘Grace’. £44/lizearle.com

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Unsure which scent to buy for a friend? Our online 'Find A Fragrance' page at perfumesociety.org can make clever recommendations NARCISO RODRIGUEZ NARCISO Such a beautiful box, with its sequins – and inside, a 50ml bottle of the latest scent from renowned designer Narciso Rodriguez – complemented perfectly by a 50ml body lotion and 10ml purse spray. £58/houseoffraser.co.uk

LANCÔME LES MINIATURES

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The ultimate for Lancôme fragrance fans: their very own wardrobe of handbag-size Lancôme scents for goanywhere spritzing: La vie est belle, Trésor, Trésor Midnight Rose, Miracle and Ô de Lancôme. Fabuleux. £27/lancome.co.uk

SISLEY SOIR DE LUNE Layering fresh, floral and woody notes, this 30ml eau de parfum and 50ml nourishing body cream make a swoonworthy choice for fans of this quintessential Chypre scent. £68.85/johnlewis.com

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L’OCCITANE PETITE GRASSE FRAGRANCE COLLECTION L’Occitane’s boxes are real keepsakes, this year – and this features a trio of La Collection de Grasse fine fragrances, in 7.5ml eau de toilette sprays. Perfect for a zoosh of on-the-go glamour. £20/uk.loccitane.com

PENHALIGON’S FRAGRANCE SELECTION This terrific tin (which you'll want to keep forever) showcases Penhaligon’s exquisite scents: The Ladies Fragrance Collection contains 5ml bottles of Vaara, Malabar, Ellenisia, Iris Prima and Quercus. £35/penhaligons.com

12 The scented Letter

CLINIQUE AROMATICS ELIXIR ESSENTIALS

Inside this fab gold bag: a 45ml Perfume Spray and 75ml Body Smoother, for layering on this perfect, rich Chypre classic. £48/Selfirdges

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GIORGIO ARMANI SI This beautiful box comes packed with treats. Not only do you get a 100ml bottle of the fruity-Chypre scent, but a chic Giorgio Armani clutch bag, too. £89/Harrods

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VIKTOR & ROLF FLOWERBOMB

We LOVE this – not least because the packaging’s on another level, with three layers of 50ml scented treats: eau de parfum, shower gel and body lotion, for an explosion of V&R. £70.20/johnlewis.com

TOM FORD BLACK ORCHID A luxurious, wintry-scented offering from Tom Ford. The sensual, timeless 50ml fragrance offers up its heady mix of black orchids and spice – accompanied by a 75ml hydrating emulsion. £76/Selfridges

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PRADA CANDY EAU FLORALE GIFT SET We can think of a gazillion things to keep in this hatbox, after we’ve spritzed the last of this fantasy floral, one of 2014’s biggest launches – here, petal-perfectly presented with a sensual 75 ml body lotion. £46.35/johnlewis.com

MARC JACOBS DAISY Featuring much-loved Marc Jacobs Daisy eau de toilette in 100ml and 4ml bottles, plus a 150ml body lotion.

Eternally enchanting… £66.60/johnlewis.com

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All gifts were still available at the time of going to press.

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the gift of great scents

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Pampering presents…

When you give a scented body or bath treat, it’s not simply saying: ‘I want you to smell great’. It’s giving someone permission to enjoy much-needed TLC. So: here’s what we think anyone would love wallowing in.

(Including us. Hint, hint.)

WELS T H J E too A B TES a bit gets nd: OCIA

ASS times herapy bra A PY some R at e E f i l H T ive arom ily med OMA se da d Rev

an e fa ay on who om th tress Mind hat they s yone r f n , a e r Fo e-S nag ow ep, D to ma hich d ax De er Oils, w l much e R w size & Sho le.)

7.5ml Bath tt g n b i er, o Morn r rath m O ( o . c . n alth the ti riahe o t c i £28/v

AR

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VALENT IN SENSUO O VALENTINA US BOD Y SCRUB A gentle , cream

y exfolia delicately tor to lea perfume ve the sk d, silky- s in The prett mooth a y pot loo nd ultra-b ks gorge £42 for 2 right. ous bath 00ml/fee -side, too lunique.c . om

CARTIER LA PANTHÈRE BODY LOTION Purr. Purr. Purr. That’s the sound of someone slathering on this luxurious scented body lotion, after a soak in the tub. The silken cream from Cartier veils skin in the delicate floral-Chypre scent of La Panthère, leaving it super soft. £34 for 200ml/feelunique.com 14 The scented Letter

ry eo h A ve ous) siz ing bat r n o n i m , w gla ard- vender la ti-aw ile. mul ending mom l a h b c . oil, and t drops ver veti nockou k l/ Like r 100m com fo th.

0 l 8 £ h ea a i r o vict

CHANEL No5 LE SAVON No question: the world’s most glamorous bath soap. (And it fills the whole room with the scent of No5.) £22/selfridges.com

The most glamorous dining tables will be wearing crackers from some of perufme’s biggest names, on 25th December. (Just beware of flying bottles, when you pull!)

HARVEY NICHOLS CHRISTMAS CRACKER SET These luxe crackers house a hand-picked selection of beauty delights that’ll have women scrabbling on the floor for their ‘prizes’! The treats range from a 7ml bottle of Prada Candy Eau Florale to Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish. £50/Harvey Nichols

TORY BURCH HOLIDAY CRACKER Festively wrapped in signature orange (could’ve been colour-matched to a satsuma, actually!), this pulls open to reveal a 6ml Tory Burch ‘rollerball’. (And a note from Tory – which makes a nice change from a corny joke…) £18/Tory Burch store (New Bond Street)

JO L S H O OV E S A T BO BAT Not HIN X a G

bath Jo L oil. N oves ot a …h alter foam as c na .

Colo tive bat reated a h tre n gne, at: th whic wate eB hs rs For a with jus cents th ath t e a few luxu ri add drop a few ous exp erien s.

Pom d ce, elo B rops of th ath C wate r, lig olog e ht th ne to cand eL th le – a nd li emongra e enjo e ba y som s s ck e relax ation well-ea and rned . £40/ jolov es.co m

CLARINS CHRISTMAS CRACKERS Adorned with beautiful bows, these luxury golden crackers add the perfect finishing touch to your table setting and offer a selection of iconic miniature products, including Eau de Jardins. £39/Selfridges

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All gifts were still available at the time of going to press. © Pixelbliss; nikkytok - Fotolia.com

RKS WO E P S I E TH P SL DEE OIL nd H us (a BAT genero f this

WE’RE CRACKERS FOR THESE...

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Because men love ‘boxed sets’, too…

JEAN PAUL GAULTIE R LE MA

LE One of the best-known masculine scents on the planet, a tradit ional yet audacious fougère, Le Male is po pular with so many men we know, with its notes of mint, lavender and vanilla.

You’ll earn your stripe s by giving this duo, wis hing a Merry JPG with its 75ml eau de toilette and shower gel. £36/johnlewis.com

GIVENCHY GENTLEMEN ONLY INTENSE Gentlemen Only Intense is a hypnotic Oriental woody fragrance, offering a more sensual, powerful version of the so-popular original. This is set to please with a 100ml eau de toilette, alongside sizes just perfect for his travel bag of an all-over shampoo and Aftershave Care. £61/feelunique.com

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FENDI FAN DI FENDI POUR HOMME

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All gifts were still available at the time of going to press. © Pixelbliss; nikkytok - Fotolia.com

This Fendi Christmas set borrows the iconic grained leather from the brand’s 2Jours bag. Open it up and what do you find? A 100ml eau de toilette, and 100ml shower gel.

(Because yes, men ‘layer’, too…) £61.50/Harrods

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PRADA LUNA ROSSA COFFRET So sleek, so chic, in silver with just a flash of red: there are few male hearts who don’t beat faster for Prada. The backbone of this fragrance is lavender, teamed with the better freshness of orange essence: the perfect wake-up call for someone who’s not really a morning person. £63/Boots

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something for him

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J

MAN O O t scent H C Y tes ll of IMM o’s la

o fu y Ch and tes Jimm modern g up no s n i i r er, ffe Man ss, o nk pepp oods. e n h i fres er, p ery w the vend nd amb reats of la a ing t ml eau ouli r h e f c f t pa 50 do boxe r life to a shower l This u m o 100 in y n– man ette and aky-clea l e i u de to ’ll be sq xy. e he ed s gel: darn o s but ts Boo £43/

L’OCCITANE L’OCCITAN COLLECTION Packed with grooming essentials: pebble soap, shower and shaving gels, a post-shave balm and eau de toilette, aromatically fragranced with lavender, nutmeg, black pepper and smoked woods. £49.50/uk.loccitane.com

ACQUA DI PARMA COLONIA OUD

An elegant, rich and vibrant composition layering citrus notes over a heart of oudh and base of leather. A 100ml bottle of eau de Cologne and 75ml shampoo are presented together inside an opulent gift box we’ve a hunch he won’t want to throw away. £144/Selfridges

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COMME DES GARÇONS POCKET COLLECTION Already designed like hip flasks, these slip beautifully into a pocket: brilliant travel-friendly sizes including Amazinggreen, MAN2, Wonderwood (and you won’t have any carry-on issues with these 25ml bottles). £130/stockists 020-7494 6220

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master of chandler modern femininity the Belgravia

Meet the woman who’s

lighting up London From her Knightsbridge store and workshop, Rachel Vosper – former journalist and PR – hand-makes blissfully-scented candles for all the best people, reports Jo Fairley

Her name’s on the mantelpieces of le tout London.

Actually, not her full name: just the discreet ‘RV’ on the front of Rachel Vosper’s sculptural glass candles. Or maybe not her name at all – because many of Rachel’s candle creations are actually ‘anonymous’ refills of a customer’s own vessels - a unique service she offers.

But even without her branding, what those-in-the-know recognise are the dreamy scents themselves: intoxicating Tuberose, soothing French lavender, or the bestselling Choisya. (Which is based on the sweetly fresh and fragrant Mexican mock orange shrub, and is her bestseller.) These sublime scents are loved, it turns out, by everyone from Sienna Miller to Lady Gaga…

Walk into Rachel’s Kinnerton Street shop (close to Harvey Nichols), and you might find heirloom soup tureens waiting to be filled, or Baccarat vases, or other treasured items. ‘I’ve filled items of family china dinner services, for instance, which is a bit scary – I usually do them the minute they arrive here…!’ No breakages? ‘Not yet,’ Rachel says, touching the original wood paneling of her Georgian shop.

‘Though a few have been smashed by the owners en route…’ (Everything’s filled at the owner’s risk, meanwhile – though a test with boiling water 18 The scented Letter

is generally a good guideline as to whether something will survive the heated wax process.)

Since I first met her at a candlemaking workshop in July (for more, read on), Rachel’s replenishment service has had me looking at junk shop ‘finds’ in a whole new way.

Trifle bowls, for instance: few of us nowadays eat pudding out of cutglass containers (which is why they can be picked up for a song) – but with a three-wick Rachel Vosper candle inside, flickering beautifully, they take on a whole new life. Bonbon dishes, ditto. And though teacups may be a slightly ‘shabby chic’ cliché now, wouldn’t it be nicer to have your

favourites transformed into candles for the mantel, where they can be enjoyed, rather than hidden away in a china cupboard…?

It’s this refill service which sets her apart from any other candle-maker we’ve heard of. To be totally accurate, Rachel is actually a ‘chandler’ – the traditional name for her profession.

‘In centuries past, chandlers were considered very important: people absolutely relied on them for light. Ships had their own “ship’s chandlers”, to illuminate below decks on long voyages.’

Today, when we can light up a room at the flick of a switch – or even with a remote control – candles have acquired a more indulgent image, and there are few more delicious scents than Rachel Vosper’s. ‘I don’t claim to be a nose – but I love fragrance and I know what I like,’ explains Rachel, who for 20 years has worked with a small fragrance house in Lancashire. She briefs them about new scents; there are always eight in the collection, plus two seasonal versions – which for Christmas 2014 includes the fabulously warm Spiced Amber, along with Sandalwood & Cedar, ‘which started floating out of the shop the minute the weather turned cold,’ she smiles. Choisya is her No. 1 – ‘pretty fool-proof if you don’t know what someone likes’ –

Customers are surprised to find Rachel Vosper in her apron, making candles herself

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the Belgravia chandler

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followed by Jasmine. (Fankly, Santa, I’d certainly be happy with any one.)

Rachel first learned to make candles 20 years ago – in the unlikely setting of Barbados. ‘I went out there with a boyfriend who was going to run a dive school. After three weeks of lying on a beach I was really bored, and I met a woman who’d started a candle-making company and needed a hand. It was just before Christmas, and she was rushed off her feet; I turned up at the studio and fell completely in love – it’s a bit like gardening or cooking, where you hit the sweet spot - almost meditative.’

Since then, Rachel’s had a peripatetic career: she worked at YOU Magazine (an assistant in the food department), and at a PR agency start-up (for a while, her desk was the agency owner’s bed) – but went through regular bursts of returning

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in curvy opaque glass or ceramics, each discreetly marked with an ‘RV’ seal. Pleasingly, upon purchase, everything’s then boxed in chic grey boxes and tied with red grosgrain Customers are surprised to find Rachel in her apron making candles herself - but her team’s small and she’s very hands-on. (Rachel actually lives three doors down with her baby daughter, the better to juggle motherhood with her fast-growing business.) The process is laborious – and done with three pourings for each candle. First, the bottom layer of the special beeswax and paraffin mix, which she scents with pre-blended fragrances. The wick (or wicks) are placed just so, in that liquid layer.

When that’s set, a second layer goes in – and a third, for absolute smoothness. Sometimes, she’ll have candles setting all over the floor. As

Candle-making is like cooking or gardening – when you hit the sweet spot, it’s almost meditative

to her true passion, making candles on the side – including a sell-out collection for Notting Hill boho bazaar, The Cross.

Later, a serendipitous meeting in Devon, where she was living, led to investors backing Rachel in a serious candle-making venture – and this shop. ‘We were walking back from lunch on a snowy December day, and the “To Let” sign was lit up by a single lightbulb in the window. It was absolutely perfect.’ A nail-biting few days followed, with Rachel waiting to find out whether she could secure the lease - ‘the longest weekend of my life.’ It turned out just as she’d imagined: waxed floors, original paneling and cupboards – and a mantelpiece of her own…

Rachel’s initial selection of candles was made blindfold. ‘I laid them all out in a row on the mantel and picked them out one by one. If fell in love with one, it was moved to the table.’

Today, there are reed diffusers too – so much better-looking than most out there, with their sensual shapes.

Her own branded candles come

”

many as 500 at a time…

Rachel regularly creates bespoke scents for individuals – often, for weddings. ‘We recently worked on several weddings at The Savoy. We invite each couple down eight months ahead of their big day for three separate fragrance trials – a one-off scent. On the day, these filled the whole hotel…’

Perhaps even more excitingly, Rachel offers hands-on candle-making workshops for small groups – and having ‘graduated’ from one myself (proud owner of a hand-poured candle I made with my own fair hands), we’ve organised one for The Perfume Society subscribers, on 11th December. (See EVENTS for details.)

And if you can’t join us? Do make a bee-line for Belgravia and sniff out Rachel Vosper’s shop for yourself. You can smell the Choisya drifting on the breeze, from yards away – beckoning you towards a unique shop that is truly candle heaven…

Find Rachel Vosper at 69 Kinnerton Street, London SW1X 8ED 020-7235 9666 www.rachelvosper.com

CANDLE ETIQUETTE Nobody knows better than Rachel Vosper about how to get the most out of a candle – and ensure it burns safely. Here’s what we’ve learned from her… l Don’t burn candles for longer than four hours or less than one hour – and never leave a burning candle unattended. l When burning any candle for the first time, allow the entire surface of the candle to become molten.

(If you stop before the molten wax has reached the sides of the vessel, that’s what creates ‘tunnelling’, where the candle burns down the centre only on future burns.) Each time you relight, allow the wax to become molten to the edges before extinguishing. l Keep candle wicks trimmed to 6mm at all times. l Keep the wax pool free from debris such as match ends and wick trimmings, etc. l Avoid placing a candle in a draughty area as this tends to cause an uneven burn. l Allow your candle to solidify before re-lighting and always protect the surface on which the candle rests. l To protect your candle vessel, do not burn right down to the bottom. l To clean your vessel and remove excess wax, leave it in the freezer overnight to allow the wax to shrink.

Remove the wax, then rinse the vessel with hot (not boiling) water, and polish with a soft cloth.

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sweetness & light

Festive flickers

12 scents for Christmas: more sublimely capture the aromas of the season…

Amber AMBRE D’ORIENT

Amber offers a sweet welcome to guests with its enveloping warmth. The Bougie Parfumée Grand Luxe candles come in three sizes: the ultra-luxe ‘Grand’ three-wick version is set to smoulder for 250+ hours.

From £75-495 Harrods Salon de Parfums

2 WILLOW GOLD,

3 CIRE TRUDON

Conjuring up all of the Three Wise Men’s gifts in one glorious candle (it’s decorated with real gold leaf), this is created from soya wax with organic oils, from the all-natural beauty brand. £39 willoworganicbeauty.com

Cinnamon can be touch-and-go in a fragrance, erring towards ‘apple pie’ – but this is sublimely sophisticated, lifted by a twist of orange zest, smouldering incense and spicy clove. £65/net-a-porter.com

FRANKINCENSE & MYRRH

Log Fires 5 JO LOVES

LOG FIRES

With notes of camphor wood, pine, clove, cedar, guaiac wood, black leather – and the smokiness of Lapsang Souchong – this candle quite simply brings the scent of a crackling log fire alive. £325 At the Jo Loves store

Mandarin 9 NEOM

CHRISTMAS WISH

This aromatherapy candle comes with a feel-good factor, beyond the blissful blend of mandarin, cinnamon and tonka: £1 goes to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, granting life-changing wishes to children. From £32 neomorganics.com

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Cinnamon

Frankincense

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scented candles which perfectly

6 TRUE GRACE LIBRARY

Alongside the woodsmoke note (from birch tar), enjoy elements of cedar, sandalwood, moss and amber. One for hiding yourself away, while present-wrapping.

With carols, hallelujah-ing out from Spotify…

From £28/truegrace.co.uk

Incense

10 BAMFORD

INCENSE, ROCK ROSE, AMBER In a too-beautiful-to-throwaway box (decorated with a skyscape inside), this wonderful candle blends hints of Midnight mass with the cosiness of amber and touches of leather in the blend, too. £38/bamford.co.uk

NAZARETH

Ginger

Cloves

7 BYREDO

8 JO MALONE

GINGEMBRE

The sweetness of vanilla is sliced through by fiery notes of pepper and ginger, along with a spicy blaze of black pepper.

Close your eyes and enjoy elements of leather, vanilla and patchouli, too, in this deliciously complex blend. £60/liberty.co.uk

11 SHAY & BLUE

EDITIONS DE PARFUMS FREDERIC MALLE THE SMELL OF CHRISTMAS

By Dominique Ropion, a limited edition winter candle created to catch the spirit of a French Xmas: spicy green pine, cinnamon, frosted sugar, amber, clove. £65 At Les Senteurs

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LONDON FROSTED CHERRY & CLOVE Which do we love more: the Jack Frost-ed glass container (which we’ll be reusing as a vase) – or the tart yet sweetly-spiced scent inside…? Another giant candle (they’re big in every way, this season). £120/jomalone.co.uk

Pine

PINE D’ANTIBES

‘Silver fir, covered with flakes. Dark winter nights.

Rich with the decadent spirit of celebration.’ We couldn’t put it better than Shay & Blue founder Dom De Vetta, who was inspired for this candle by winter walks in the south of France. £35/shayandblue.com

12 DIPTYQUE RÉSINE

Bark, resin, crushed pine needles: wonderfully clean, yet soft and snuggly, at the same time. There are three limited editions in the Winter collection; try spicy Épices or Hiver (contrasting cold air with wood fire and chestnuts.) £45/diptyqueparis.co.uk

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We invite you to visit The Perfume Society’s website daily for breaking perfume news, features, and exclusive VIP Subscriber material, as well as updates on all our events. And to keep your finger on the pulse of all things perfumed, do follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, too. perfumesociety.org The

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something for everyone

get your hands on our

holiday box

Our latest Perfume Society Discovery Box is selling like hot mince pies – but you can still order this (or a VIP Gift Subscription) in time for Christmas, at www.perfumesociety.org Here’s what’s in the box...

LIZ EARLE BOTANICAL ESSENCE NO. 15 (2ml) – an Oriental which takes its name from the number of precious botanicals in the juice: warm, snuggly and sexy - perfect for winter nights.

Versace CRYSTAL COLLECTION (3 x 1ml) - created ‘to celebrate the rich and infinite personalities which embody the Versace woman’: a wonderful stocking filler featuring Bright Crystal, Crystal Noir and Yellow Diamond.

Shay & Blue Atropa Belladonna (2 ml) - rich and incredibly opulent: ripe blackcurrant adds intrigue to narcotic white flowers (narcissus and jasmine), decadently drying down to patchouli, sandalwood and Bourbon vanilla.

Judith Williams I Love Milano, Principessa (10ml) - by renowned ‘nose’ Pierre Bourdon, this is airy and vibrant with fruity top notes, a stunning floral heart and a warming base of amber, musk and ‘solar accord’.

L’Occitane EN PROVENCE Thé Vert BigaradE (7.5ml) - a fresh composition with orange and bitter oranges from Tunisia, blended with Japanese green tea and yerba maté.

Classic and so, so wearable.

Nails inc. Gel Effect Polish - a full size of this revolutionary gel formula in St. James. (Fragrance is the perfect finishing touch to any outfit - but a shiny red manicure definitely makes us feel all the more dressed up…)

Mary Greenwell Plum (2ml) - sensual and exotic, with top notes of peach, bergamot, lemon, blackcurrant, along with plum, gardenia, tuberose, orange blossom, rose and jasmine. Warming, feminine, beautiful.

Sarah Chapman Skinesis Overnight Facial (5ml) - we all want an ‘A-List’ complexion, at this time of year – and this delivers a megawatt glow with its blend of vitamins, antioxidants, brighteners and omega oils.

L’Artisan Parfumeur Mûre et Musc (1.5 ml) - after the freshness of lemon, orange, basil, mint and red berries, the floral fruitiness of this classic perfume’s heart beckons you, before the patchouli, musk and oak moss finale.

The Holiday Collection is available to VIP Subscribers for just £10 (£15 to non-subscribers) at perfumesociety.org/shop/ (NB you must be logged in to get the VIP price); we’re also taking orders for Gift VIP Subscriptions until 17th December.

© by-studio- Fotolia

Agent Provocateur Fatale (2ml) - for the modern femme fatale, with its touches of 1940s Hollywood glamour, this floriental composition by Jean-Marc Chaillan is intoxicating and utterly addictive.

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the heat is on

ice up spYOUR

FRAGRANCE WARDROBE

Nose-tinglingly warming, rich and exotic: Sunil Makan explores the opulence of black pepper – which we’re increasingly finding (and enjoying) in fragrance creations

We implore you to take heed – and pay attention to the humble peppercorn. So versatile, it can be the hearty sprinkle on your caprese salad - or the crowning glory atop a blood red Bloody Mary. But more and more often, black pepper can be found doing all sorts of wonderful things to your fragrance. Whether you prefer a woodier scent, something with florally notes or scents with a somewhat masculine edge, we’ve found seven exquisite ways to enjoy pepper…

© karandaev - Fotolia.com

Ormonde Jayne Champaca

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Pepper intensity: 2/5 Staying power: 4/5 A vase full of freshly hand-picked creamy and herbaceous magnolia, in which notes of pink peppercorn and green tea deliver an organic and natural feel. We think this would be perfect for ballet dancers on opening night, as well as lovers of classically floral fragrances. £90 for 100ml eau de parfum ormondejayne.com

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Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Noir Epices

Pepper intensity: 4/5 Staying power: 5/5 The femme fatale of the group: unabashedly opulent and sexy. A grandiose garden full of pink roses and violet geraniums by night, from ‘nose’ Michel Roudnitska.

Black pepper adds mystery to this decadent Oriental creation – this is old-world fabulousness at its sexiest. £115 for 50ml eau de parfum lessenteurs.co.uk

Byredo Gypsy Water

Pepper intensity: 4/5 Staying power: 5/5 Like salty waves crashing off the coast of LA, this contrasts citrussy fresh lemon with the sweetness of juniper berries. The pepper leads you towards a soft and powdery drydown; a sublimely elegant fragrance construction in which you can really appreciate every single note. £130 for 100ml eau de parfum liberty.co.uk

Jo Malone Dark Amber & Ginger Lily Cologne

Pepper intensity: 2/5 Staying power: 5/5 A full-bodied elixir with a hit of ginger, which cuts through rich and warm amber. The pepper is subtle here but gives life and lift to this bold and intense concoction, making it perfect fragrance for wearing all year round. £100 for 100ml Cologne jomalone.co.uk

ODIN 01 SUNDA

Pepper intensity: 3/5 Staying power: 4/5 Clean soapy vanilla beans meet freshly-laundered silk sheets. The black pepper lingers and tones down any initial headiness from the vanilla adding spice to this sophisticated, aromatic but sweet fragrance, which is creamy with sandalwood, too. £115 for 100ml eau de parfum liberty.co.uk

Terry De Gunzburg Fruit DÉfendu

Pepper intensity: 2/5 Staying power: 4/5 A musky blend of mango and pineapple dusted with pink peppercorns which soften any immediate saccharine notes. The cutesy fruit fragrance definitely gets an upgrade here. £105 for 100ml eau de parfum houseoffraser.co.uk

Comme Des Garcons AmazingGreen

Pepper intensity: 2/5 Staying power: 3/5 Like a vase full of crisp wild grasses next to a freshly-run mineral bath: although not precisely a peppercorn, the green pepper holds the same qualities and characteristics and caresses the subtlest notes of coriander and white musk, resulting in a raw and natural - green – scent, which is very ‘shareable’. £57 for 50ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

Black gold?

Everyone knows black pepper as a food ingredient: it spices up meals all over the world, and is actually the most widelyused spice on the planet. (That’s because it also helps digestion, as well as enhancing flavours.)

Black pepper’s variously referred to as ‘the King of Spices’ - or even as ‘black gold’ - and has been traded since the Roman empire, when the ‘spice routes’ to China and India opened up. (Literally, it was used as a form of money.)

This flowering vine was originally native to the south of India, where it’s long been used in Ayurvedic medicine. Once upon a time, black pepper’s value was on a par with gold – hence that nickname – and only the rich could enjoy it. (This precious spice also found its way into spells and was used as an amulet to protect against disease and other threats.)

In perfumery, the not-quiteripe peppercorns of the Piper nigrum vine are dried, crushed and steam-distilled to create an intensely-fragrant oil which is surprisingly complex: as well as delivering a real burst of heat, it’s surprisingly fresh – and woody, too, blending beautifully with citrus fruits like lemon, as well as aromatics including lavender, ginger, clove, coriander and geranium.

Hot, fresh, almost tingly to sniff: this top note perks up many masculine and some female scents, adding instant brightness. And we love the idea that (as fragrance author Mandy Aftel puts it), black pepper isn’t just thought to stimulate the mind, but to ‘warm the indifferent heart’… Read much, much more about notes used in fragrances at perfumesociety. org/ingredients

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an aromatic life

memories, dreams, reflections

What’s the very first thing you remember smelling?

The fragrant scents that surrounded me while growing up on the shores of Egypt. The pungent scent of citruses, the spices, the incense, the fresh rose bushes from which my grandfather used to distil pure rose water in which I used to bathe... Warm and musky, but sweet and fresh at the same time.

When did you realise that scent was really important to you?

From a very young age I wanted to understand how to recreate the beautiful scents of nature. It was in my DNA as I came from a family of scientists and I watched my grandfather use nature to make the most incredible things - it has always been a fascination to me…

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What was the first fragrance you bought for yourself?

I certainly remember the first perfume bottle I was gifted: I was 16 and it was from my parents - L’Air du Temps by Nina Ricci. It was a beautiful Lalique bottle with crystallised wings which I would have wanted to keep forever, but one day it fell to the ground and it shattered in thousands of crystal pieces!

Have you had different fragrances for different phases of your life…?

Absolutely; I have had so many different fragrances through the various stages of my life – and beyond that, I also use different fragrances at the same time. I change them depending on my moods, feelings, according to an occasion - or just for fun! I also love the art of layering fragrances; by doing this you are able to create your own personal scent. That is why I created a collection of fragrances that are all complementary to each other, but so unique at the same time. They can be worn on their own and be interchangeable too.

If you could only take one of your fragrances to a desert island, what would it be?

It would definitely be my own creations, but choosing between one of them is like asking me to choose between my children! I would bring the whole collection!

© Natika; stockphoto-graf; Schlierner; Selecstock; Scisetti Alfio; womue; furtseff - Fotolia.com

Terry de Gunzburg is a make-up artist extraordinaire (among other triumphs, she brought us YSL Touche Eclat!) But her true, life-long obsession is scent – so for this edition, Terry shares the scents and smells which catapult her through time and space

My Christmas smells...

These scents remind me of relaxing and spending Christmas with my large family, sitting by the fire in our house in Provence or in a chalet in the alps…

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Freshly picked lavender burning on firewood

The smell that always makes me feel happy is… … the divine and addictive smell of the Parisian boulangeries early in the morning.

The smell that always makes me feel a bit sad is… … all the artificial scents! This was one of my main priorities when I started my fragrances: I wanted everything to be 100% natural.

The scent that I love on a man is… … the combination of a great perfume mixed with the man’s natural scent.. irresistible and so sexy! My fig-based Flagrant Délice is fantastic on men!

I’d love to have smelled…

Madame de Pompadour’s dressing room; she was an absolute fragrance fanatic! Her favourite was called ‘Huile de Venus’.

What is your favourite book about perfume…?

Perfume by Patrick Suskind, the novel set in the 18th century France where the main character himself is born with no bodily scent and is obsessed with finding the perfect scent. It is all about the exploration of smell: a dark novel at times, but I love the references to the history of French perfumery, which is a big inspiration to me.

Citrus

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Pine

All sorts of spices

Find Terry de Gunzburg’s fragrance collection (as well as her make-up and skincare) at uk.spacenk.com, price from £71 for 50ml eau de parfum. Follow her @BYTERRYPARIS

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first whiffs

latest launches Traditionally (and slightly surprisingly), this is a quietish time of year for fragrance launches. But here, we’re showcasing a selection of recent unveilings together with some ‘special edition’ bottles for Christmas. (Most are widely available – but where they’re not, we tell you.) Looking for a partyperfect scent, something to wear under the mistletoe – or for a family get-together? Plenty to discover, explore and enjoy here – for you, and the men in your life.

ROJA DOVE ON SEXY SCENTS No question: fragrance makes us feel more attractive. But sometimes, we want it specifically to seduce and attract. That requires a slightly different approach to your usual scentshopping – so we asked the Roja to share his expertise. l ‘It’s no good shopping for a seductive scent when you’re in “work mode”. If you dress more like a femme fatale, the fragrance consultants will see you differently - and suggest sexier scents. Maybe try fragrance shopping one evening, setting aside an hour before a date or special event.’ l ‘The most seductive fragrances are base-note-heavy, featuring lots of vanilla, animal notes like musk, incense and woods like sandalwood. You’ll find many of the most seductive scents in the “Oriental” family. You don’t need to be an expert on this; just ask a consultant.’ l And once you’ve bought your sexy scent? ‘To turbocharge a fragrance’s seductive power, don’t put it behind your ears,’ says Roja. ‘The spot above the collar-bone is better - he’ll smell it when he whispers in your ear - and around the navel is a hot-spot, too. Remember, scent rises so try a dab behind knees and ankles.’

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As scentophiles know, fragrances fall into different ‘families’. So we’ve used the same classification system for launches as on our www.perfumesociety.org website. Just look for the coloured strip above the name of the perfume, which is your visual clue to the families. (These are listed below.) Most of us are drawn to a specific family/families: once you know which you fall into, that colour can act as a cue – and help you take a short-cut to the ones you may want to try first…

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FOUGERE

& OTHER STORIES PUNK BOUQUET

Created in collaboration with renowned Robertet perfumer Jérôme Epinette, Punk Bouquet (don’t you just love the name?) is described by Swedish brand & Other Stories as being ‘hypnotising, mysterious, magnetising.’ And it totally is. The composition layers notes of tiger orchid, dewy lotus flower and tree moss, enlivened by a splash of juicy tangerine, green apple and light floral cyclamen, together with the sweetness of tonka bean and vanilla. £26 for 50ml eau de toilette At & Other Stories

DEAR ROSE LA FAVORITE

We were hard-pushed to choose just two of Dear Rose’s five beauties for this edition, but also settled on this spicy, woody, leathery creation. It takes you on a magic carpet ride to the Orient, mixing pink pepper and saffron with oudh wood (just a touch, mind) and patchouli. ‘A dream of Sheherazade at a bar in a grand hotel, where a spice-seller tells of journeys, precious wood and heady essences.’ Exactly that. £105 for 100ml eau de parfum harrods.com

BOSS MA VIE

Ma Vie was inspired ‘by the astonishing contrast in the Bolivian desert of the immaculate white salt, the intense blue sky and the stylized green cactus island with its tender pink blossoms’, we’re told – and features the invigorating, breezy freshness of cactus blossom as an intriguing signature, balanced by feminine floral notes. The idea? To encourage each of us ‘to take the time to really treasure and savour each moment.’ We’re all for that.

From £35 for 30ml eau de parfum theperfumeshop.com

DIOR DIORISSIMO EXTRAIT

Dior has actually launched five gloriously intense concentrations of its key iconic fragrances – including the delectable swirl of lily of the valley that is Diorissimo. (The only two which aren’t featured here are Poison and Miss Dior - but all are ‘signed’ by in-house perfumer François Demachy.)

Here, the airy white floral heart also embraces jasmine absolute, Rose de Mai absolute and ylang-ylang essence - and it’s as beautiful today as in 1956 when Diorissimo originally launched. £140 15ml extrait de parfum At Harrods

DEAR ROSE BLOODY ROSE

Chantal Roos – creator, with her daughter Alexandra, of this exquisite new fragrance brand – is a legend in the fragrance world, the driving force behind YSL’s most famous creations, and Jean Paul Gaultier Classique, among many others. Now she’s ‘doing her own thing’ – beautifully.

Here, a floral gourmand, with a good-enough-to-eat ‘praline patchouli’ note, the va-va-voom of ylang-ylang, and sweet orange blossom - one of five new creations. £105 for 100ml eau de parfum harrods.com

DIOR J’ADORE EXTRAIT

The thinking behind these extraits is, Dior explains, ‘to pare down and intensify, to go back to the essence while taking the olfactory magic still further…’ This creation certainly succeeds, intensifying the elements in this ‘ode to flowers’: the richest and most luminous expression of the much-loved Dior contemporary classic, with its radiant floral bouquet of Comoro Islands ylangylang, jasmine sambac and Rose de Mai absolute. A stunner. £140 15ml extrait de parfum At Harrods

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DIOR MISS DIOR EXTRAIT

ELECTIMUSS SAGGITA

ETAT LIBRE D’ORANGE RIEN INTENSE INCENSE

We’re loving the bottle, with its houndstooth check (a Dior signature) etched into the glass. Launched as ‘the perfume of love’ in 1947 to accompany Dior’s celebrated New Look, this Chypre pulses with jasmine sambac, Rose de Mai absolute and Indonesian patchouli, underscored by oak mosses and galbanum – which gives Miss Dior its characteristic ‘greenness’. We couldn’t be more pleased that the original Miss Dior has found its way into the spotlight again. £140 15ml extrait de parfum At Harrods

The name of this new British fragrance house comes from the Latin for ‘to choose the best’ – inspired by the ancient Romans, who so loved fragrance. Electimuss’s Pure Perfume Series showcases five scents; our favourite is Saggita, based around the heady golden champaca flower – said to be the most beautiful single floral scent in the world. A cloud of white blossom is offset by sherbet yuzu and bergamot, before vetiver, musk and sandalwood drift in. £130 for 50ml parfum roullierwhite.com

A powerful medley that’s so perfect for winter: warm, comforting, mysterious... Rien Intense Incense will most certainly dazzle your senses with the beautiful array of spices and Oriental woody notes in this embracing composition. It opens with aldehydes, caraway and uplifting bergamot, over a blossoming heart of roses, powdery iris and glorious incense. The base gently warms the air with a trail of amber, patchouli, labdanum and moss. £130 for 100ml eau de parfum harrods.com

GUERLAIN FRENCH KISs

JO MALONE LONDON POMEGRANATE NOIR

KIM KARDASHIAN FLEUR FATALE

Jo Malone’s enigmatic, rich and juicy scent Pomegranate Noir now flaunts a frosted festive bottle, especially for Christmas. The new flacon celebrates the ‘iced’ mood of midwinter, with beautifully embellished glass and a cherry-red ribbon. With notes of raspberry, pomegranate and plum over a heart and base of jasmine, clove, pink pepper, musk and amber, it whips up cosy winter memories of drinking mulled wine by the roaring fire. £86 for 100ml Cologne selfridges.com

Alongside filming her hit show, designing a range of clothes for high street giant Lipsy and raising her daughter, reality TV star Kim Kardashian has also found time to launch her seventh (!) fragrance.

Evoking the exotic Orient, the new scent is housed in a bottle shaped like her favourite flower, a white rose.

The sensual composition captivates with floral, woody and musky notes via blackcurrant, bergamot, violet, peony, white musk and sandalwood. £30 for 50ml eau de parfum At Debenhams

Drizzled with fruity notes of lychee and a raspherry accord, this new addition to Guerlain’s ultra-exclusive Les Élixirs Charnels collection offers up a sweet heart of powdery violet and rose. This pretty pink ‘juice’ is described as a ‘glossy’ floral, in which Thierry Wasser sets out to celebrate the French art of kissing.

We’re loving its deliciously comehither softness, which is further enhanced by base notes of iris, vanilla, white musk and heliotrope. £160 for 75ml elixir At Selfridges

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liz earle botanical essence no.100

L’OCCITANE EN PROVENCE ARLÉSIENNE

Get out the bunting: this much-loved fragrance (originally created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Chelsea Flower Show) has returned to the Liz Earle fragrance portfolio, by popular demand. Designed to recreate the uplifting feeling of entering a florist’s shop, it blends Damask rose, Indian jasmine and orange flower, entwined with cypress, sandalwood and Bourbon vanilla – with the freshness of bergamot and mandarin (it’s over 89% naturals). £47 for 50ml eau de parfum lizearle.com

The latest fine fragrance from L’Occitane’s heartland is inspired by the ancient city of Arles – and the feminine silhouette of the Arlésienne woman, an ‘ideal’ which has inspired painters from Van Gogh to Picasso. Three precious flowers dance at Arlésienne’s elegant heart: fiery saffron, voluptuous rose and soft, sweet violet. Being L’Occitane, there are plenty of options for ‘layering’, including a divine scented Shimmering Powder. £39 for 75ml eau de toilette uk.loccitane.com

NEJMA SEVEN

With its elements of cacao and coconut, there’s definitely a good-enough-to-eat touch to Nejma Seven – as you might guess, the seventh in the just-launched line, which gets its name from an Oriental tale. (Nejma was a woman ‘of incomparable charm and beauty.’) In this mesmerizing blend, you’ll also encounter pink grapefruit, mandarin, neroli – and sensual undertones of white musk, oudh and patchouli. £120 for 100 ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com

MASON MARTIN MARGIELA TEA ESCAPE

A voyage to a tea service in Tokyo, circa 2008. Tea Escape is a spicy, tranquil scent, described as a ‘fresh gourmand’ - and continues the current coloured trend in the market, with a light, pretty green juice. The fragrance itself offers up bergamot, twisted with pink pepper, the sweet flora of osmanthus and jasmine, injecting edible notes of milk and puffed rice – and the green tea which its evocative name hints at. £65 for 100ml eau de toilette selfridges.com

ODIN VERT RESEDA

RAMON MONEGAL CHERRY MUSK

Vert Reseda launches as part of Odin New York’s new collection, The White Line – and it’s truly a florist’s shop in a bottle, all crushed stems and lush greenery. From Drom perfumer Jean Claude Delville, Vert Reseda captures a light, fun and carefree mood – yet is highly addictive, fusing incense and creamy sandalwood with floral undertones of reseda flowers, followed by a feminine dash of mountain galbanum, wild peony and an aquatic gardenia. £140 for 100ml eau de parfum liberty.com

This collection literally just landed here, and its glories are worth exploring. Ramon Monegal is from Spain’s most celebrated family of perfumers, and now creates under his own name. Upbeat and extrovert, audacious – but very, very wearable – this is a swirl of white musk, rose and jasmine, with fruity touches of cherry accord and strawberry, getting its depth from cedar and oak moss.

Officially? ‘Musky-fruity-floral’.

Unofficially? Gorgeous. £130 for 50ml At Harrods

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ROBERT PIGUET OUD DE ROBERT PIGUET GOLD

ROJA PARFUMS ENIGMA D’OR

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO SIGNORINA LEATHER EDITION

Created by Aurélien Guichard, Oud takes its wearer on an enchanting olfactory journey. Re-housed in a beautifully festive gold bottle, this wintry scent is perfect for Christmas evenings. Notes of myrrh and saffron seamlessly accent the leathery warmth of agarwood (oudh), while the addition of smoky guaiac wood creates an opulent backdrop. Vetiver adds a cooling edge, alongside notes of patchouli and styrax for a mysterious richness. £180 for 100ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

Adorned with a Swarovski crystal cap, this rich, powdery scent is the perfect gift for the woman who has everything, shimmering with 24-carat gold leaf. Says Roja: ‘the mystery of the name drove me to create a fragrance that seems to be all things to all people, but itself is certain and assured, whilst created ambiguity in others.’ The fruity floral layers bergamot, geranium, heliotrope and jasmine alongside neroli, peach, rose, ylang, musk, patchouli and orris. £595 for 100ml parfum selfridges.com

Signorina was an absolutely huge hit in our Perfume Society Fashion & Fragrance Discovery Box – so we know many of you will add this to your gift wishlist: a special edition of the fruity-floriental creation, dressed up with a ballet slipper-pink leather bow. Super-feminine, it almost fizzes with currant and fresh pink pepper, its floral heart fusing jasmine, pink peony and rose. Soft musk, patchouli – and that unusual pannacotta note – seduce, in the finale. £56 for 50ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

SANTA EULALIA OBSCURO

VIKTOR & ROLF FLOWERBOMB ROSE EXPLOSITION

YSL OPIUM COLLECTOR EDITION

A new take on ever-popular Flowerbomb, Rose Explosion is an Oriental made especially for the Middle East. ‘In the middle of the desert, a golden halo is rising up from the dunes. Big, round, golden roses whose unusual fragrance instantly makes the head spin.’ The fresh, honeyed warmth of Moroccan Turkish rose absolutes surrounds a bouquet of gloriously spicy aromas, including bergamot, pink pepper, jasmine flowers, olives, oudh and amber. £130 for 100ml eau de parfum selfridges.com

The success of Black Opium this autumn has inspired many to revisit (or simply to discover for the first time) the original – a true fragrant legend, with its voluptuous bouquet of jasmine, spicy carnation, amber, vanilla absolute and vetiver. Opiumlovers new and old will love this limited edition for 2014, encased in a white gold finish, with a yellow gold cap – and the amber warmth of the ‘juice’ inside visible through its familiar ‘keyhole’. £57 for 50ml eau de parfum yslbeauty.co.uk

World-famous Barcelona fashion boutique Santa Eulalia has launched its first fragrance collection - and Obscuro is a personal favourite of ours for the chilly months ahead.

Capturing the dark side of Barcelona via its wintry complexity, this mystical fragrance almost hums with notes of incense, anise and saffron, slowly drawing you in to discover soft Peruvian balsam, leather and raw amber. It’s spicy, woody and utterly beautiful, we’re finding. £98 for 75ml eau de parfum At Liberty

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the men’s room

JAMES BOND 007 GOLD EDITION

Hugely popular since the day of its launch – not just because it taps into every man’s inner 007 (never far beneath the surface, we find), but because this fragrance is simply so wearable. (It was described by GQ Magazine as ‘the most dangerously sophisticated fragrance in the world’.) For Christmas, the classic composition of lavender, geranium, crisp apple and vetiver is dressed up in gold – the signature colour of so many 007 gadgets.

From £25 for 50ml eau de toilette theperfumeshop.com

MASON MARTIN MARGIELA AT THE BARBER’S

At the Barber’s is the second male fragrance in MM’s collection - this time journeying us to Madrid, circa 1992. Created by nose Louise Turner, it’s a supremely herbaceous, masculine scent. ‘I was inspired by the memory of my father getting ready in the morning. The aromatic notes of lavender mixed with the smell of soap bubbles in the gentle warmth of the bathroom’. Notes include, lavender, tonka beans, basil and white musk. £65 for 100ml eau de toilette selfridges.com

KENNETH COLE MANKIND

Composed as an aromatic woody by Givaudan perfumer Claude Dir in collaboration with Jennifer Mullarkey, Mankind is a bold fragrance that celebrates the modern man - who is ‘confident, humble and driven’. This enticing blend of fresh aromatic elements, including cardamom, tarragon leaf, ginger and pineapple, continues through to a warm combination of cedar, vetiver and cinnamon, layered over sandalwood, oak moss and tonka bean. £29 for 30ml eau de toilette At House of Fraser

LIQUIDES IMAGINAIRES FORTIS

Black bottles have been all the rage this season – but now discover a black ‘juice’. Boldly described as ‘a fragrance for reincarnation’, it also promises to ‘drive out evil spirits’.

But you know what? We just really like the inky scent itself: top notes of cumin, saffron and oudh, a woody heart of guaiac wood, amyris, vetiver and cedarwood, warmed by amber, patchouli, sandalwood, musk and sweet touches of vanilla. Dark, divine. £140 for 100ml eau de parfum harrods.com

MEMO FRENCH LEATHER

RIHANNA ROGUE MAN

Composed by the renowned Aliénor Massenet, this elegant scent perfectly bottles the spirit of all that is French.

The use of leather gives the composition its all-emcompassing softness and luminosity, while lime essence, rose essence and suede accord are perfectly complemented by pink pepper, juniper, vetiver, sensual musk and clary sage. This is one scent you won’t want to put down all winter… Perfectly shareable, too, if you love leather. £168 for 75ml eau de parfum harveynichols.com

This may be the fifth scent from pop icon Rihanna, but it’s the first time she’s ventured into the territory of male perfumery. Created by Frank Voelkl, the Oriental woody composition was designed to ‘intoxicate men with a choreographed clash of fragrance notes.’ Opening with fresh citrus, spicy black pepper and herbs, the scent then reveals its velvety floral heart – and the base lingers warmly on the skin, with notes of cedarwood and labdanum. £25 for 30ml eau de toilette At House of Fraser

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RSVP

events MAKE A VALENTINE’S FRAGRANCE Date: Saturday 7th February 2015, 2 - 6 p.m.

The week before Valentine’s Day we’ve a special event – an afternoon of guided perfume making with the wonderful Sarah McCartney of 4160 Tuesdays at her studio in West London. The plan is to make a perfume for your loved one – and no one minds if you decide it’s yourself! – on the Valentine theme. We’ll have the traditional scents of romantic roses, violets, chocolate, vanilla and aldehydes – the smells that famously gave Chanel No5 its sparkling feel. For our special half day session, Sarah will prepare bases – blends of beautiful materials – for you to customise, and at the end of the day, you’ll have a precious 30ml bottle of your own individual perfume.

Tickets are £75 and if you’d like to make more perfumes on the day, they will be at a very special price of £25 each for 30ml.

Through our contacts in the perfume world, The Perfume Society has amazing access to places, people and happenings – and we want to share that with you. So you’ll find many other exciting events on our website: just visit www.perfumesociety.org/events for info/to book

RACHEL VOSPER CANDLE-MAKING WORKSHOP Date: 11th December 2014 Time: 7 - 9 p.m.

We’re delighted to invite you to share a very special, hands-on scented candle-making workshop with Rachel Vosper, ‘chandler extraordinare’. You’ll enjoy canapés and Prosecco, while learning from this expert the art of creating scented candles. You’ll leave with your own beautifully boxed candle – and, we think, a warm rosy glow of achievement at having acquired a new skill.

Because of the very special and exclusive nature of this workshop, Rachel Vosper charges £100 per head. To book, visit www. perfumesociety.org/events - and we really hope to see you there…

One-day Hands-on Introduction to Perfume Course Date: Saturday 7th March 2015 time: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Karen Gilbert, a truly inspiring and inspired teacher (and author of Perfume: The Art & Craft of Fragrance) is offering a one-day workshop on Saturday 7th March (from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.) for anyone who wants to learn hands-on how to make perfumes, and deepen their appreciation of this amazing art form. The workshop is priced £175 and is available to subscribers and non-subscribers of The Perfume Society, and for more detailed info please visit our website.

NB At time of going to press, there was availability for all the events above. We apologise if all spaces have been filled since then, and encourage you to revisit the Events page for updates. We also send bulletins to Perfume Society subscribers announcing new events.

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THE PERFUME BOOK OF THE YEAR

A must for every perfume-lover (and a fabulous Christmas gift), with 192 beautifully-illustrated colour pages…

• How to find your next scent ‘love’ • Follow the journey of ingredients from field to flacon

© peshkova - Fotolia.com

• Discover the top 100 fragrances to try before you die • Track down the world’s best perfume shops And much, much more…

RRP £25 but just £16.25 (including p&p) to Perfume Society VIP Subscribers when you are logged in at www.perfumesociety.org Also find it at www.victoriahealth.com, www.amazon.co.uk and at good bookshops everywhere The

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it takes me right back

Deep Heat Like Marmite, this mentholated balm is a love-it-or-hate-it household commodity. But for The Perfume Society’s Project Manager Alice Crocker, it’s a life-long love affair…

“

I would say I am from a medical family. My great grandfather was a doctor, my mother dedicated 40 years to that great institution the NHS, and her partner ran a General Practice in Hampstead. I have always heard the horror stories – from my grandmother’s recollection of her father chopping out my great aunt’s tonsils on the dining table to the ones from my mother about the pop stars and rock stars (no names!) who used to fall into St. George’s Hospital after a heavy night out.

I have also inherited many habits of the profession, one of which being the failsafe ‘where did you train?’ question which I always lead with every time I visit a doctor’s surgery.

And believe it or not, I actually love hospitals; I even love the smell of them – clean, friendly and safe. It’s probably because of the thousands of hours I’ve spent in them, driving their visitors mad, wheeling down the corridors on office chairs after school, or gawking at blood samples and other paraphernalia.

It’s no surprise then, that my home has always been stocked with a rather hefty amount of medical supplies, from bandages to syringes, fluoride tablets to plasters, along with countless lotions, pills and potions - with names I couldn’t say, let alone spell. And I loved it.

There are many medicinal greats: fabric plasters (why do they smell so delightful?)

TCP anyone...? Not for many; there’s actually a Facebook group titled ‘I hate the smell of TCP’. (I won’t be joining.) Bandages, as well, smell like sterile new clothes. A bit like opening a new textbook at school. (Am I’m sounding a little like I have an – um, unhealthy - obsession?)

As a child, when no-one was looking, I would frequently pull a chair into the laundry room, climb up to the medical cupboard, and explore the items. I would bandage my fingers and I would overdose on zesty Haliboranges and sweet, strawberry scented Super Teds, then cover myself in Deep Heat.

Deep Heat. Who DOESN’T love the stuff? It smells heavenly - to me, anyway. Its fresh aromatic medicinal burst fizzes in your nostrils with camphorous, menthol notes, before setting into a warm and comforting sweetness. I

can recall scenting my school jumpers in winter with this delectable aroma. Thinking about it now, Deep Heat was in fact my first ever fragrance. When it blends with cotton, it’s a warm comfort like no other.

My grandmother has often recited the story of the day her father bought home a puppy with bent legs. He told my grandmother to put it under her coat and feed it cod liver oil and malt everyday. She did - and lo and behold it was running around straight-legged with boundless energy in no time. (FYI she takes cod liver oil and malt everyday herself now and is 90 going on 60.)

This is exactly the kind of reenactment I engaged in, growing up on our farm. And there were some real success stories – chicken eggs successfully hatched, Angus the orphaned lamb spending his first few weeks in front of the Aga - and even the odd mended songbird. I loved playing animal hospital and it didn’t really matter whether the animal was actually sick.

The truth is, not only was I mischievously digging around in the medical cupboard myself; my long-suffering Springer Spaniel – Lettuce – often played patient, as I involved her in my antics. She loved the attention and the treats and I loved making her ‘feel better’. So when I smell Deep Heat now, it takes me right back to that laundry room: me in an apron, stethoscope in my ears, surgical gloves on and stinking of the stuff, with an obedient Lettuce sitting on top of my practice table (the freezer) smelling like the greasy, old canine she was, beneath the mentholated miasma.

I honestly thought I was the Florence Nightingale of the animal Kingdom. And this truly was one of my favorite places to be as a child: ‘curing diseases’ and making a difference, one dog - and one tube of Deep Heat at a time.

When it blends with cotton, it’s a warm comfort like no other

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