editor’s LETTER

Who could ever have imagined the changes we’ve experienced in our working and home lives, over the past three years? Our worlds have been turned upside-down. But here’s the thing. As ever, the fragrance landscape has shape-shifted – adapting to change, reinventing itself, indeed helping us to reinvent ourselves. Hence the theme for this spring edition of The Scented Letter: ‘Fragrance for A New You’.

As we continue to experience aftershocks from the pandemic, many people are searching for meaning. As a result, tarot is buzzing, ditto astrology; a recent WGSN survey revealed that 62% of Gen Z and 63% of millennials believe their zodiac sign ‘accurately represents their personality traits’. Certainly, whether it’s staring into a crystal ball, checking your horoscope or having your cards read invites self-reflection, helping us to unravel some of life’s big questions. On p.11, Suzy Nightingale explores ways that fragrance houses are capturing this new mystical vibe in their launches and coming up with intriguingly esoteric (and fun) ways to steer us towards new fragrance choices.

As more of us embrace #WFH in this ‘new world order’, it’s fuelling a home fragrance boom. To research ‘Wafting From Home’, on p.26, I talked to brands who’ve flourished thanks to this shift in our working lives, had my senses delighted by beautiful candles and divine diffusers – and learned how home fragrance is being used to shift our mindset from working day to relaxed downtime.

Open any newspaper right now and you’ll see headlines about ‘the cost of living crisis’. Everywhere we look, we’re encouraged to embrace ‘the new thriftiness’. Personally, I couldn’t put a price on the joy that fragrance brings to my life. But still, who doesn’t like to save a little, where we can? So on p.34, we share secrets for getting even more enjoyment out of the fragrances we already own, look at the trend for downsized bottles and discovery sets – where The Perfume Society has of course blazed a trail – as well as showcasing some other pocket-friendly perfume choices.

In terms of reinvention, meanwhile, there’s surely nothing more dramatic than changing your gender. Last year, Diana Thomas – after a long and distinguished career as a (male) journalist and author – completed her transition. Alongside a new wardrobe of clothes, how better to embrace her new identify than with a new scent (or three)? In ‘Portrait of a (New) Lady’, on p.22, Diana shares how her eyes – and her nose – were opened to the joy of scents, with the help and kindness of some of London’s leading fragrance experts.

I really don’t need a crystall ball to tell me that you’re going to enjoy it all.