ARgENTUM BECOME

FRAGRANCE FAMILY: FRESH

TOP NOTES: Italian bergamot, rosewood, geranium leaves

HEART NOTES: nutmeg, rose

BASE NOTES: Indian sandalwood, Indonesian patchouli, moss

ARgENTUM fragrances explore ‘archetypes’ of characters evolving from the elements that surround us, inviting you to either pick a card (online or in store) and be matched with your scent, or to smell them all and choose in a more traditional way. Here, we’ve chosen Become as it was the fragrance that launched the entire collection. Beginning life as the signature scent of their silver-infused, wellnessled and award-winning skincare; Become urges you to attune to your innermost needs. Grounding with the earthy notes of the base, yet invigoratingly fresh with citrus and verdant leafiness, the spices and woods meld on the skin to create an every day new you, no matter who you feel drawn to being.

Founder Joy Isaacs has always been interested in skincare and beauty, but ‘Fragrance goes back further.’ Her entrepreneurial spirit and problemsolving nature surfaced, because although she was in love with scent, Joy explains that she was "super-sensitive to some of the overpowering ones." Initially (and understandably) at first this meant Joy was "…very hesitant to allow scent into our products" because "some synthetic fragrances would give me headaches and make me feel quite unsettled. But we went to France and met Delphine, our perfumer, who worked in natural and organic fragrances, and it just felt right." Incredibly gentle on skin thanks to their unique milky and alcohol-free base, these are scents that don’t overwhelm you –they cocoon and protect you, inviting you to explore your own multitude ‘archetypes’ in fragrant form.

SMELLING NOTES:

EXPLORE: ARgENTUM Become

• What image comes immediately to mind as you wear Become…?

• Have you worn an alcohol-free fragrance? Do you enjoy the texture?

• What mood does Become evoke, for you personally?

• When would you feel Become might help you most to wear?

• Which three words best sum up Become for you? Grounding? Inspiring? Mystical? Over to you…

From £228 for 70 ml eau de parfum argentumapothecary.com

D’OTTO

7

FRAGRANCE FAMILY: FOUGÈRE

TOP NOTES: Sicilian grapefruit, Sorrento lemon, Calabrian bergamot, Basilicata petitgrain

HEART NOTES: orange blossom, sage, Garda lavender, thyme

BASE NOTES: sandalwood, Tahitian vetiver, musk, ambergris, Cambodian oudh

Taking artistic inspiration from Jackson Pollock’s iconic Number 31 painting, the composition of the fragrance has been carefully balanced to express the colours and textures of the canvas – truly making the connection of fine perfumery as an art form (something we have long believed at The Perfume Society!) Here, the traditional structure of the fougère fragrance has been given a thoroughly aquatic feel. The talented third-generation Italian perfumer, Paolo Terenzi, explains that he wanted to create '…the expression of the harmony of chaos in a drop of perfect emotion.' Citrus notes depict white paint flecks while Lake Garda lavender and sage bring natural tones of green, Cambodian oudh and ambergris pick out the darker splashes. Fizzing with optimistic harmony, it so brilliantly balances these notes to create waves of vibrant equilibrium throughout the day.

For their debut collection, D’OTTO chose to express abstract art through their fragrances, founder and perfumer Paolo selecting his favourite artworks throughout history and using the synaesthetic feelings the colours, materials and brushstrokes of the artist give, making these wearable pieces of art in themselves. Truly a modern Renaissance man, Paolo calls himself an ‘unconventional storyteller’ and musician; and with a professional background that also includes a degree in law and philosophy, studies in chemistry and physics and a lifelong passion for poetry. What’s more, the artistry runs in the family, as Paolo can trace his artistic inclinations back through his family’s bloodline, to 15th Century Rimini.

SMELLING NOTES:

EXPLORE: D’OTTO 1 + 7

• Allow yourself to think of the colours and textures this scent evokes…

• What painting (or other medium) would you create, based on it?

• Do the ingredients conjure an Italian landscape for you?

• Can you sense the ‘aquatic’ feeling Paolo wanted for the composition?

• Which three words best sum up 1+7 for you? Artistic? Multifaceted? Textural? Over to you…

From £275 for 100 ml EXTRAIT de parfum selfridges.com