SCENTS OF THE SEASON : SPRING FRAGRANCES
Spring is the season of fresh starts and new beginnings - there is no better time to choose a new scent. What's more, far from being typical prissy florals, the latest olfactory offerings are [quite fittingly] a renewal in their own right. Modern reinventions of classic combinations, these fragrances call to mind those first days of the year where longer days and warmer climes draw us outside; a celebration of all things green, this is spring at its most authentic.
Note also that rose [reinvented] features heavily - the undoubted scent of the season...
HEELEY Chypre 21
At once floral and earthy, Chypre 21 opens with a warm and woody hit of sandalwood, patchouli, and oak moss, whilst the middle notes are a veritable bloom of bergamot and rose [it is spring after all], it dries down to a spicy floral which lasts all day on my skin and becomes increasingly alluring and mysterious. What strikes me most about this scent is its perfect harmony of modernity and tradition - it feels both classic and alternative at once. Wear with a fresh white shirt or pretty cotton sundress and it's the perfect finishing touch to a warm, sunny day spent outdoors.
RAMON MONEGAL Lovely Day
The name says it all - airy, energising, and above all romantic, inhaling this scent is akin to reliving your most memorable spring day, or walking through the lushest garden in the height of the season. Elegant and sophisticated, I would liken it to the perfect olfactory representation of a bouquet of hothouse flowers. Fresh florals, jasmine, rose, and iris blend into a fruity heart of liquorice and blackcurrant. A modern take on a feminine classic, rose is very much a supporting act, making this is a lovely wearable scent for spring-time if you like florals with an edge.
ATKINSONS Rose in Wonderland
Normally I avoid rose scents like the plague, but if the past year has taught me anything it's that rose has been completely reinvented. An intriguing and sensual scent that I love for everyday wear, here the distinctive rose heart is given a modern twist, complemented by warm, rich notes of amber, blackcurrant, and vetiver that give a classic an unfamiliar edge. Far from being a gentle, delicate floral, it is jarringly unfamiliar whilst maintaining the elegant undertone of a classic rose. In fact, everyone I've handed this to [even those sceptical of rose] has started with a single spray and ended up dousing themselves from head to toe. It's divine.
BYREDO Super Cedar
Once again Byredo places its trademark seal of quirkiness and originality upon a fragrance classic. A harmonious combination of some of my favourite fragrance notes; musk, cedar and vetiver. Also in the mix, but not so prominent, rose in its most sheer, subtle form. Despite the minimal ingredients and initial fresh simplicity, Super Cedar is increasingly complex and sophisticated. Inspired by a nostalgia for simpler times, log cabins, and pencil shavings, even with one spritz this kicks out a beautiful punchy scent of cedar that is at once intense and sensual, but also sunny and comforting. This is the spring scent for you if you like fragrance with a difference and I find it ideal for evening wear.
SISLEY Eau de Campagne
Like cut grass and clean air in a bottle, Eau de Campagne somehow manages to perfectly encapsulate the essence of spring in the countryside, without leaning upon traditionally cloying and heady floral notes. Instead it is ripe, green, and grassy; a real pick-me-up fragrance when I really need an early morning kickstart. Unlike anything I've ever smelt, it instantly evokes a nostalgia for the familiar and comforting memories of spring-time in my childhood - picnics on freshly mowed lawns, climbing trees, and planting seeds in freshly turned earth. Aptly named, this fragrance will instantly transport you into a field of flowers.
