Bentley, the luxury car manufacturer, has previously launched a number of quite popular mainstream perfumes under their brand name, however recently they have introduced their first collection of exclusive fragrances named Bentley Beyond – The Collection; a trio of niche scents that matches peerless ingredients with exotic destinations, housed in beautiful Lalique crystal bottles. Bentley Beyond – The Collection aims to become a luxurious addition of scented accessories to th

What amazes me after all those years of trying many new perfumes is that there will always be something new and innovative that will make me go “aha” or “aww” or even “wow” My latest “wow” moment came a few months ago when I had the opportunity to meet up with Lucy Akhurst and try her perfumes. Following a successful career in acting, writing and other creative endeavours, she channelled her creativity into making perfumes. La Maison Hédonique was created to tell stories, evo

Tokyo is the inspiration behind the seventh fragrance in the GALLIVANT collection. Founded and created in London by Nick Steward, GALLIVANT is an indie perfume brand whose perfumes have been inspired by cosmopolitan destinations. Tokyo was created in collaboration with perfumer Nicolas Bonneville as a playful tribute to kōdō – the Japanese Way of Fragrance. I had the opportunity to participate in a kōdō ceremony some time ago and have written about my experience, you can rea

Nejma introduced the Les Extraits, a line of 7 perfumes exclusive to Harrods, a couple of months ago. The founder of the brand, Marie Lise Bischoff, was inspired by an oriental fairy tale and created a line of seven fragrances that all have in common the precious and warm scent of Aoud as their signature charm. Perfumer Alice Lavenat used Sandalwood from Mysore, Ottoman rose, Egyptian sambac and the jasmines of Arabia among other ingredients to create these new and exciti

V. 6 Pink Heart - The Heart of Ecstasy With bottles designed by the legendary Pierre Dinard, Map of the Heart introduced themselves in 2014. These daring bottles depicting an actual human heart house the creations of perfumers Jacques Huclier and Nisrine Grillie following the inspiration of the brand's founders Sarah Blair and Jeffrey Darling. The first heart introduced was the Clear Heart, an aromatic aquatic citrus composition, refined and relaxing. More hearts followed an

Juliette Has a Gun was created by Romano Ricci in 2006. As his last name gives away, he was born into the famous Ricci family. Initiated into fashion by his great grandmother Nina and to perfumery by his grandfather Robert (creator of the famous ‘L’air du Temps’), Romano has been surrounded by fashion and creation since childhood. It was only natural to eventually launch his own brand inspired by Shakespeare’s Juliette, a heroin who uses perfume as her weapon and started laun

London is the latest release from Abu Dhabi based niche perfume House Widian. London is the first scent in the Sapphire Collection, which will be dedicated to cities around the world. The perfume itself wants to pay homage to the city's culture, art, fashion and of course the luxurious way of life London has to offer; a city where everything you could potentially desire is available to purchase and all the latest trends are born. Royal and yet contemporary London captures the

May has finally arrived and since the sun is shinning (or will be soon anyway depending on where you live) I thought it'd be a good idea to introduce you to the new member of the Cheap an Chic family! The iconic Olive Oyl is wearing her Moschino summer dress designed by Jeremy Scott. With notes of bitter orange, raspberry and blackcurrant sorbet, Popeye’s girlfriend is feeling youthful, fruity and ready for her holiday. I was a big fan of the vintage Popeye series and found O

Every year IFF (International Flavours & Fragrances) gives to a bunch of talented perfumers an inspiration and unlimited resources to create whatever their heart desires. This year the inspiration / theme was Post Modern influences. Without a brief and just a vague idea in hand armed with the best, rarest and most expensive ingredients 14 perfumers created each a fragrance that expressed this idea for them and I was one of the lucky few that had the opportunity to attend the

Dylan Blue pour femme, the new perfume by Versace will be available nationwide in 10 days; for now it’s only available in Harrods and it already has caused a sensation. "Dylan Blue pour femme is my tribute to femininity. So I created a strong, sensuous yet refined fragrance for a woman who knows her own power." Donatella Versace Unique, strong and captivating with an elegant sensuality, it carries the character of Donatella’s personality and I can smell a hint of Versace Blon

Every New Year should start with a new perfume. One of the fragrances that captivated my senses last year was Rose Millésimée by Jovoy Paris. Built as the embodiment of the Centifolia Rose, Rose Millésimée is an olfactory metaphor for a moment frozen in time, the reflection of a story, a region and a tradition of craftsmanship. To the Grasse region’s native blossom, Vanina Muracciole has added a dash of spices, candied apples, essence of Bulgarian rose and white musc to creat

Tuberose is very popular lately and I'm really happy about it. A note that was considered old fashioned and "heavy" in the last couple of decades when everything was supposed to smell "clean" is making a major comeback and has managed to transcend from the niche perfume houses and sneak into the mainstream perfume bottles; quite masterfully as well. The latest creation by Gucci's new creative director Alessandro Michele in collaboration with perfumer Alberto Morillas is calle

Henrik Lestreus is the perfumer behind the new Swedish perfume brand Svensk Parfym. He introduced the first trio of perfumes a few months ago and very recently a second trio of perfumes followed. All of them are celebrating Sweden‘s multidimensional landscape, nature, people, history, the present and the future in a unique olfactory way. The first trio includes Prakt, Stilla and Virke Prakt is the Swedish word for magnificence and was created with inspiration from the uniquen

Roger & Gallet recently released a line of Extrait de Colognes in collaboration with expert perfumers. Loyal to the spirit of the house that has produced perfume gems like Jean Marie Farina, Lotus Bleu, Thé Vert and a beautiful selection of the best scented body care products, the new “colognes” are unique, long lasting and formulated with 87% naturally derived ingredients for an intense olfactory experience. My favorite of the line is Tubéreuse Hédonie . Tuberose is making

There is a lot of talk lately about sustainability in the fragrance industry and this new “trend” has seen a lot of companies keep track of their ingredients throughout all the stages of their production until the end distillation product to ensure that exactly what they want for their fragrances reaches their perfume labs and also the continuation of the quality of their resources remains. Julia and David Bridger, the founders of Keyneston Mill, took it a step further; in th

Jus D' Amour is a perfume by Mercedes, an artist who inspired by her time as a musician, creative performer and a sports agent, wanted to capture that passion and energy in her scents. Jus D' Amour or Juice of Love is more of a love potion. With notes of Fresh Coco Palm and Aqualeaf Accord, Gentle Violet and Night Blooming Jasmine, Rich Tahitian Vanilla and Deep Sandalwood, it's a scent that captivates the people around you. It starts off green, sweet and naughty with a myste

Autumn has set in but still a few sunny beautiful days make me hold on to the summer feeling. Walks in the park and flowers still blooming give me the illusion that winter is still far away. When I spotted these lovely pink flowers at the park they reminded me of Lovelily by Accessorize. Lovelily is a Floral Fruity fragrance with notes of bergamot, raspberry, orange, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, vanilla and musk. The bottle has a striking cap with and encased flower and the f

The Mona Di Orio Monogram collection continues to grow and after Myrrh Casati and Bohea Boheme two new fragrances were added in 2017. Led by Jeroen Oude Sogtoen, in collaboration with in-house perfumer Fredrik Dalman Suède de Suède and Dõjima were born, true to the same signature spirit of Maison Mona Di Orio. Suède de Suède is inspired by the childhood memories and adventures of perfumer Fredrik Dalman. A combination of long days of skiing, time spent in a lodge in the north

Ruth Mastenbroek introduced a new packaging look recently for her fragrances inspired by the drop; the precious perfume drop that can awaken emotions and change our moods. Also a 4th fragrance named Firedance was added to the line, a rich rose centered scent which we had the opportunity to try last week at yet another excellently organised event by The Perfume Society at Fenwick Bond Street. I am a big fan of Ruth's work, you can read my review on Oxford here, so this new fr

Just before my summer holidays, at the end of July, I had the opportunity to go to Les Senteurs for the presentation of a new brand they carry now called Les Indémodables. Les Indémodables – ‘the timeless’ - fragrances are created from start to finish in Annecy, France by Valérie Pulvérail who has a 20 year long experience in the perfume industry and as a boutique owner. With the help of her partner Remi who is the founder of L’Atelier Français des Matières, a fragrance compa