fragrance

I used to be the kind of person who could get ready at the speed of light, but soon discovered the joys of picking out your makeup with an outfit to match and a scent to take you through the day. I’ve recently found that the actual purchase of the perfume is the hard part. I have 30+ different scents to choose from and while yes it is a bit excessive, the perfumes I own belong to me for a reason, so I know whatever I pick from my ever-growing stash will always be a perfect choice! The same can’t always be said when it comes to purchasing in-store or online, but having a price point and notes in mind definitely makes the process easier. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a ...

However, while we Brits have a wonderful way of complaining about short days and cold climes, there is something to be said for the comforting cosiness of autumn evenings, and there are ways to unwind your mind so that you can make the most out of your autumn evening. My go-to method? Lighting a good ol’ relaxing candle. While lighting candles en masse in the autumn might be deemed a total stereotype, as someone whose entire home is filled with candles (and who seriously struggles to unwind), I have come to accept that their power is most definitely best utilised for relaxation. After coming to terms with the notion that this makes me an autumn stereotype, I have dedicated a substantial amount of time to finding the most relaxing candles out there so that I can spend my col...

Anticipating the turn of the season always sparks a bit of fragrance restlessness for us beauty editors. Perhaps it’s because we’re constantly taking mental notes of the scents our favourite fashion girls are wearing, or perhaps it’s just that our gigantic fragrance collections have us on an endless rotation through the chic tonics on our vanities. Whatever the case may be, long-lasting perfumes that can keep up with our busy schedules are of the utmost importance. With days that sometimes start with breakfast meetings, get punctuated with Zoom calls, and end with happy hour, we need fragrances that will still be going strong for our that second glass of pinot grigio. Luckily, long-lasting fragrances abound! From pretty florals to enveloping musks and earthy scents t...

My gateway into woody scents was La Labo Thé Noir 29, 3 years ago. Santal 33 was everywhere but after whiffing Thé Noir I immediately bought the EDP and the body lotion layering my scent for longevity and richness. It was love at first whiff and after sussing out the notes (the black tea united with fig, then woody vetiver and cedar wood– delicious), I slowly noticed that a lot of the scents I opted for had a recurring theme. Nowadays I look for anything with creamy sandalwood, rich vetiver or a dry, intriguing cedar wood. Occasionally I’ll opt for an oud, but most of the time I won’t pick anything that heavy. When I tell you I’m exclusively surrounded by woody perfumes, I’m not exaggerating. It’s stretched to candles and home fragrance too, where my chosen picks are Boy Smells A...

Don’t get me wrong. I am a summer baby through and through. I like the heat, I like floaty clothes, I like sun-kissed strands, I like freckled noses, and I really like the pared-backed beauty routine that so often comes with summer months. For the most part, I’m willing to say that I sort of loathe waving goodbye to summer. Except, that is, when it comes to my fragrance collection. It sounds like an odd thing to say, I know, but the one thing that gets me really excited for autumn is surrounding myself with the seasonal scents. I’m an inherently cosy (read: lazy) person, and something about being snuggled up warm inside, enveloped by creamy, spicy scents makes my typically sun-drenched heart feel a little bit giddy. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates On...

By all accounts, when I got married back in June 2018, it was a fairly laid-back affair—70 of our nearest and dearest crammed into an old London pub to watch my husband and I exchange wedding vows before a pie-and-mash dinner and a rather rowdy party. However, despite taking a laissez-faire approach to things like colour schemes, centrepieces and seating plans, there was one part of my day that I was determined would be extra special: my wedding perfume. Admittedly, it might seem a rather odd aspect of the day to obsess over, but as someone who loves perfume, I knew that I wanted a fragrance that would truly mark the occasion. I wanted a scent that I could smell in years to come that would still take me back to the most fun and joyous day of my ...

Fragrances can really set the tone or vibe for the day. I like to think of choosing a fragrance as choosing my “aura” for the day. Do I want to feel seductive and sexy? I might try a spicy or musky fragrance. Do I want something that’s light and carefree and perfect for daytime? I normally gravitate toward fresh florals or citrus. And for special occasions, like weddings or big work events, I might bring out a classic designer fragrance to make me feel grown-up. There’s a fragrance I’ve been drawn to recently, though, that I realised is perfect for days when I want something effortless, a little low-key, but still noteworthy—basically, something that will make me smell good, that might get me a compliment or two, but that doesn’t make me look l...

When it comes to fragrance keepsakes, I know of many a perfume lover that continues to cling onto a dusty bottle (or two) of their saccharine, coming-of-age scent—purely for nostalgia’s sake. After all, is there anything more comforting than a vanilla-infused spritz of the fragrance that saw you through your teenage years? To this very day, I I still reminisce about my first ever fragrance: Avril Lavigne’s Black Star Eau De Parfum. Combining two of the ’00s most vital perfume ingredients (a celebrity endorsement and a syrupy aroma) even just a glance at the star-shaped bottle takes me back to 2009. Yes, the scent itself was sickly-sweet, but the more subtle notes of pink hibiscus, black plum and dark chocolate spoke to me—and have been inspiring my frag...

Growing up, the bottles of body sprays, lotions, butters and eau de toilettes that lined my bathroom vanity were far sweeter than a desert-filled episode of The Great British Bake Off. My rotation typically included Britney Spears’s Fantasy (or Curious); a pure-sugar scent that, not surprisingly, was called Pink Sugar; and anything else my collection of glossy magazines was advertising. If it smelled like a frosted cupcake with sprinkles, I was—without a doubt—wearing it.  I’ll always love unapologetically sweet scents, but now my tastes have graduated to fragrance blends that are warm and woody or grounded with spices, leathers or classic florals. That said, signature sweet notes like vanilla are often at the heart of...

Despite being totally obsessed with perfume and owning a frankly obscene number of bottles, there’s no doubt that my favourite perfumes tend to be united by a few key notes: musk, vanilla and patchouli. Not always together, you understand, but it’s these warm and cosy aromas that appeal to my senses time and time again. Whether it’s Byredo Velvet Haze, Maison Margiela Replica Whispers in the Library or Jo Malone Myrrh & Tonka Cologne, warming, woodsy perfumes have undoubtedly become my signature scents. So when summer rolls around and the new perfume launches become lighter, fresher and undeniably citrusy, I tend to give them a quick sniff and pass them on to a home where they will be much more loved than mine. Why? Well, over the years, I hav...

Discovering your signature scent can be a long and arduous path, but it’s one which all beauty aficionados know is worth traversing. Fragrance has the power to unlock memories and define moments, so it certainly pays to find one that you love to wear. Still, the process can be off-putting, to say the least. Seldom can you truly understand how a perfume is going to smell on your skin without having worn it for a prolonged period of time. This is why I always advise getting your hands on a tester if at all possible. It’ll allow you to try it at your leisure and in your everyday life, as opposed to a quick spritz on your arm in a store. However, I acknowledge that obtaining these testers isn’t always easy, especially if you don’t live near a stockist whi...

My perfume collection is extensive. As a beauty journalist, I receive a lot of perfume. As long as any given scent doesn’t make me turn my nose up at first sniff, I’ll usually add it to my shelf. The reason for this being that my job is to try as many products as possible and get a feel for them, even if they’re not to my usual tastes. But when it comes to perfume, this can be tricky business. In order to give each fragrance in my lineup a proper go, I try to mix things up every single day. While one day I might try a head-turning oud, the next I might opt for a light musk or spring-like floral. Not just because variety is, of course, the spice of life, but also because I have found that it is the best way to take others by surprise and gauge reactions. And so, after ma...