fragrance

More recently, however, the angle of the questions that I’m receiving has changed. Whereas once upon a time, people wanted to know everything about it, now people are asking me what sort of perfumes they can wear instead. It seems that, for some, its popularity has all been a little too much. And I totally get it. No one wants to smell like every other person they meet. In fact, I think I’d run out of hands if I were to count on my fingers all the people, both male and female, in my immediate friendship group who own it. So if you’re looking for something similar to Santal 33 that isn’t Santal 33, I’ve got you. And no, I’m not talking about perfumes with similar notes, I’m talking more about scents with the vibe of Santal 33—the sort of perfumes ...

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...

I rarely recommend that you shop for beauty products based on a brand name. In fact, I’d say it’s almost impossible to find a brand that gets everything right all the time. For example, while I own countless Chanel lipsticks, I haven’t yet turned to their skincare, and despite the fact I burn Byredo candles non-stop, I keep an edited selection of its perfumes.  Having said that, there is one brand that seems to get fragrance right launch after launch—and that’s Yves Saint Laurent. In fact, YSL perfumes have been considered cult staples amongst beauty lovers for decades. While the brand’s iconic Opium was easily one of the most popular scents of the ’80s, the latest addition to YSL’s fragrance librar...

Because A-list celebrities have access to the most expensive and exclusive skincare, makeup and fragrances, it’s easy to assume that they use these expensive beauty products exclusively. And while they most likely have an impressive collection of eye-wateringly expensive fragrances, you might be surprised to hear that some of their favourite perfumes can be found in your local Boots. Yes, really. It turns out that celebrities such as Kate Moss and Gigi Hadid love an affordable fragrance just as much as we do. After all, not everyone can drop £200 on a new fragrance, but affordable fragrances on the other hand allow you to build a fragrance wardrobe over time. So you can have an everyday signature scent for the daytime and then opt for something a little more excit...

A new pair of jeans or heels is nice, but nothing puts quite the same pep in my step as a brand-new perfume. From the ritual of that very first spritz to the boost in confidence to the influx of comments and compliments, a new perfume can’t be beat. But as we all know, finding a perfume that you love unconditionally can be harder than finding a needle in a haystack. There are plenty of classics that are hard to go wrong with, but I also love smelling fresh and not like every other person in the bar or subway. And that’s where new, yet-to-be-discovered and now-mainstream perfumes come in. Even though new perfumes launch practically every day, not all of them are created equally, and not all of them are worth your hard-earned money. Below, I’m breaking down the ne...

So apparently, it’s possible to bottle an entire rose. The rich, earthy soil, green stems, fragrant petals, and the wood from the trees nearby… You can smell it all. I find myself reaching for this complex scent when I’m lazing around the house, about to head to bed, going out, and anything in between. This modern ode to the rose is such a rarity, as there’s something in here to delight everyone.  You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.

Choosing a signature scent isn’t easy—trust me. I’ve spent years trialling hundreds of perfumes in a quest to find The One. From affordable spritzes to blow-the-budget blends, no perfume that I sprayed quite cut the mustard. Why? Because for years I was absolutely convinced that I didn’t want to smell like anyone else out there. I was adamant that I would never become the person who stopped someone on the street and asked what their perfume was because unless I’d discovered it for myself, I didn’t want it. However, many years (and a whole lot of beauty expertise) later, as I walked to meet a friend, a waft so fierce and feminine kissed my nose that my senses ran away from me, and I more or less chased a lady through a train station to ask her what perfume...

A goal that’s high on my priority list is to smell completely captivating wherever I go. Whether that’s on a gorgeous summer vacation or just a regular day working at the office, it’s something I actively work toward by building my dream fragrance collection. To give you a little progress report, it’s coming along nicely, and I’ve discovered so many gems worth sharing. The ultimate test any perfume can face is seeing how many compliments you receive while wearing it.  I can tell you one thing: The perfumes on this list pass their exams with flying colours. In my humble opinion, each of them acts as a powerful magnet and invites some serious admiration from the folks around you. If you’re fully ready to board the “You s...

My name is Eleanor, and I’m a candle obsessive. In my time as a beauty journalist, I’ve amassed quite a collection of candles. I’m a big fan of Byredo’s candles (Bibilotheque is one of my all-time favourites), and I’ve got a sweet spot for Jo Malone. Lighting the warm yet refreshing Wood Sage & Sea Salt candle just hits different, you know? Boy Smells is another candle brand that’s recently entered my radar, and so many fellow beauty editors rave about its incredible candle collection. And don’t get me started on Diptyque candles—it’s become an expensive habit.  You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Be...

Have you ever smelt a smell so good that you have to do everything in your power to know what it is? Normally, for me this is reserved to baked goods and meals infused with garlic, but recently I had it happen with a perfume. Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille. I was in an extremely packed rooftop bar in Manhattan, and I got a waft of what can only be described as the sexiest scent ever as my friend and I stood there clutching our drinks hoping that a table would free up soon. As we scouted, doing a complete 360, a woman and her friend, who were also scouting for a table, sauntered past. It was a nanosecond but also love at first sniff. Immediately, I turned to my friend and shouted over the music, “Someone smells incredible!” By the time he pointed out who he thinks it was, she was rushing away so ...

Not to toot my own horn, but over the years, I’ve developed a sort of knack when it comes to perfume-induced compliment quotients. It’s part of my job to test practically every new fragrance that lands on the market, and anyone close to me in life can attest that my office desk (RIP), bathroom vanity and dresser are so completely congested with bottles and nozzles that you can’t even spot land. (Literally, you would need a compass and treasure map to find an open space.) Of course, I have personal favorites and signatures I’m partial to, but most days, I’m experimenting with a completely new scent. And trust me. When you’re getting around that much in the scent circuit, you start to notice patterns and coincidences when you wear certain brands or sc...

With brands such as Jo Loves (which was founded by fragrance royalty Jo Malone) pairing with stores like Zara, high-street fragrances have shed their sickly sweet reputation and become seriously sophisticated. In fact, you can probably find a perfume dupe on the high street—or at least something very similar—for the most popular fragrances nowadays. So you don’t always have to break the budget to smell expensive. Whether you like clean-smelling fragrances or fruity scents or want to find your signature perfume on a budget, high-street brands H&M, Marks and Spencer, & Other Stories, The Body Shop and Zara are really leading the way for more affordable high-street perfumes. To help you find your new high-street fragrance, I’ve found the best sellers from eac...