Time to break the perfume rules
IF you’re hankering for a new parfum to partner your new season wardrobe, you’re in luck. This spring, there are dozens of newbies to choose from — and for once, they’re not all boringly airy and elegant.
“Spring risks being one big cliché for perfumes, in which we are encouraged to get as dainty as Sandra Dee and switch over to delicate florals like lily of the valley,” says fragrance expert Lizzie Ostrom aka Odette Toilette ( www.odettetoilette.com ).
“There’s nothing wrong with these but there’s an awful lot more to enjoy beyond the usual suspects wheeled out at this time of the year.”
Break the rules, Ostrom says: “Personal preference is much more important. Spicy scents often only get attention in the winter, but they can as much convey the energy of spring, as the crackling fires of winter.”
So shake off those eau de toilette assumptions and take your pick from spring’s most potent perfumes...
In spite of the name, the rose accord doesn’t dominate in Jo Malone’s Tudor Rose & Amber, but that’s no bad thing at all. Lovers of sister scent Pomegranate Noir will be equally enamoured with this juicy Tudorian tonic, one of a quartet of history-inspired new offerings.
Peppered with spicy clove and ginger notes, it’s as rich and sumptuous as the red velvet band that rings the bottle top.
* Jo Malone Tudor Rose & Amber, €52 for 30ml, Brown Thomas ( www.brownthomas.com )
The latest addition to the Ange ou Demon family is undoubtedly on the demonic side. Le Parfum is a feline mix of sambac jasmine and musk, while the tiny black vial of powerful Accord Illicite enhances the patchouli and leather notes of its paramour, expertly marrying the angelic and the illicit.
* Givenchy Ange Ou Demon Le Parfum and Accord Illicite, €77.85 for 40ml, Debenhams ( www.debenhams.ie )
If sugary ‘gourmand’ scents excite your senses, you’ll want to collect all three of the ice cream-inspired limited edition scoops from DKNY.
Fruity Rooty and Dreamsicle are so sweet they’ll make you want to brush your teeth, but Cool Swirl, a tantalisingly tropical pistachio and coconut cocktail, has wider appeal.
* DKNY Delicious Delights Limited Edition Cool Swirl, €44.10 for 50ml, Debenhams
Each of Maison Martin Margiela’s range of Replica perfumes is designed to evoke the feeling of a particular time and place — from a Paris flower market in the springtime to a jazz club in Brooklyn with Funfair Evening harking back to Santa Monica in 1994.
Evoking the atmosphere of the funfair with notes of caramel, candy floss, pear and apple, its sweetness is undercut by a hint of spiciness from star anise and by heady notes of rose, orange and tuberose.
* Maison Martin Margiela Replica Funfair Evening, €95 for 100ml, Brown Thomas
Like stepping into a church (but without the associated guilt), the holier-than-thou aroma of La Religieuse conjures visions of burning candles and a haze of incense.
Photographer-turned-perfumer Lutens is famed for his cerebral scents and this musky meeting of light and dark is no exception.
* Serge Lutens La Religieuse, €120 for 50ml, House of Fraser ( www.houseoffraser.co.uk with free delivery to Ireland)
While it might not seem like it sometimes, spring is here, somewhere. If you need some reminding, L’Occitane have just launched Fleurs de Cerisier L’Eau Eau de Toilette.
Fruity and floral, with watermelon, lemon, violet underpinning the cherry blossom notes, it’s the perfect spring scent — and it would make an ideal Mother’s Day present.
* Fleurs de Cerisier L’Eau Eau de Toilette, €41 for 50ml, L’Occitane ( www.loccitane.com )
Also falling firmly in the gourmand camp is Philosophy’s new dairy delight, Fresh Cream.
The recipe infuses the aroma of whipped cream with almond blossom, vanilla and carob-like tonka bean, resulting in a toffee-sweet but slightly floral scent that those in possession of a sweet tooth will crave.
* Philosophy Fresh Cream, €43.20 for 60ml (Available in-store at Debenhams and Arnotts)
Death and Decay is a white floral scent with the main attraction being the funereal lily spiked with jasmine. Heady, pungent and not for the faint of heart.
The new range also includes the cheerier-sounding Kerbside Violet (€22.50 for 10ml and €45 euros for 30ml) and All Good Things (€25 for 10ml and €50 for 30ml)
* Lush Death and Decay, €37.50 for 30mls ( www.lush.co.uk )
Don’t be deceived by its cool alabaster exterior, Clinique’s Aromatics in White is an intensely warm and enveloping fragrance. Crisp top notes of Sichuan pepper and violet leaf make way for an orange flower and patchouli heart, before the addictive amber and musk finish.
* Clinique Aromatics in White, €70 for 50ml, Arnotts ( www.arnotts.ie )
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