Finding the perfect perfume by Amanda Carr
Perfume can make a wonderful holiday gift, who wouldn’t love a beautiful bottle of delicious smelling fragrance under the tree on Christmas morning? But selecting just the right one is nerve-wrackingly tricky.
So let me help you out a little. This year I launched We Wear Perfume, a site that acts a bit like a style blog for fragrance, to help people discover their perfect scent in a more interesting manner. As a consequence, I inhaled more perfume throughout 2015 than is probably good for a girl, but I can now confidently tell good from indifferent. So here are a few of my favourite smells from artisan producers that might be worth sniffing out.
For women with a creative streak, look no further than the delightful 4160 Tuesday’s brand, whose beautiful niche fragrances are well priced considering the quality of ingredients used. The descriptions used on its website to explain the perfumes are well written and make it easy to find a match. I’m a big fan of the woody, comforting A Kiss By The Fireside, which is has hints of orange and rose and is a perfect ‘cosy’ smell for this time of year. But since we’re all lovers of textiles maybe Lady Rose Lion would be a good choice, since it’s woody lavender inspiration is based on the Medieval tapestry series The Lady and The Unicorn.
For daughters (or sons) who are just starting out on their fragrance journey, then Demeter’s The Fragrance Library is a wonderful place to begin. From Thunderstorm and Baby Powder to Vanilla Ice Cream and Sunshine, the single note perfumes are excellent quality, joyfully witty and very well priced.
Boys will very rarely ask for fragrance themselves, but are always pleased when they receive a bottle of something cool-smelling. Shay & Blue is a British based perfumer that makes excellent modern unisex smells, many of which are very good for boys. My sons fight over Blood Orange, a rich citrus that really does smell of the best quality oranges, and Salt Caramel smells good enough to lick, which may appeal.
The Uer Mi (pronounced wear me) collection of textile inspired smells are a delight I discovered this year at a fragrance trade show in Florence, and would be perfect for fashionistas and fabricistas alike. There are a few to choose from, but my favourites include the gentle AB Cashmere, which smells like the feel of a soft embrace from a woven scarf, whereas the slightly more bracing WE Tweed, has hints of bracken and lavender.
For a taste of London’s rich cultural East End heritage I’d head to Angela Flanders, where her beautiful Columbia Road store features ceramic scent drawer discs and hand poured scented candles that make the place smell like heaven. As well as her delicious perfumes – Columbia Rose is the latest and celebrates her 30 years in the business – you might like to consider scent for your clothes, something that used to be all the rage in times gone by. The woody notes of French Moth Spray work a treat at keeping the little blighters at bay and when sprayed on the inside of jackets make the wardrobe smell divine. I’m a big fan of the Lavender & Chamomile pillow spray, which makes a lovely gift for anyone who has everything.
Need more help? Check our festive gift guides for men women and those pesky teenage years over at We Wear Perfume. And Merry Christmas!
Amanda Carr is a freelance journalist and blogger, she runs We Wear Perfume and co founded The Women’s Room Blog.
www.wewearperfume.com
For women with a creative streak, look no further than the delightful 4160 Tuesday’s brand, whose beautiful niche fragrances are well priced considering the quality of ingredients used. The descriptions used on its website to explain the perfumes are well written and make it easy to find a match. I’m a big fan of the woody, comforting A Kiss By The Fireside, which is has hints of orange and rose and is a perfect ‘cosy’ smell for this time of year. But since we’re all lovers of textiles maybe Lady Rose Lion would be a good choice, since it’s woody lavender inspiration is based on the Medieval tapestry series The Lady and The Unicorn.
For daughters (or sons) who are just starting out on their fragrance journey, then Demeter’s The Fragrance Library is a wonderful place to begin. From Thunderstorm and Baby Powder to Vanilla Ice Cream and Sunshine, the single note perfumes are excellent quality, joyfully witty and very well priced.
Boys will very rarely ask for fragrance themselves, but are always pleased when they receive a bottle of something cool-smelling. Shay & Blue is a British based perfumer that makes excellent modern unisex smells, many of which are very good for boys. My sons fight over Blood Orange, a rich citrus that really does smell of the best quality oranges, and Salt Caramel smells good enough to lick, which may appeal.
The Uer Mi (pronounced wear me) collection of textile inspired smells are a delight I discovered this year at a fragrance trade show in Florence, and would be perfect for fashionistas and fabricistas alike. There are a few to choose from, but my favourites include the gentle AB Cashmere, which smells like the feel of a soft embrace from a woven scarf, whereas the slightly more bracing WE Tweed, has hints of bracken and lavender.
For a taste of London’s rich cultural East End heritage I’d head to Angela Flanders, where her beautiful Columbia Road store features ceramic scent drawer discs and hand poured scented candles that make the place smell like heaven. As well as her delicious perfumes – Columbia Rose is the latest and celebrates her 30 years in the business – you might like to consider scent for your clothes, something that used to be all the rage in times gone by. The woody notes of French Moth Spray work a treat at keeping the little blighters at bay and when sprayed on the inside of jackets make the wardrobe smell divine. I’m a big fan of the Lavender & Chamomile pillow spray, which makes a lovely gift for anyone who has everything.
Need more help? Check our festive gift guides for men women and those pesky teenage years over at We Wear Perfume. And Merry Christmas!
Amanda Carr is a freelance journalist and blogger, she runs We Wear Perfume and co founded The Women’s Room Blog.
www.wewearperfume.com