Pride, Prejudice & Perfume: Mood Boosters

There’s nothing like chaining yourself back to the desk after a week of sunshine, good food and fine wine (or not so fine, but wine all the same). There’s something so uplifting about it, it’s not at all a way of slaughtering any sort of good mood that may have prevailed the preceding week. If, however, it is the perfect way of slaughtering said good mood, then rest assured there are little things you can do to ease the pain, that don’t involve impulsive resignations or excessive amounts of liquor and drunk dialling your boss.

One of these little things is invest in a new fragrance. More specifically, invest in a new fragrance that has spirit-lifting notes. While most perfumes will boost our mood and make us feel better, there are some that contain specific mood boosting notes, that will have you tripping down the streets and smiling at fellow commuters. Those fellow commuters will then try and sniff your neck, whilst leering right back at you.

CALMING

Wonder flower Lavender, which has been highly sought after since the Ancient Greeks and Romans used it for its fragrant and soothing properties, is well known for its calming benefits, as well as for as assisting in getting a good night’s sleep. So, perhaps not ideal if you’re falling asleep at your desk, but certainly ideal if you’re struggling to get a good night’s sleep, or need to soothe away the symptoms of early-year stress.

By day, go for something like Sarah Jessica Parker’s Lovely, which has lavender through it, but other notes, such as apple martini and crisp paper whites, to balance it out.

By night, sprinkle a few drops of Lavender oil – try the one by Lavender Passion - on your pillow and sleep like a baby.

SENSUAL

Vanilla, originating in Mexico, has long been seen as an aphrodisiac. Today, its most common use is as an ice cream flavour, but it is also widely used in fragrance, particularly fragrances aimed at being classically girly, or sensuous. Think Thierry Mugler’s Angel, Dolce and Gabbana’s The One, Yves Saint Laurent’s Cinema, Lolita Lempicka’s Lolita – effectively any fragrance that makes you want to curl up in front of a fire with a vanilla bourbon and Lady Chatterley’s Lover, is bound to have vanilla in it. Vanilla is also inordinately popular with the celebrity set, with Britney, Mariah and Christina all hitting the pod particularly hard.

If you want to try something different that won’t make you think of the heady days of Impulse deodorant and/or your teenaged cousin who swims in Fantasy, then Amour de Cacao by Comptoir Sud Pacifique is for you.

CLEANSING

Green Tea is the beverage du jour for the healthy and for those hoping desperately (like me) a week’s detox replacing coffee with Green Tea will shift the Christmas kilos. It’s also a favourite in the fragrance world for anyone who favours light, bracing, sharp scents that inspire a terrific feeling of crisp cleanliness.

I have smelt various Green Tea fragrances (Bulgari, L’occitane) and I keep coming back to Elizabeth Arden’s Green Tea. Incredibly cheap, but don’t let that deter you, it combines Green Tea with rose, peppermint and citrus notes for the ultimate in uplifting fragrances – particularly on a warm summer’s day.

BALANCING

According to Robert Tisserand of Tisserand Aromatherapy, rose is said to be good for balancing women’s hormones. Rose is also probably the oldest flower in the history book of fragrances, and the most sought after. In a game of word association, the word perfume will invariably be met with the response of ‘rose’. It’s pretty, feminine and distinctive – and it’s also in most floral fragrances, as well as headlining some iconic perfumes of its own (Tea Rose, Red Roses by Jo Malone et al).

So, my absolute all time favourite rose fragrance has to be Bvlgari’s Rose Essentielle, a fragrance that smells of the softest, most delicate rose, blooming in the middle of Spring. It is absolutely stunning.

REFRESHING

Citrus is best known for its dynamism in the fragrance world – it’s fresh, tart and punchy, and very popular. Think Light Blue by Dolce and Gabbana, Vetiver by Guerlain,  Chance Fraiche by Chanel, Yvresse by Yves Saint Laurent or The Beat by Burberry. Lemon, lime and orange are instant boosters, as are their blossoms, and have long been used in perfumes and aromatherapy oils, in fact neroli (orange blossom) was said to be favoured by the Egyptian Queen, Nefertiti.

The one I absolutely cannot get past (I keep gazing at my bottle of it) is Escale a Portofino by Christian Dior. With notes of Calabrian bergamot, Italian citron, Sicilian petitgrain, bitter almond, orange blossom, juniper berry, cypress, cedar, white musk and caraway, this is the coolest fragrance on the block.