Pride, Prejudice & Perfume: New Scent for a New Season

I am not a signature scent kind of person. Someone who spends a lot of time around me would be able to pick what type of fragrance I gravitate towards, what family most of my fragrances belong to, and consequently there is a sort of common scent that reminds people of me when they smell it – but I am not the single-scent person who doesn’t wear anything else, so resolute are they in their belief that their scent is ‘so them.’

In a way, I envy those who are. There’s something slightly romantic about being identifiable by your perfume, the Chanel girl, the Guerlain guy, it’s all rather film character-esque. But I am bound to being a polygamist, simply unable to be more selective than a Top 5, and always on the lookout for a new love.

Although I do not confine my scouting and acquisition expeditions to season changes, I do enjoy timing a fragrance wardrobe overhaul with the change in weather. And down here in the Southern Hemisphere, summer is begrudgingly giving way to crisper days and brisker nights. As stockings start sticking out beneath dresses, and slouchy knits replace swimmers and big tee shirts, it’s time to put away what you’ve been spritzing over the summer, and go for a new scent your stockings would be proud to be seen with.

White Patchouli by Tom Ford

This, my friends, is for nights spent in ball gowns and mornings spent in liqueur induced hangovers. Or afternoons spent in long knits and cafes. White Patchouli, the counterpart to the decadent statement that was Black Orchid, is edgy, minimalist elegance built around the rich heart of patchouli. It’s an old school fragrance – the bottle wouldn’t look out of place on the set of The Ice Storm - there hasn’t been much out like this for years, since women’s fragrance started being all about the sweet. There’s no saccharine opening, no candied or caramelized this or that – it has a bite to its top note (thanks to the coriander) and truly delivers as it warms up.

Top: bergamot, white peony, spicy coriander

Middle: rose, night blooming jasmine, ambrette seed

Base: patchouli orpur, blonde woods, incense

B Spot by Benefit

Fresh, zesty and irrepressible. B spots are, according to Benefit, where you spritz your fragrance – wrists, behind your knees, décolletage – and this second fragrance from the cosmetics house will have you spritzing nonstop. It’s fresh and saucy without being sweet and overpowering. The opening burst of freesia and mango is addictive and the middle is floral enough to soften it out. The marine note is what you’re left with, after all is said and done, making this the perfect for the day time and a lovely pick-me-up for the night.

Top: freesia, mango, black currant, tangerine

Middle: peony, apple flower, watermelon, white orchid

Base: sandalwood, amber, marine

Pretty by Elizabeth Arden

Pretty marks a new direction for Elizabeth Arden. The new floral scent comes complete with a new-look campaign clearly targeting a whole different age group than previous efforts which have largely featured one Catherina Zeta Jones.

The fragrance is pretty, there’s no denying that. A fizzing, floral tribute to all things fresh and sweet. Billed as irresistible, charming and feminine, it is all of the above, however perhaps not for those females amongst us who are not of the school of thought that pink flowers and peach nectar are the zenith of femininity.

Social constructs aside, this is a very loveable perfume for those wanting to keep their Autumn scent light and frothy. Base notes of amber and musk anchor the skipping-through-the-meadows feel of the fruity/floral top and heart notes, making this a well rounded fragrance that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Top: Italian mandarin orpur, orange blossom, peach nectar

Middle: petalia, star jasmine, pink iris, white peony

Base: fluffy musk, jacaranda wood, creamy amber

Whisper by The Make Up Store

Do not be deterred by the bottle which is, indeed, a human heart (aorta and all) with a dagger plunging through it. The Make Up Store have a thing with unconventional bottle designs and this one is no exception, in fact I daresay this one takes the cake.

So, to the fragrance. Think L’occitane’s Patchouli having a baby with Christian Dior’s Addict and you have something like the warm potion that is Whisper. It packs an almighty punch from the first spray, which is largely due to the patchouli and sandalwood in the top notes.

It’s really unusual to use sandalwood and musk as top notes, and citrus as base, but it works with this fragrance. The initial warm burst sweetens as the middle and base notes develop, but not overly so – the mandarin still lends a hint of tartness.

Perfect for cool nights, thick scarves and beanies. And perhaps whilst out hunting for Edward Cullen, he wouldn’t be able to resist you.

Top: sandalwood, musk, patchouli

Middle: jasmine and rose

Base: mandarin and orange

Ylang Ylang and Amber by Aerin Lauder 

Exquisite ingredients for a luxurious fragrance and springing from the concept that it does, this little baby was never going to be anything but. A member of Aerin Lauder’s Private Collection, Ylang Ylang & Amber is warm and deep, helped along by its spicy heart and vanilla base. It’s a stylish tribute to the richly scented ylang ylang flower.

Strangely enough (and strange only because I’m not usually so swept away by this particular flower) my favourite thing about this fragrance was the burst of geranium in the top note, which stops the perfume from being just another amber infused oriental and sets it apart from the rest.

Top: ylang absolute, Italian bergamot, geranium oil

Middle: Bulgarian rose absolute, cinnamon Ceylon, incense

Base: vanilla bean, sandalwood, amber

Flow by Y-Yo 

Ethically produced, organic and chemical-free, this is the environmentally friendly one of the bunch from Australian company Y-Yo. It’s also like brushing your teeth whilst standing in the ocean, it’s that fresh. Mint and pine combine to form a zesty kick whilst nutmeg and ginger add a dash of warmth. Designed to give an instant energy boost, Flow is not for the faint hearted.

It is, however, for the environmentally conscious. Y-Yo use recyclable packaging and buy from suppliers whose growing, harvesting and processing products are friendly to the environment.

Badgley and Mischka Couture

Instant love. Love, love, love. This bottle fuses several of my favourite notes together – blackberry, violet, gardenia – to form a fragrance that is beautiful from first spray to final remnants left lingering on the skin.  It’s smooth, full and unashamedly luxurious with its rich floral and fruits and creamy base notes. The pear and blackberry in the top note gives its opening a point of difference, and act as the perfect counterpart to the sultry floral heart.

Now excuse me, I have Central Park to stroll through wearing a ball gown, clasping a Starbucks. With the Olsen Twins. And Vogue will photograph me whilst I do it.

Top: plum, blackberry, pear nectar

Middle: jasmine, gardenia, violet

Base: musk, creamy woods

Maybe Baby by Benefit

Benefit’s first fragrance, this is a perky, bright sunny day of a perfume, perfect for picnics on crisp Autumn days. Apricot, lychee and water blossoms sparkle, while the white musk and warm peach base give the scent just enough oomph without taking away from the focus on all things frivolous and playful.

Top: apricot and white ginger

Middle: water blossoms, lychee, bergamot

Base: white musk, warm peach

Wild Fig and Cassis by Jo Malone

When a Jo Malone shaped package arrived in my post box, I sort of lost control and began singing loudly in a fit of wild excitement. This is the effect Jo Malone has on my fragrant heart.

And the effect Wild Fig and Cassis has on my fragrant heart is nothing short of booking a ticket to Tuscany, buying a fig orchard, and lying in the afternoon sun with a glass of vino. And I would do this all with Kevin Rudd’s stimulus money.

Earthy, masculine and woody, hyacinth and cedar-wood add warmth to the fig, and you’re left longing for a life beneath the Tuscan sun. And Diane Lane’s bone structure.

And that’s it for this column my fragrance lovers. As always, any questions please direct them my way olivia@nichecreativemedia.com and if there is something you want to see in a P, P & P column, I want to know.