Friday 26 June 2015

PERPHONE - Perfume with a twist

Gadgets are to the twenty-first century what the garden shed was to the twentieth, a plaything and a distraction. Never particularly useful, they always seem to be invented to solve a problem that doesn't really exist. So, it was with trepidation that I approached Perphone. It's basically a casing that fits onto your iPhone, and on the back is a small section that rotates to reveal an atomiser. Designed for the person who wants fragrance on the go, but without the bottle, it's a novel solution to the problem. Currently the male range is in black and the female in white, so pretty stylish, and it doesn't make your phone feel heavy or over-sized.

Wednesday 17 June 2015

The Wonderful Witch of Acton


Do you ever hear your parents' words coming out of your own mouth? It always comes as a shock when it happens, and I'm pretty sure that it starts as you approach middle-age! "Mad as a bag of snakes" ... that is how my mother would describe Sarah McCartney, founder of Acton's own 4160 TUESDAYS, and on this occasion I would have to agree. However, I say this with great fondness and admiration because she truly is a glorious one-off.

Saturday 13 June 2015

La Maison WORTH est de retour

The House of Worth, still most famous for the fragrances Je Reviens and Dans La Nuit, has in recent years seen the lustre start to fade on this diamond in the crown of perfumery, but could it be about to shine once more? Founded by Charles Worth, an Englishman, and his business partner Otto Bobergh in 1858 on Paris' Rue de la Paix, he was to become one of the greatest names in couture fashion, but the fragrances wouldn't arrive until 1924. By this time the company was being run by Charles' grandson, Jacques Worth, and he saw the potential for a fashion house also venturing into the perfumery market

Wednesday 10 June 2015

ENJOLI - A Woman CAN Have Everything

A fragrance for the modern woman who wanted it all; a career, a husband, and to still look sexy as she read her children a bed-time story. My personal experience of the latter is that you're usually exhausted and covered in baked beans! Created by Charles of the Ritz in 1978, Enjoli promised an "eight hour perfume for the twenty-four hour woman". Boasting the female ability to "bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan and never, never, never let you forget you're a man", the Enjoli woman allowed her husband to think he was in charge, although really she was. So, thirty seven years later, has the perfume stood up to changing tastes?

Friday 5 June 2015

Discarding The Vintage

You've finally found the vintage perfume that you've been hunting for, and after carefully opening the package, or if you're anything like me then you just tear at it like a man possessed, you place the priceless elixir down in front of you. The question is, do you wait until your surroundings are completely fragrance free to savour the first hit? Heck no, you spray or splash the perfume hoping to be enveloped in a personal memory or a forgotten era. Unfortunately what you often get is a smokey, resinous, syrupy smell which is nothing like you remember or expected. Don't panic though, all is not lost.

Wednesday 3 June 2015

LAYER ME

The question I get asked most often is, "How do I make my fragrance last longer?" There have always been a myriad of complimentary products to go with various scents but the quality of these has been pretty variable. Also, with the trend for using more than one fragrance at the same time to create a truly unique personal scent we've actually been missing the most vital piece of the puzzle. You wouldn't paint a wall before preparing the surface but we are happy to just spray perfume and hope. So, I went on the hunt for the perfect base for my spritzing, and I found it in the most unlikely of places. I went through lotions and creams, both fragranced and unfragranced, dry oils and even moisture mists, but nothing was doing what I wanted... "Support any fragrance that goes on top, prolong its life and bridge the gap between layered scents," and obviously moisturise as well.

Monday 1 June 2015

SOPHIA - Wear It With Passion

In 1981 Sophia Loren declined an offer to play the iconic role of Alexis Colby in "Dynasty", and so the part famously went to Joan Collins. However, the same year did see the release of the perfume
SOPHIA by Coty. Described as “the fragrance of living and loving”, Sophia Loren told women to “wear it with a passion”. With an Italian sexuality that she was famous for, that message was clear. Thirty-five years later she would return to the world of fragrance in Dolce & Gabbana's Rosa Excelsa campaign, but for now, after a cold shower, I gently caressed the bottle to see whether the original passion could be rekindled!