Monday 30 August 2021

BERGAMOT by Kitty's Herbery

The news that your favourite shop is closing, a personal fragrance is being discontinued, or even just the realisation that change is inevitable is something that we all have to deal with on a pretty regular basis at the moment. We like familiarity, and it throws us off kilter when we don’t have it. So, when I saw that a Cornish staple had closed its doors after nineteen years my heart sank. However, they were quickly lifted when I read that there was a new company in town that was paying homage to the original but had a definite eye on the future. It’s time to discover
Kitty’s Herbery, and their beautiful Bergamot fragrance.

Monday 23 August 2021

INBETWEEN by Choreograph

The idea of being left to our own devices is something that we’ve all had to embrace over the past year, and people have dealt with it in very different ways. There was a lot of time to fill and, while some of us caught up with the mountain of Blu-rays that had magically appeared, many perfumers knuckled down and used the opportunity to concentrate on long anticipated projects. Hitting the pause button changed the schedules and space appeared in the diary. Choreograph is one such example, and Adey Zookrow’s fusion of experimental fragrance with original music has come at just the right moment.

Monday 16 August 2021

STEPHAN'S SIX - REBECCA HARRISON


After an impressive career working with some of the world’s finest fragrance and beauty houses, Rebecca Harrison decided that the time was right to launch her own perfume company, Vines House Parfum. Having split her time between Dorset and the southwest of France, the collection drew on the parallels between the wine and fragrance industries, and proved an instant hit with customers that were looking for perfumes with a story. So, as they celebrate their second birthday, I thought it was time to learn a little more about Rebecca during “Stephan’s Six”.

Monday 9 August 2021

GREEN VELVET by Ilya Parfums

The fact that many truly niche perfume companies are actually a one or two-person operation is exactly the reason why they’ve managed to survive the difficulties of recent times. The ability to quickly pivot, and either focus their energies on a temporary line or pause production altogether, has meant that the final easing of restrictions has allowed them to re-emerge and take up where they left off. Ilyas Kakis, the founder of Ilya Parfums, has been refreshingly open about how the past year gave him time to reassess the brand. With the collection now numbering three, it’s time to discover the magic of Green Velvet.

Monday 2 August 2021

CITRUS VERVE by Botani Perfumery

There’s a period in perfumery that is likely to be remembered as the time of missed releases and forgotten fragrances. I’m talking about the very end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 when, unbeknown to us all, we were heading for a worldwide period of lockdowns and disruption. The companies that launched during these months had contracts cancelled, frustrated customers unable to smell the fragrances, and don’t forget the shortage of alcohol. So, for a new company to keep going was a massive achievement. One example of this is Botani Perfumery who, against the odds, released a beautiful quartet of fragrances.