Stephan Matthews

Showing posts with label London. Show all posts

Monday, 29 April 2024

NIDA by Gallivant

“Travel broadens the mind” is probably one of the most often-used sayings in the English language. There’s no doubt that surrounding yourself with new cultures, new locations, and even new cuisines is something that is guaranteed to have a lasting impression. These experiences shape who we are, and the ripples stay within us for the rest of our lives. Now, travel comes at a cost, and certain locations aren’t always available to everyone, but that’s where the magic of fragrance can help. By conjuring a place, the wearer can go some way to imagining how it feels to visit, and Gallivant are promising just that with their new Nida perfume.

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Thursday, 17 September 2020

BUKHARA by Gallivant

Experiencing the sights, sounds, and smells of an unknown country is one of the things that I love so much about travelling. Being in a totally unknown environment, and veering away from the tourist route, always creates incredible memories. With restrictions still in place on which countries we can visit, it’s thanks to ingenious perfumers and visionary creative directors that we can be transported instead through scent. Step forward Nick Steward, who is continuing his anthology of inspirational cities with the release of his latest Gallivant fragrance. So, grab your passport because we’re about to discover the magic of Bukhara.

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Thursday, 16 April 2020

ST. PAUL'S by Exaltatum London

The job of a perfumer is to take a jumble of ideas and turn them into a fully formed fragrance. Now, when you work for a large company you can find yourself caught in the middle of many egos all wanting a say on the finished scent. However, as an independent perfumer you are solely accountable to yourself, and so the finished fragrance can often be closer to the original concept. One perfumer that has shown herself to be the mistress of translating emotion and place into scent is Eglija Vaitkevice of Exaltatum, and her latest fragrance takes the wearer on a journey to baroque London. It's time to visit St. Paul's.

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Monday, 19 August 2019

PERGOLA by Exaltatum London

The fact that our reaction to fragrance is so personal is one of the reasons why it can often be so difficult to gauge how a perfume will be received. Many companies launch scents with very specific stories and, if the customer doesn’t engage with them, they can end up overshadowing the actual fragrance. Exaltatum London has overcome this by simply relating their scents to the inspiration and encouraging the customer to draw on their own memories and experiences. The company’s current collection of three fantastic fragrances are all created by Eglija Vaitkevice but, within the trio, Pergola truly is theatrically majestic.

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Thursday, 15 August 2019

LOS ANGELES by Gallivant

Summer sees many people jetting off for their holidays and often means that they end up exploring a new country or city. This idea that “travel broadens the mind” is one that many perfume companies have tried to replicate with numerous travel themed fragrances, but it has often proved problematic for those that have attempted it. A person’s impression of a location is, for want of a better word, “personal” and so appealing to a wide audience can be difficult. One company that have excelled at this concept though is Gallivant and their new fragrance, Los Angeles, demonstrates the perfect balance between the impression and the reality.

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Thursday, 27 June 2019

VANILJ by Maya Njie

With the seemingly constant stream of new perfume companies launching on an almost daily basis, I often find myself thinking, “Is it really possible for a new brand to present themselves in a way that feels original and interesting?” Everything has been done before, in one way or another, but sometimes it’s actually a hark back to the past that provides a springboard in the present. Maya Njie has launched her own perfume company and is the perfect example of how someone can combine a personal history with a passion for creation. With a celluloid inspiration transformed into scent, it’s time for Maya Njie to take centre stage.

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Thursday, 20 June 2019

LONDON 1969 by 4160 Tuesdays

I don’t think a perfume review is ever written without the word “inspiration” appearing somewhere within it. We love to know the background to a scent and the concept of the perfumer, but sometimes the original inspiration becomes entwined in ways that were never imagined. When Sarah McCartney of 4160 Tuesdays created London 1969 five years ago she could never have dreamed that it would take on a personal significance for the company, and just how important that date was. Far more than just an effervescent citrus, London 1969 takes you on a journey into the past but with one foot firmly in the present.

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Monday, 3 June 2019

TOKYO by Gallivant

We live our lives through a mist of preconceived ideas about everything from music to fashion and places to people, but just recently I was stopped in my tracks because of my own preconceptions about a fragrance. I had imagined that Tokyo by Gallivant would be just another cherry blossom inspired floral that once again celebrated this delicate petal. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Tokyo, the latest release from the company, recreates the early morning in the city and mixes nature with neon and tanginess with tranquillity. The new addition to the collection fits perfectly into the style, although its individuality cannot be ignored.

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Monday, 18 February 2019

BERGAMOT by Herba London

Independent perfumers seem to be multiplying at an astonishing rate in the United Kingdom but “quantity” doesn’t seem to have diminished “quality” in this ever-expanding market. Whilst some have a small team to help with every aspect of the production, others really are one-person operations. However, being independent from large corporations means that these perfumers are free to create without the constraints of trend or fashion, and the results are often remarkable. Last year saw the launch of Herba London, founded by Peter de Bique, and his debut collection of eight fragrances was outstanding.

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Thursday, 17 August 2017

SANDALWOOD & CLOVE COLOGNE by Pall Mall Barbers

My diary of memorable dates used to be much simpler, everything just revolved around traditional holidays. This has all recently changed with the addition of events such as National Fragrance Day, National Relaxation Day, even National Lipstick Day. One new celebration that I'm very pleased about though is National Men’s Grooming Day. It falls on August 18th and celebrates every form of male grooming, from shaving right through to scent. This year I've chosen Pall Mall Barbers’ Sandalwood & Clove Cologne as an example of grooming at its finest, and it’s time to discover one of London's best-kept secrets.

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Thursday, 15 June 2017

LONDON by Gallivant

Inspiration comes from many sources but our memories can provide some of the most unusual and exciting. There is something about the way our brains store information about a place or a situation that can result in quite an abstract recollection, and it's this that Nick Steward has used to create the debut range from Gallivant, his own perfume company. After a career spent working for some of the industry's top perfume brands, Nick felt that the time was right to branch out on his own. So, let's take a closer look at London, one of his first four fragrances, which is far more than just Earl Grey and sandwiches.

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Thursday, 1 June 2017

GALLIVANT - Scenting The City

The niche sector of the perfume market is an ever-growing one with new companies seemingly popping up at a rate of knots. Some of them are excellent; some of them miss the mark. Some are created by perfumers; some are envisaged by creative directors. Whichever way they come to market the most important thing is that the product is of an exceptional quality, otherwise they just get lost amongst a sea of Google search results. Enter Nick Steward and his company Gallivant. No stranger to the perfume industry, and with an approachable nature that is refreshing, I met up with him to find out more about Gallivant.

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After twenty successful years as an actor, I decided the time was right to begin a new career, and that was in the perfume industry. Scent had always been a passion of mine, and working alongside a new group of creative minds ended up being the perfect fit.

As a Brand Consultant, Evaluator, Copywriter and New Business Advisor, the variety of work is exciting, and definitely draws on my acting background. Every day brings new challenges, experiences and delights to a workplace that is crammed full of new releases, evergreens, and fading classics.

This website brings together my ramblings on all aspects of the perfume industry from bottle design to fragrance, companies to noses, and everything in between.

Opinions are my own and do not in any way represent the views of the companies mentioned. Where products or services have been provided by the companies it is stated at the end of the article.

Companies and readers are welcome to contact me by using the Send Me A Message option below.

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Thursday, 27 June 2019

Thursday, 20 June 2019

Monday, 3 June 2019

Monday, 18 February 2019

Thursday, 17 August 2017

Thursday, 15 June 2017

Thursday, 1 June 2017