Stephan Matthews

Showing posts with label Natural. Show all posts

Monday, 29 August 2022

THE SOINS ESSENTIELS COLECTION by Fragonard

Fragonard Soins Essentiels range of natural and organic skincare

When we think about perfume our thoughts instinctively go to the scented spritz that comes out of our favourite bottle. However, we forget that our daily lives are also scented with everything from fabric softener to shower gel. It’s natural then that customers have started to ask questions about the suitability of fragrance within certain products, and especially within skincare. The scent of your favourite face cream or hand lotion is often as important as the result, but can scent and substance be made to work together? Fragonard have just launched their Soins Essentiels range, and the results are a little piece of Provençal perfection.

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Monday, 1 November 2021

No.1 by Jones & Modha

I don’t know whether you would call it a trend anymore, because it feels like it’s now part of our everyday lives, but the drive for natural products shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. With a greater interest in what goes into our fragrances, creams and potions, a whole new group of companies have appeared with the promise that they can offer what customers are demanding. Balancing natural credentials with legal formulation requirements can often be difficult though, but one company that have achieved it with their debut fragrance is Jones & Modha. Let me introduce you to no.1 and their promise of “natural plant alchemy”.

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Monday, 8 February 2021

COLLEGE GREEN - The Quintet of Bath Soaks

If there is one thing that I’ve relied on over the past twelve months then it’s surely been my bathtub. I would happily spend all day in there if I could, reading book after book, because it helps me to switch off, to escape, and to flip the metaphorical sign that says “do not disturb”. It’s also the perfect place to enjoy fragrance, and I’m not just talking about the many candles that have recently appeared. With over a third of the UK now favouring a bath over a shower, what goes into the water has never been more important. So, whether you want to be energised or calmed, College Green is guaranteed to have something for everyone.

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Monday, 25 January 2021

GENOA BAY EAU DE COLOGNE by Wild Coast Perfumery

The dream of launching your own perfume brand is one that many fragrance fans consider at some point, although few continue beyond that initial thought. The time that needs to be invested, not to mention the financial backing, can make it unattractive in the long term. However, if you do have the courage to take it further then you unlock a world of creativity. This is exactly what Laurie Arbuthnot did when she founded Wild Coast Perfumery in 2017. Located on Vancouver Island, her inspiration comes from the incredible surroundings, and it’s these that have resulted in the equally spectacular Genoa Bay Eau de Cologne.

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Thursday, 7 January 2021

DARYA, METSA, and SEPEIDEH by Marlese Assman

The past twelve months have seen a real push to support independent businesses because, as I’ve said repeatedly, the large organisations can look after themselves. However, the smaller companies need to remain firmly in our sights. There are so many brands that you may have never heard of, in locations that you would not expect, which is why it’s important to hunt them out. One such company is Bōbé Beauty which is based in Saskatoon. Founded by Marlese Assman, this Canadian company’s trio of natural alcohol-free perfumes offers some much needed escape, along with a promise of “serenity and independence.”

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Monday, 2 November 2020

Askews Shares Some Edwardian Magic

When we think about candles our first instinct is to picture one of the many fragranced options that come in a glass jar. These guaranteed providers of a scented boost are present in almost every home or, if they’re not, the equally impressive diffuser is sure to be close at hand. We surround ourselves with so many scents, from washing powder to room sprays, that it can begin to feel a little overpowering. The idea of an unscented candle might seem alien to many but, when they’re as stunning as the ones from Askews, they really can hold their own. So, it’s time to travel back in time and enjoy a little fragrance free magic.

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Monday, 3 August 2020

OPTIMISM DIFFUSER by Eloise Hall

One of the challenges when creating a home fragrance is deciding whether it will be season specific or suitable for all year scenting, and choosing whether that aroma will be uplifting and expansive or comforting and embracing is often one of the most difficult decisions to make. The characteristics of summer citruses and winter warmers means that they often get associated with a particular time of the year, and so creating a scent that can truly transcend the seasons is a difficult task. That's why it was a great treat to discover the perfect ambience all-rounder in Eloise Hall’s wonderful Optimism Diffuser.

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Monday, 1 June 2020

ATTUNE SKINCARE - An Aromatic Explosion

The scent that you get when you open a face cream, or any beauty product for that matter, is seen by many as being just as important as the promised effects. It’s like the thrill of breaking the foil on a new jar of coffee, and being the first person to experience that aroma as it escapes from the sealed compartment. The fragrances within these potions and preparations can invigorate or relax, depending on what ingredients are chosen, but they can also be designed to appeal to a specific market. Attune Skincare is one of the latest to focus on the power of scent, and their citrus aromatic offering is absolutely stunning.

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Monday, 10 February 2020

COCOROSA BEAUTY - The Scent of Sandalwood

The advertising slogan that started a revolution, and is lodged in most people’s minds, must surely be “not perfumed, not coloured, just kind.” Those famous words are credited to Alex Pearl, the copywriter on the 1986 advert for Simple, and it made a generation begin to question what was actually in their skincare. The reason for adding fragrance back then was to simply make it smell better but, over time, the beauty industry started to revert to ingredients that were naturally perfumed. One such company is Cocorosa Beauty and their Sandalwood Soothe & Restore Face Oil continues to harness the power of scent.

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Monday, 9 December 2019

HERITAGE SOAP by Jim Baker

Have you ever found yourself in a situation and thought that it reminded you of something that you had previously seen or read? This feeling of “life imitating art” is not uncommon but it is more surprising when it relates to a whole lifestyle change. As we grow older our goals, aspirations, and outlook on life alter. What we once saw as important we may now regard as trivial. This was the situation that ex-actor Jim Baker found himself in and his solution was to start Heritage Soap. The Northumberland company is every soap lover’s dream and it should definitely be under every Christmas tree this year.

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Thursday, 14 November 2019

LANTERN REED by Prosody London

When companies launch with a strong début collection it’s always interesting to see what direction future releases will take. Many brands stay firmly within their established style but others take the opportunity to experiment. Certain fragrances can quickly attract a loyal following and so you risk dividing your audience if you steer too closely to a favourite. This is the situation that Prosody London found themselves in after launching their original series of six perfumes. From Neroli Nuance through to Oud Octavo, the fragrances spanned refreshing to resinous but the new Lantern Reed sits apart with its evocative night-time warmth.

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Thursday, 10 October 2019

MADAME by Marie Krnakova

The selection of perfumes that is available to fragrance fans gets bigger every day, but so does the various qualities that these scents possess. From natural to organic, and vegan to mixed media, there really is something for everyone. Our individual tastes determine which direction we go in, but it’s often difficult to differentiate the fact from the fiction when it comes to a company’s values. Thankfully there are some out there that are wonderfully transparent, and one such company is MW Perfumes. A natural fragrance brand, and a Fragrance Foundation Award Nominee in 2019, it’s time to meet Madame.

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Thursday, 5 September 2019

STONE and HONEY BADGER by Yates Perfumes

There are times when you feel as though you’ve read about every possible journey into the world of perfume and then, out of nowhere, you are confronted with the most incredible career change story. It’s always fascinating to discover the direction that perfumers took before they entered the industry but I wasn’t prepared for the incredible twists and turns that led to Melissa Hale launching Yates Perfumes in 2010. With an apothecary feel to her creations and an uninhibited style that presents itself as fearless, it’s time to visit Lakewood Ohio and be bewitched by her evocative Stone and Honey Badger fragrances.

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Thursday, 29 August 2019

Natural Room Mists by Bramble & Blossom

The reasons for starting a company are always incredibly varied but the days of “I want to be successful and then be bought by a large corporation” are thankfully on the wane. The vast increase of new brands has diluted the industry to such an extent that it’s now very rare for smaller houses to make enough of a mark to be noticed, or even seen as a rival. When Bramble & Blossom was launched in March 2019 it was out of a desire to produce products that respected the environment and provided relief from the mass market offerings, and they’re definitely one company that is well worth noticing.

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Monday, 22 July 2019

PAUSE ROOM DIFFUSER by Eloise Hall

In the same way that some people have a “fragrance wardrobe” for different seasons, it’s not uncommon to see candles side-lined in the warmer months in favour of diffusers. Candles always remain popular for garden tables and alfresco dining but, inside the home, there is a definite pull towards the constantly scenting properties of a diffuser. There are many excellent ones on the market, even if they can often lack a certain originality, but if you’re looking to bring a little of the garden into your home then you need to discover Pause, one of Eloise Hall’s range of natural room diffusers that really are a breath of fresh air.

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Thursday, 4 July 2019

NEROLI NUANCE by Prosody London

With the summer weather now starting to tease us with its sunshine warmth, it’s natural that our thoughts should turn to fragrances that have a more zesty edge to them. Our instinct is to reach for those gloriously mouthwatering citrus scents that accentuate the radiant heat or even the cooling aromatic ones if you long for a little respite from the constant humidity. Unfortunately, it’s pretty rare to find a perfume that truly offers a combination of the two, whilst also providing a depth of scent that can carry you well into the balmy evenings. However, that is until you try the devilishly sensual Neroli Nuance by Prosody London.

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Monday, 27 May 2019

COCOROSA BEAUTY - The Sweet Smell of Success

It’s unusual to go through our daily lives without experiencing scent in one form or another. Sometimes natural and sometimes artificial, it's often designed to make us react to a product or an environment in a certain way. However, scented ingredients can also go far beyond merely fragrancing, they can be part of the reason something actually works. Cocorosa Beauty launched in 2018 and is a natural skincare brand that uses essential oils as its active ingredients. Alongside the restorative benefits, the combinations have resulted in the most beautiful aromas and can definitely be said to have “the sweet smell of success.”

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Thursday, 9 May 2019

DELICATE ROMANCE by Lola's Apothecary

In the perfume calendar there can’t be a more beautiful month than May because, after a year of hard pruning and careful tending, the expansive rose fields of Grasse and Bulgaria succumb to the start of their annual harvest. This is still carried out by hand and so is incredibly labour-intensive. When you think that it requires around ten thousand kilograms of rose blossoms to produce one kilogram of oil then you can understand the sheer workload that is involved. Now, we can’t all go and pitch in with the pickers but we can bring a little of the rose scented magic home in the form of Delicate Romance by Lola’s Apothecary.

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Thursday, 25 April 2019

PICAFLOR and CHOYITA by Perfumera Curandera

Even in the heavily publicised niche market there are still some companies that are quietly going about their business almost undiscovered. These individuals are the true artisans of their craft and they often don’t get the attention that they deserve. From sourcing ingredients, preparing tinctures, hand blending, and even bottling it themselves, there are absolute gems out their waiting to be uncovered. One such company is Perfumera Curandera. It was founded by Leanne Hirsh in 2009 and very quickly gathered a loyal band of followers. The twelve fragrances share a theme of healing, but there are two that absolutely grabbed me.

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Thursday, 8 November 2018

SEE THE MOONLIGHT by Walden

Literary inspiration is nothing new in the perfume industry but choosing a book that completely sums up a company’s ethos and philosophy can be a little more challenging. Whatever you decide to use will become permanently linked to the brand and so it really does have to be the perfect fit. This is exactly what has happened with a new perfume house based in the United Kingdom called Walden. Created by Stephan Bisse, under the umbrella of the Amarya group, he has launched six natural fragrances that each takes its inspiration from the Henry David Thoreau book. So, it’s time for you to See The Moonlight.

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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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Monday, 29 August 2022

Monday, 1 November 2021

Monday, 8 February 2021

Monday, 25 January 2021

Thursday, 7 January 2021

Monday, 2 November 2020

Monday, 3 August 2020

Monday, 1 June 2020

Monday, 10 February 2020

Monday, 9 December 2019

Thursday, 14 November 2019

Thursday, 10 October 2019

Thursday, 5 September 2019

Thursday, 29 August 2019

Monday, 22 July 2019

Thursday, 4 July 2019

Monday, 27 May 2019

Thursday, 9 May 2019

Thursday, 25 April 2019

Thursday, 8 November 2018