It’s impossible to predict which fragrance will become the iconic scent in a company’s range and it’s even harder when the perfume company has fans across the world, but that is exactly the case with Atkinsons. The company recently went through a major rebrand worldwide but its Italian market still demands some of the original packaging and scents, including the legendary English Lavender. By combining fashionability with familiarity, Atkinsons have succeeded in rejuvenating the legacy for their existing customers whilst still managing to attract new ones. Happily, there’s even room for a little bit of retro.
When a new perfume company launches it can follow one of two paths, a sudden burst into the public consciousness or a slow and steady growth. The latter could be argued to be the more successful, because it develops a loyal customer base, and this can definitely be said of the new boy on the block, Rook Perfumes. Started in May 2018, and now boasting a collection of eight fragrances, this self-taught perfumer has impressed with the variety of scents in his catalogue and also his wonderful disregard for convention. It’s time to see what Nadeem Crowe, the founder of Rook Perfumes, has to offer.
With summer beginning to fade into autumn it feels right to start reaching for slightly heavier scents, especially as the nights also start drawing in. Crisp and woody scents always usually lend themselves beautifully to the autumn season, but this year I found myself longing for something with more of a labdanum-charged sexiness as well. I’ve said many times before, “what’s old to one person is new to another,” and that is exactly how I felt when I was introduced to Army Of Lovers from LM Parfums. Originally launched in 2014, Army Of Lovers is a provocatively dangerous scent that simply cannot be ignored.
Sexy is different to sensual and sultry is not the same as provocative, but what these words all have in common is that they can be applied to every fragrance from one of Britain's finest independent perfumers. If Agatha Christie is the Queen of Crime then Liz Moores is surely the Siren of Scent. She always weaves a sexuality through her fragrances and this continues with her latest addition. An already impressive range of four fragrances is joined this month by a fifth in the form of the eagerly awaited Dryad, and it promises to entice and challenge in exactly the same way that her previous creations have.
“Le parfum le plus tenace du monde” was a huge statement to make about any fragrance, but the one that was being described definitely deserved the accolade. Outside of its home town it translates as “the longest lasting perfume in the world”, and it is interesting to note that this “tenacious” fragrance actually came about by accident. I’m talking about Habanita by Molinard, and in her ninety-fifth year it’s time we looked back on this sensual grand dame. How did she become such a phenomenon, what does it share with Chanel No.5, and are the rumours of a discontinuation really true?
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?
The chypre fragrance was to the seventies what the Floral Oriental would be to the eighties, and there were lots to choose from. With a complete contrast to the emerging "youth" scents, that were full of bouncy freshness, and even the gloriously "simple" Penhaligon's florals, which were actually far from simple, the chypre provided a scent full of maturity and elegance. The most famous chypre of the Seventies was surely Charlie by Revlon, although it was marketed as an Aldehydic Floral, but Yardley wanted a piece of the action. Their release was the powerful CHIQUE, and this oakmoss overdose is still in production.
The 1980s were a difficult decade for Revlon, especially as they were approaching the ten year anniversary of Charlie with no new masterpiece in sight. Enter Scoundrel with the slogan "Seize the moment". Launched in 1980, the first three years of its life went largely unnoticed, but then the reigning "bitch" of prime time television swept in and changed its future forever, well at least until 1986.
"An Irish perfumery which manufactures in the UK", it's not the usual start to a description about a fragrance brand, but keep reading and I guarantee you will be very surprised. Roads Fragrance, part of the Roads Luxury Group, is based in Dublin and run by its founder Danielle Ryan. Her concept is simple, "to create an artistic brand that would not be limited by its own definition and grow according to its customers' interests." So, will the company's output really be influenced by the sales results of its current ten perfumes? Very probably, but please don't ask me to number crunch this extraordinary collection.
