There are certain perfume brands that, happily for fragrance fans around the world, stay true to their original inspiration and ethos. It’s very easy for companies to swerve off in varying directions once their name is known, but this can lead to confusion amongst followers and uncertainty for new disciples. You'll have heard the old adage that “familiarity breeds contempt”, but in the world of fragrance it’s actually something to be respected and admired. Sarah Baker Perfumes launched with a promise to bring some Hollywood glamour to scent, often through literary inspirations, and this holds true with her new Peach’s Revenge.
The way each of us interprets a fragrance is often, in a great way, completely different. The ingredients stir up memories that are individual to the wearer and, even though the perfume company may have given us their inspiration and fragranced story, the ultimate reaction to the spritzed scent is very personal. It’s also often the case that fragrances cross over into our other passions and interests, and that’s exactly what happened with G Clef from Sarah Baker Perfumes. Originally designed as a salute to “live jazz and waterfront clubs”, in my crime fiction-filled head it evoked the boathouse murder scene from Agatha Christie’s Dead Man’s Folly.
When we read a book or listen to music, we're in control of the images that are conjured in our minds. From putting a face to the dashing hero or visualising a band as they record your favourite song, the freedom of your imagination is as important as the inspiration itself. When it comes to fragrance it can often be a little more constricting. We’re given the inspiration for the scent and pretty much guided as to how we should feel, but it doesn’t always hold firm. Gold Spot from Sarah Baker Perfumes is intended as an homage to Hollywood glamour but, in my mind, it takes you to the dangerously addictive world of adultery.
To say that it’s been a challenging twelve months would definitely be an understatement but, for the second year running, the fragrance industry has refused to give in. Even with partial restrictions and a decidedly uncertain future, companies have continued to do their very best to bring us some much needed scented escape. Some of the fragrances have been new, some have been classics, but all of them have kept us smiling. So, as we approach the end of 2021, I thought it would be a good moment to look back at twelve months of articles, once again channel my inner Blyton, and pick My Favourite Five.
The idea of using childhood as the inspiration for a fragrance is always going to be fraught with dangers, quite simply because everyone’s childhood is different. What resonates with one person may not be familiar to another. Add into the mix a fashionable ingredient and you also have a second level of preconceived ideas that carries the potential to disappoint. So, when Sarah Baker announced that her latest fragrance would combine childhood memories and oud, there was a definite intake of breath. Could the inspiration and the ingredient really be brought seamlessly together and offer something truly original?
When we think about the process of creating a perfume it often ends up becoming a romanticised image of a pair of hands holding a mound of jasmine petals, or a perfumer surrounded by a bank of meticulously laid out essential oils. What we don’t usually consider is that the intimate process of creating a perfume can actually also be a means of dealing with personal trauma and managing mental health. One perfumer that has spoken openly about his past and present struggles, and how they feed into his creativity, is Matt Meleg - and this shines radiantly through in his exceptional Tobacco Frankincense & Cardamom fragrance.
The idea of being transported to another place and time is one that's often used when describing fragrance. The way it locks onto our innermost memories, almost making them come alive again, can be a wonderful experience. I get this same feeling of disappearing into a different world from reading, and there’s been no shortage of time for that recently. So, when a literary classic is the inspiration for a fragrance then you're guaranteed my undivided attention. Far From The Madding Crowd by Sarah Baker Perfumes is one such example, and there’s never been a better time to experience some nineteenth century swordsmanship.
Fragrances launch in such rapid succession that you could easily be forgiven for not entertaining any scent that wasn’t created in the past twelve months. Our minds, and social media feeds, become so saturated with the newest “must have” perfumes that we often overlook everything that has gone before. I’m not talking about fifty years here; I’m thinking more along the lines of twenty four months! If there is one positive thing that lockdown has given us then it’s surely the gift of time - time to research - and that’s exactly how I discovered the deliciously deceitful, and wonderful unisex, Charade from Sarah Baker Perfumes.
