Finding the right inspiration for a new perfume brand is often the springboard that leads to its success. Many have tried to find that magic “something” but it often proves illusive even to those with boundless energy and drive. When Imogen Russon-Taylor decided that she wanted to launch her own fragrance house she had to hunt for the individuality that would set her apart from everybody else, and she found it very near to home. Kingdom Scotland launched at the end of 2018 with a collection of three scents and success was clearly on the horizon. A Fragrance Foundation Award Nominee, it's time to head to Edinburgh.
Launching a fragrance range is a minefield in today’s market but life wasn’t any easier back in 2004 either. We were in the middle of the “celebrity culture” and everybody wanted to smell like his or her favourite pop star or film icon. Into the middle of this sequin and Lycra party came a company that was the exact opposite. Using the ancient world as its inspiration, and deliberately trying to offer their customers something that wasn’t on the high street, Ancienne Ambiance was launched. Fourteen years later, and with five beautiful fragrances in the collection, it is as successful as ever but Colonia Nine is particularly special.
When I was a child the scent of Christmas was something that I didn't give a second thought to, I was more concerned with whether I was going to get He-Man's Castle Grayskull. Look, cartoons and action figures were big business in the eighties. As I grew up however I realised that those scents had become part of me, and within them the memories of my childhood were stored. Christmas was a big thing in my house, I even spoke to my brother for one day a year, although it was probably a grunt. My parents gave us everything that we could have wanted, but what are the scents that have stuck in my head twenty years later?
