Marilyn Monroe famously sang, “we’re having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave”, and those words couldn’t be truer of the last few days in Britain. Spring is finally gone and we are now basking in the glorious summer sunshine. Alongside the heat though is the ever present goal of the perfect tan and unfortunately, if you’re like me, something to soothe a sunburn. The majority of summer products have the usual aroma of tiare flower and ylang-ylang, which make them difficult to use underneath your favourite fragrance, but Leighton Denny has solved this problem with two products from his Sunbelievable range.
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.
It takes guts to start a new independent perfume company these days, but that is exactly what Nick Steward has done. After nineteen years working in the fragrance industry he has taken the plunge and launched Gallivant with a beautiful range of scents designed for “the traveller in us all”. So, let’s find out a little bit more about the man behind the passport as he answers “Stephan’s Six”.
It’s almost Father’s Day and if you’ve already made your purchases then I’m very impressed. However, in a similar way to Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and even Christmas Day, there will be a lot of frantic dashes to the high street in an attempt to get that last minute present. You are going to be confronted with walls of fragrances, some of which you will know but many that you won’t, and so I’ve chosen three classics for you which should cover most budgets. In the end it’s the thought that counts, but one of these is certain to impress. So, let's have a look at Dior, Penhaligon's and Crabtree & Evelyn.
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.
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.
"The Grooming Guru", it's quite a title but one which has definitely been earned by Lee Kynaston. A journalist for over twenty years, and a go-to for your daily insight into the workings of the male mind, Lee has observed, advised and even led the way on everything to do with men. So, after commenting on everyone else I thought it was about time we found out a little bit about the man himself during “Stephan’s Six”.
"Summer means citrus". There you have it, three words which sum up an entire season in the world of perfume. Okay, I know that I'm generalising slightly, because there are numerous other fragrances released at this time of the year as well, but the sparkling citrus scents always prove eternally popular when the weather gets warmer. Sunshine means drinks by the pool, lemonade on the beach, a Gin and Tonic in a holiday cafe. In a fragrance, however, I wanted a green citrus with a mouthwatering freshness, and that is exactly what I got with Bronnley's Lime & Bergamot. So, grab your flip-flops and discover your new summer spritz.
Any company with a range that reaches a twenty-year anniversary is to be congratulated. Two decades is, after all, a long time to retain customer loyalty in today's trend-driven market. With more and more companies offering similar products there has to be something special to keep the original alive, and this certainly applies when it comes to Crabtree & Evelyn. The brand launched in 1972 but one of its most iconic ranges arrived in 1997, the Gardeners Collection. In celebration of its twentieth birthday Crabtree & Evelyn has released a candle in the same scent, but does it really measure up?
