The news that your favourite shop is closing, a personal fragrance is being discontinued, or even just the realisation that change is inevitable is something that we all have to deal with on a pretty regular basis at the moment. We like familiarity, and it throws us off kilter when we don’t have it. So, when I saw that a Cornish staple had closed its doors after nineteen years my heart sank. However, they were quickly lifted when I read that there was a new company in town that was paying homage to the original but had a definite eye on the future. It’s time to discover Kitty’s Herbery, and their beautiful Bergamot fragrance.
The idea of being left to our own devices is something that we’ve all had to embrace over the past year, and people have dealt with it in very different ways. There was a lot of time to fill and, while some of us caught up with the mountain of Blu-rays that had magically appeared, many perfumers knuckled down and used the opportunity to concentrate on long anticipated projects. Hitting the pause button changed the schedules and space appeared in the diary. Choreograph is one such example, and Adey Zookrow’s fusion of experimental fragrance with original music has come at just the right moment.
After an impressive career working with some of the world’s finest fragrance and beauty houses, Rebecca Harrison decided that the time was right to launch her own perfume company, Vines House Parfum. Having split her time between Dorset and the southwest of France, the collection drew on the parallels between the wine and fragrance industries, and proved an instant hit with customers that were looking for perfumes with a story. So, as they celebrate their second birthday, I thought it was time to learn a little more about Rebecca during “Stephan’s Six”.
The fact that many truly niche perfume companies are actually a one or two-person operation is exactly the reason why they’ve managed to survive the difficulties of recent times. The ability to quickly pivot, and either focus their energies on a temporary line or pause production altogether, has meant that the final easing of restrictions has allowed them to re-emerge and take up where they left off. Ilyas Kakis, the founder of Ilya Parfums, has been refreshingly open about how the past year gave him time to reassess the brand. With the collection now numbering three, it’s time to discover the magic of Green Velvet.
There’s a period in perfumery that is likely to be remembered as the time of missed releases and forgotten fragrances. I’m talking about the very end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 when, unbeknown to us all, we were heading for a worldwide period of lockdowns and disruption. The companies that launched during these months had contracts cancelled, frustrated customers unable to smell the fragrances, and don’t forget the shortage of alcohol. So, for a new company to keep going was a massive achievement. One example of this is Botani Perfumery who, against the odds, released a beautiful quartet of fragrances.
The meticulous way that a fragrance formula is put together means that the links between science and perfumery are clear to see. So, when Ilyas Kakis swapped a career in research for one in perfume it wasn’t too much of a surprise. With a collection of three fragrances now available, I thought it was time to learn a little more about the man behind Ilya Parfums and ask him “Stephan’s Six.”
The idea of reconnecting with the past is something that has been at the forefront of many people’s minds over the past twelve months. That feeling of travelling back to simpler times, even experiencing the thoughts and feelings of forgotten generations, anything but the uncertainty of modern life. Perfume companies have tried to tap into this concept many times, with everything from the Pharaohs to World Wars, but one of the most ingenious has to be Neandertal. With a nod to the past both visually and sensorially, but celebrating the world around us, the company have created the sensational Neandertal Light.
The idea that our sense of taste is closely linked to our sense of smell is something that is often talked about these days, but it’s still generally confined to food. However, recent years saw the dramatic boom in the fashion for flavoured gins, and these definitely took the limelight away from other equally exciting spirits. One that has been unfairly ignored often evokes stormy nights and is forever associated with Cornwall. I’m talking about rum. One of the newest producers in the UK at the moment is Rosemullion Distillery and so, as a rum lover, I didn’t need to think twice when I was asked to discover their exceptional trio.
Fragrance fans are constantly searching for the next “big hitter” or “must have” scent and, because of this, often forget to look backwards as well as forwards. There are very few genuinely new trends in perfumery, they’ve all been seen before, it’s just the way that they’re presented that is different. However, we seem to be locked into the eternal quest for “newness” and, because of this, can find ourselves overlooking the faded and forgotten gems from another time. One such treasure must surely be 4711 by Mäurer & Wirtz. Arguably the world’s most famous cologne, it’s time this classic was rediscovered by a new generation.
