May editorial - news from our perfume studio
BEHIND THE SCENES ...
Arts and crafts
One of the things that makes us a genuine artisan brand is the love of the small details. A hands-on DIY ethos. I've been having fun researching various packaging papers for our summer releases - and have settled upon a particularly beautiful one, sourced from an Italian mill founded in 1888. It's a special composition paper - and equally important comes with excellent sustainability credentials. Watch this space ...
Why I love iris ...
I was asked in a recent interview about my favourite raw material. That’s hard to answer – I love many and it depends very much on how they’re used – but if I have to choose just one it’d be iris.
Fun fact
We don't use the flower in perfume-making, but the dried root (rhizome). It’s extremely expensive as it takes 1 tonne of the root to give us around 2kg of the essence. It has a raw beauty which is fascinating to smell. There are so many different facets to its aroma. Floral (often evoking violets), woody, powdery, earthy-vegetal, chocolatey. It's even evocative of paper and books.
My recommendations
If you fancy smelling our interpretation of iris, look no further than our dreamy Bukhara perfume. That's also available as an 8ml travel spray. If you're exploring via your discovery set, please give this one several wears; it's definitely 'niche' and your nose/brain needs to tune in.
Perfume aficionados have always had a soft spot for this note from 'classical' perfumery and I'm very pleased to see it being rediscovered by a new generation of fragheads. I'd recommend smelling the iconic Iris Silver Mist from Serge Lutens and also the lesser-known Hiris from Hermès.
What I've been wearing
I've been reaching for my bottle of Accra a lot over the last few weeks. This perfume was inspired by the glamorously colourful waxed cloth of West Africa, called kente - and this is one of those especially addictive scents that calls you back when you've not worn it in a while.
ACCRA
And this was a recent review for Accra from a fragrance blog: "One of the more interesting and 'most niche' releases of recent years. A strong development from start to finish, with a lot of almost metallic spices, herbal tones and leather. Yet also, carrot, fruits, woods. This has a bit of everything and is impossible to describe, but it's highly artistic and fun to wear"
So if you fancy a taste of the tropics, you can sample with one of our 8ml travel sprays
Perfume celebration. Saturday May 17th
Just a reminder for all you perfume-lovers that we'll be back at the Barnes Fragrance Fair next month. Hope to see some of you there!
Warm wishes,
"It’s lovely to meet people with such a great personal touch with their customers. Bravo!" ND, UK
