I’ve managed to catch Karl Cyprien at home in Brooklyn, USA, in a rare moment when he’s not on a plane. Over the past few months, he’s been travelling all over the world both doing research and scoping out stockists for À LA, the fragrance house he founded last year with his wife Meg Cuna Cyprien. Next week he is heading to Paris, then onto Amsterdam, London, and finally Scotland.

“That one's more of a leisure thing,” he says, “I’ll be in Dufftown, I love Scotch whisky.”

Having been to my fair share of whisky tastings over the years (a side-effect of being a GQ staffer in its Mad Men era), I’m often struck at how closely an appreciation for whisky hews to an appreciation for fragrance, with a shared language of notes and craft whether the merits of sip or a spritz is being considered.

It’s certainly a synergy I feel when speaking to Karl about why he wanted to start À LA, a brand born out of his love for Japanese culture, but shaped by personal experiences. In fact, when I ask him why he launched the brand with incense and pot pourri, he tells me that it’s quite simply because those were the two types of fragrance vehicle that introduced him to scent in his childhood home: “My dad always burned incense and my mum always had a bowl of pot pourri in the room, so there’s nostalgia there.” When he went to Japan with Meg and they started to learn more about the country’s history with incense as well as the time-honed techniques for creating these fragrant sticks on Awaji Island across the bay from Osaka, the chain of events to launching the brand was set in motion.

However, unlike incense, pot pourri doesn’t have a strong connection to Japan. It’s generally accepted that is roots can be traced back to the dried herbs and flowers used in Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman burial ceremonies, but the pot pourri as we know it today dates back to 17th century France. In French, the words “pot pourri” mean “rotten pot”, referring to the way that fresh petals and aromatic leaves collected in spring or summer were layered with salt and left to ferment before having fragrant spices added in the autumn. At this point, the now-sloppy grey mix was thankfully hidden, transferred into elaborate ceramic pots with perforated lids to perfume rooms.

Thankfully, scent-makers of the 19th century decided to switch up the recipe to create the more aesthetically-pleasing version of pot pourri we know today, drying petals and barks, then infusing them with essential oils. However, in the century since, the popularity of the genre has dropped off, especially since the supremacy of the scented candle kicked off in the Nineties.

“These days a lot of people don’t know what pot pourri is,” Karl says, when I ask him why he decided to include it in the mix. “If they do, they’re often European, and they usually a dated idea of it as something dusty sitting in your grandmother’s bathroom. I wanted to show pot pourri doesn’t have to be crushed, dried leaves and flowers with essential oils. Our idea was to reimagine it entirely, working with incredible raw ingredients.”

And, boy, have they done that with their Pot Pourri à la Lamia. I don’t just mean when it comes to the room-filling power of these tiny scented chips (a comforting, balsamic mix of sandalwood, patchouli and frankincense), but also aesthetically when poured into handsome ceramic container. From beautifully minimalistic blue box to living room sideboard, it’s a trip.

Now, as the house launches its sequel, Pot Pourri à la Serra, I wanted to catch up with Karl to learn more about the brand, his time in Japan, and what to expect when it comes to new launches (spoiler alert: something you can use utilse outside of your home is on the horizon). So grab a dram of your favourite tipple if you fancy, and let’s go.

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Nick: What’s your history with fragrance?

Karl: Fragrance is intrinsically the space I’m most passionate about, and the same goes for my wife, Meg. For me, it goes back to my childhood. Fragrance was always something that excited me and I grew up in a household where it was such an important part of everyday life. The fact that we launched incense and pot pourri for À LA first is because they’re the types of fragrance I have the most visceral reaction to, and were the most present in my experience as a child: my dad always burned incense and my mum always had a bowl of pot pourri in the room, so there’s nostalgia there.

By trade, I’m a creative strategist and brand marketer. I’ve spent my career building brands, so it’s a treat to be building something we’re deeply passionate about for ourselves. The idea of doing something like this has been sitting in my mind for almost a decade, and it wasn’t until about two years ago that we said, let’s go for it.

Visiting Japan played a big part in that mindset. I first went in 2015, and I’ve been back nearly 35 times since. I initially went there as I was consulting for Shiseido, but while I was living in Tokyo, visiting Kyoto and other parts of Japan gave me a firsthand experience of a culture I’d been fascinated by from afar for a long time: learning about principles like omotenashi [the art of hospitality], understanding how the Japanese approach craft, and the simplicity of everyday life there. It had a real impact on me, and that’s we’re infusing into À LA.

How so?

Our products are made in Japan: the incense, the pot pourri, and the decorative objects. We’re working with Arita porcelain (the oldest form of Japanese porcelain), and urushi lacquer (the oldest form of Japanese lacquer), and exploring other materials too. If you think of the brand as a Venn diagram, it’s fragrance and decorative objects, with overlap between the two. Even fragrance itself we look at through the lens of craft: everything we do is about celebrating the makers.

The makers who create our incense had never made pot pourri before. I joke that convincing Japanese craftspeople, who’ve done the same thing for centuries with real precision, to indulge this idea is probably my biggest achievement so far. If you know anything about Japanese craftsmanship, people tend to focus on doing one thing and perfecting it; so simply getting them to consider the idea was a feat in itself.

Talk me through the process of how your pot pourri is made…

When I first watched incense being made, I noticed there’s this paste that’s the key ingredient which is mixed with scented additives like sandalwood, patchouli, sweet pine, and Korean mint, then ground down to create this wonderfully, naturally fragrant woody pulp. I thought, why don’t we work with that?

So, for your pot pourri, it’s like stopping the incense-making process partway through, and creating something new at that point?

In a way, yes. I thought, if we just pause there, take an allocation of it, add sandalwood oil, patchouli oil and so on, and let it sit for about a month to dry: what do we get? It felt like kismet, and the result was something that I think is quite beautiful.

What is the drying process like?

It’s the same as our incense, on large wooden trays in rooms with no artificial light but the shutters open, which lets in Westerly winds; that’s important for the drying. The paste comes down and needs to dry, almost like spaghetti. The pot pourri sits in that same space, and once it’s infused after about a month, it’s ready. That said, it’s a much quicker process than the incense, which takes two or three months to dry.

You’ve just launched your second pot pourri, Pot Pourri à la Serra. Can you tell me the difference in its scent compared to your first, Pot Pourri à la Lamia?

This new edition is a bit more on the fresh side, because we’re incorporating myrrh. Our first has sandalwood, patchouli, clove, frankincense and patchouli oil, making it deep and forest-y, whereas this one’s more pared-down, so the freshness pushes through.

Whereabouts in Japan are your incense and pot pourri made?

It’s an island off the coast of Kobe called Awaji, the birthplace of Japanese incense-making: there are families, even companies, who’ve pioneered incense-making there for a very long time. The key note in our first incense is agarwood, and the reason we chose it (aside from its incredible fragrance) is that this was the driftwood that washed ashore behind a beautiful shrine in Awaji, which was a key moment that led to the start of incense-making in Japan.

We went to Awaji with photographer Tyler Mitchell, and visited that shrine where the driftwood washed ashore. Photography is a really important means of communication for us; we take a lot of pride in shooting beautiful images and how that feeds into the storytelling, and the copywriting too. It’s about rooting everything in something substantial and meaningful.

One of the big new additions to your brand in the latest drop are your fragrance vessels. Can you tell me more about the process of working on these pieces?

It all starts with a sketch. Meg and I are always sketching different objects at home, some meant to be complementary to the fragrance products and some purely decorative. When we launched, we previewed a bit of our intention for this with the Arita porcelain box that holds around 100 sticks of incense and comes with a lid. We also had a lacquer box, made in Kyoto. The idea was to introduce these as a statement of intent, then build it out from there.

For the porcelain specifically, it was important for us to start in Arita. We’re working with a family there who’ve been making porcelain for around 400 years, and it’s been a fantastic collaboration. When we launched, it was with a very functional porcelain box, but then people started asking me how to actually use pot pourri…

Yes, what’s the best vessel?

Fundamentally, the idea is to put it in the smallest bowl you have. There’s only 40g of pot pourri in one of our boxes, so we suggest starting with 20g in a bowl, depends on the room size. But it’s really about presenting it in the most beautiful way you can. We’ve made our own bowl, which we’re really excited to unveil soon, just to make things easy for people.

With all our ceramics, we want to have a signature matte oatmeal colour that’s highly textured; a finish that, when you see it, you’ll know it’s À LA without any obvious branding. Even our candles, which won’t be out until the autumn, have no stickers on the vessel. There is a logo, but you’ll have to look really hard to find it. The idea is really about permanence: objects that have a second life. Once you’ve burned through the candle, it’s essentially an empty vessel you can use as a tumbler, or for other things. Our branding is something meant to be hidden in plain sight.

How are these pieces made to achieve that finish?

They’re fired in a wood kiln. The beautiful thing is that while the process to create this finish is the same across our ceramic candle vessels, pot pourri bowls and incense boxes, it results in a patina with natural stains, for lack of a better word, so no two pieces are completely the same. Line a row of them up and they each have these faint variations running through them, which I think is quite beautiful.

Apart from the potential expansion of your ceramics, are there any other developments with À LA on the horizon?

In the autumn we are launching our fine fragrance, which I’m really excited about. It’ll be our first collection where the same scent exists as an incense, a candle, and a perfume.

Have you worked with a nose on it, or is it all you and Meg?

Both, in a way. Meg and I are the noses at the core, but we’ve had a fantastic collaborator in Yann Vasnier, a perfumer at Givaudan who’s done some fantastic work for Tom Ford and many others.

What’s the vibe of the fragrance?

We had a very specific idea of what it should be: it needed to be unisex, function for day and night, and be woody but fresh. As a brand, I feel that’s really the core of what sets us apart. The process took about a year. We came in with a clear sense of the ingredients we wanted to explore at the base, the mid, and the top, and worked through it: but it really became special once we added liquorice to the top note and added vanilla for the dry-down. That’s what made it, ‘wow’.

I wanted to go back to that tradition of fragrance-making, where it opens up; you smell it off the first spray and it’s one thing, then ten minutes later it’s a totally different experience, and at thirty minutes it’s different again. It’s a high oil concentration, around 20 per cent (more close to an extrait), so it’s meant to last all day. Interestingly, it’s the custom bottle design that’s taken the most time; the liquid’s been ready since October.

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La Bougie Coconut & Hibiscus Hand and Body Wash

Sadly, I won’t be going on a tropical holiday this summer, but this shower gel from Irish fragrance house La Bougie at least makes me feel like I am. Bursting with intense white florals, what sets this apart is its ‘salted coconut’ note that adds a grounded, mineralic edge to the creamy sweetness at the heart of the scent. While it can be used as a hand wash, I’d recommend using it in the shower as the steam helps this gel’s incredible scent fill the room, transporting you to a Hawaiian waterfall before you’ve even had your morning cornflakes.

£25 for 250ml at labougie.co.uk

Lush Cucumber Eye Pads

As I get older, I increasingly deal with dark circles and puffiness under my eyes. To combat this, I’ve become fairly addicted to under eye patches. Passing through the Lush in Victoria station on my new commute the other day, I noticed their Cucumber Eye Pads in the chiller. Made from only four ingredients (cucumber, glycerine, carrageenan aka seaweed extract, and water), these sticky little super-hydrators cool, soothe and refresh. A sensorial pleasure to use when taken straight from the fridge, especially on these hotter-than-hot days, and completely biodegradable (unlike many of their peers).

£4 for two pairs at lush.com

Officine Universelle Buly Baume Nettoyant Superfin

Speaking of eyes, the packaging of this recently-launched face cleansing balm is a feast for them. Gentle and creamy without feeling cloying, Buly’s Baume Nettoyant Superfin is infused with sesame oil to soften the skin, plum oil to soothe it, and kaolin clay to regulate excess sebum (and, thus, potential breakouts), not to mention a delightfully subtle orange blossom scent. I have been using this silky-smooth formula in the evening before I go to bed (massaged in then washed off with a linen cloth), and the result is not only a superbly soft face at night, but also a notably oil-free one in the morning.

£45 for 70ml at Selfridges, Oxford Street, London and buly1803.com

Espa Invigorating Face Wash

Lemongrass is one of those scents that instantly makes me feel like I’m in a high-end spa, and this face wash from British personal care brand Espa has it in spades. A couple of pumps of this foaming face wash in the shower and you’ll wonder why someone hasn't knocked on your bathroom door to offer you cucumber-infused water and a pair of towelling slippers. Fresh, citrusy and energising, this is a zingy addition to your morning routine.

£22.40 for 100ml (currently on promotion) at espaskincare.com

Aveda One For All Multi-Benefit Leave-In Treatment Elixir

I have fine, super-straight hair, so I rarely use leave-in conditioners as they tend to weigh it down into an oily, forehead-clingy nightmare. This new One For All Multi-Benefit Leave-In Treatment Elixir from Aveda has changed that. As you might tell from its tongue-twister of a name, this spray has been designed with 25 benefits, from its totally vegan formula to heat-styling protection and static-control. Its main benefit for me is how lightweight it is – a gentle mist I can use a couple of times a week pre-hairdryer that keeps my hair hydrated, de-tangled and frizz-free. Who needs a 2-in-1 shampoo when you can have a 25-in-1 conditioner?

£29 for 200ml at aveda.co.uk

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Note: some products featured above were gifted from brands for testing, but with no obligation to post

Wintreow by Pelegrims

Who wouldn’t want to be in a vineyard right now with this glorious weather? Well, if you can’t make it out to one IRL, try Wintreow by Pelegrims – a Kent-based skincare brand that makes its products using extracts from waste material produced by nearby vineyard, Westwell Wines. Wintreow was their first fragrance, and it’s a bold, bitter banger. A joyfully verdant opening like a green twig that’s been snapped in two, is supported by a hint of florality in the background. Then a mix of wet grass and cool black peppercorns matures into a leafy, woody, herbaceous drydown. Imagine walking through vines that are just starting to warm in the morning sun, the dew on their leaves evaporating and a warm breeze drifting across from neighbouring meadows. Very that.

£84 for 50ml at pelegrims.com

Bergamotto la Spugnatura by Acqua di Parma

One of the reasons for the lack of updates recently was because I was on holiday in Italy (more to come on this soon). For this, I decided I needed a properly Italian vibing scent, and Acqua di Parma’s latest limited edition didn’t disappoint. The central ‘sells’ of Bergamotto la Spugnatura are not only a beautiful marbled cap designed by artist Laura Gonzalez, but that the bergamot essence is collected via a centuries-old technique called spugnatura, where the peel is pressed by hand with natural sea sponges. The result of this more labour-intensive method is that the oils collected should have a more multifaceted aroma than when done so using industrial processes. To my nose, this EDP is certainly an intriguing and nuanced take on a classic citrus: it opens with an almost lemon sucky-sweet note, tart and sparkling, but also warm and slightly sugary. There’s a bitterness, but it’s also comforting and cosy, and doesn’t verge into cloying. Its sunbaked cedarwood/vetiver drydown didn’t have the greatest longevity on my skin, but I think with an opening this good, multiple sprays throughout the day to keep it fresh is more of a joy than a chore.

£236 for 100ml at acquadiparma.com

Cologne Cédrat by Matiere Premiere

In contrast to ADP, the interest in Matiere Premiere’s Cologne Cédrat for me lies more in the drydown than the opening. We all know the basics of a traditional cologne: citrus and aromatics on first spray, then a woody finish. And, initially, that’s what you get with Cologne Cédrat: a cooling, fresh citrus sorbet with bergamot and a mixture of pink and black peppercorns. However, what comes through after that is a genre-subverting note of mate (tea) to anchor it on your skin – savoury, green, a little smoky and a little woody. Light, bright and super-easy to wear, but with a twist in the tail that makes it quite addictive – a bottle you’ll work your way through quickly once you have it.

£250 for 100ml at matiere-premiere.com

Jodhpur 6AM by L’Entropiste

I find spicy, warm fragrances quite hard to wear in the summer months, but this little number proves a rare exception. Inspired by sunrise over the scent’s eponymous Indian city, Jodhpur 6AM by L’Entropiste is warm, spicy, fruity and fresh all at once: the opening is lactic, sweet-fruity and floral, with notes of carnal tuberose, fresh ginger and cool green cardamom shining through as it develops on your skin. In time, it matures into a tea-like, ground-spice afterburn, but still with that milky florality bubbling underneath – gentle, comforting and mouth-wateringly addictive.

£260 for 100ml at lentropiste.com

Celest by Floris

The only word to describe this fragrance is ‘cosy’. Warm and decadent, it opens with a soothing, delightfully soft note of hay-like and herbaceous camomile, before a big, intoxicating note of davana bursts through combined with silken, amber-like honey to create a cocooning, almost fermented feel to the scent. Then, the liquid takes a turn into a beautiful velvety spiciness thanks to a note of opoponax (sweet myrrh), which has been historically used to create incense. Sensual, enveloping and beguiling. Not one for these hotter-than-hot summer days, but this will come into its own on winter nights spent in front of a roaring fire with a glass of wine.

£200 for 100ml at florislondon.com

Golfjazz by DS & Durga

I have worn no fragrance more this past month that DS & Durga’s Golfjazz; part of its sartorially-minded scent triptych where each fragrance is inspired by a different traditional men’s cologne (the other two editions in this collection are Grey Blazer and Rum Bay Rum). Described as “a golf fantasy by a guy who doesn’t golf” (very me), this is DS & Durga’s riff on an 80s chypre – and, boy, does it deliver. It opens with a burst of freshly squeezed lime and fairway grass, before mint and mimosa bring a tussle of fresh, aromatic verdancy to the mix. Then the leather hits, all rich and smoldering and undulating. It’s sexy, but fresh, intriguing and infinitely wearable whether day or night. Green-leather fragrances are a personal favourite of mine (see: Rodeo by Byredo), and this is an absolute new classic in the genre for me – and I would dare say one of DS & Durga’s best releases to date.

£155 for 50ml at harveynichols.com

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Have you tried one of these fragrances? Any you’re especially keen to try? Let me know in the comments below…

Pick a pickle and the chances are I can’t stand it. I can make an exception for the crunchy little yellow and red veg that appear on the side of a Katsu Curry at Wagamama, but generally the sight of a brown-green gherkin in a burger or the tiniest of cornichons on a cheese board is enough to ruin that dish for me. So, for someone as avidly, viscerally averse to pickles, I find it interesting that I am perpetually drawn towards perfumes that are often labelled as “pickley” by fragrance fans. As repelled as I am by pickled vegetables, I crave that tangy, sharp, herbaceousness in a scent as the sun heats up.

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That said, a “pickle” accord is not one you tend to see on a Fragrantica pyramid – at least not to the extent of how many frags there are in the world that people describe as smelling “pickley”. That pickle-ness tends to come from a big hit of an equally divisive herb, coriander – and especially when combined with vetiver (as the oil from this can produce a dill-like effect). The result is that signature soapy, green-ness with a crisp, almost mouth-watering tang. And I love it.

To those who enjoy a pickley fragrance like me, I’m sure my route into this particular genre will not be a surprise: DS & Durga’s Coriander. Now, what I will say is that there is a fundamental difference between scents that use coriander leaf and those that use coriander seed. Generally that pickle-y vibe comes from scents that incorporate the leaf (sometimes described on a fragrance pyramid by the American-ised cilantro as opposed to coriander, which is often the seed). This DS & Durga scent definitely errs towards the spicier, seed-like side of this herb, however the presence of refreshing, aromatic notes of rosemary, juniper and especially zingy lime make this scent feel far closer to freshly chopped coriander leaves than the dried seeds in your pantry. Perhaps that’s also down to the addition of iso-e-super which brings a fresh, crystalline sparkle to the recipe. Whatever the reason, it’s a wonderfully green, woody take on the herb – a little more soapy and not quite as brine-y as other coriander perfumes, but a classic in the genre that I return to when I need a bit of a late-spring pick-me-up.

However, if I want something green, acidic and lip-smacking, there are two options in my armoury. The first is Functional Fragrance by The Nue Co. There is still a smoky-earthiness to this scent (thanks in large part to a dose of palo santo) that lingers on the dry-down, but that initial spritz is dominated by coriander leaf, citrus, and a note of cardamom that’s like a pod that you’ve just smashed open with a rolling pin on your chopping board; cool and enjoyably astringent. Altogether, Functional Fragrance has a pipeline of energising and tangy to comforting and warm– and it makes sense that it’s been specifically created to help decrease its wearer’s stress levels. A particularly pleasing bonus for those who are perpetually anxious, like myself.

The second is the aptly named Coriandre 39 from Le Labo – the house’s Mexico City exclusive. Again, this opens with a zing of lime and coriander leaves, but one of the key differences here is that there’s also aldehydes present in those top notes meaning that the oh-so-divisive fatty, soapiness of the herb is amped up (I love it). After that, the scent is flooded with watery notes and soft florals before drying down into a delicate, undulating and lightly smoky musk – like the first squeeze of lime into a mescal on ice while someone chops cilantro stems for a fresh salsa in the background. Now there’s a condiment I can get behind.

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The Musc by Essential Parfums

Starting strong with a fragrance I’ve only just discovered, but one that actually released back in 2018 as part of the first drop of Essential Parfums – a brand that showcases the work of myriad famous noses. The Musc by Calice Becker (who crafted J’Adore by Dior) is a wonderfully understated yet addictive skin-scent; a big dose of cosy, powdery musk, obviously, but mingled with clean-cool lavender, fresh-fiery ginger and an intriguing note of beeswax, which brings a comforting waxy, creaminess. Sophisticated and subtle – a fragrance to wear when you know you’re going to be in close proximity to someone you want to impress.

£86 for 100ml at johnlewis.com

Buongiorno Buonanotte by Acqua di Parma

Usually it takes a couple of decades to release a decent number of remixes to a parent scent, and yet Acqua di Parma has done that for Buongiorno only one year after its launch. This month, the Italian house dropped Buongiorno La Collezione, which features five (five!) additions to its 2025 release, Buongiorno – characterised by its wonderfully sun-drenched and herbaceous Italian mix of sparkling lemon, spearmint, rosemary, basil and lavender. Of these, there are two in particular that have captured my attention. Buongioro Buonanotte is interesting because if you are expecting a new take on the original’s DNA, you will be very confused. Loved the vibrant aromatic citrus of the original? Sike! Forget the green herbs and effervescent lemon, Buonanotte takes the softer citrus note of bergamot, mixes it with gentle pink peppercorn, vanilla-y rich guaiac wood, and deliciously dry iris, before burning off into a comfortingly sexy musk on the dry down. That’s not to say it’s not good – it’s a gorgeous EDP and I haven’t been able to stop wearing it in the evenings as the weather has warmed. Just don’t approach it as a flanker.

£257 for 100ml at acquadiparma.com

Buongiorno Al Bacio by Acqua di Parma

Now, if you’re looking for a member of Buongiono La Collezione that carries more of its relative’s personality, try Buongiorno Al Bacio for size. I’d sum this up as a softer take on the original. Yes, it’s a lighter, softer citrus hit thanks to using bergamot instead of lemon like Buonanotte, but unlike Buonanotte it keeps that more green-herbaceous character by preserving the notes of petitgrain and rosemary, mingling them with a blast of crisp white and green florals: orange blossom, neroli and angelica. None of these new takes have that real eye-opening, cool punch that the original’s signature spearmint note brings to the party (if that’s what you’re searching out), but Al Bacio is a particularly satisfying, pared-back and decidedly wearable sequel.

£257 for 100ml at acquadiparma.com

Original Eau de Cologne by Farina

Mixed way back in 1709, there’s a reason why Farina calls its signature fragrance “Original” – it is the world’s oldest eau de cologne. Over three hundred years later and you can see why its creation jump-started modern perfume as we know it today. Juicy, fresh and slightly soapy, it’s a mouthwatering citrus bomb mixing together bergamot, lemon, orange, lime and citron with green herbs and flowers before settling into a musky dry-down. Not too sweet, not too tart, just brilliantly balanced and infinitely wearable. Proof that a classic never goes out of style.

£65 for 100ml at farina1709.com

Santal Cream by Non-Fiction

After the Jasmine Awards in London last week, I took myself for a solo lunch at Ronnie’s, the sexy ripped-from-NYC lunch spot tucked into the corner of the new Kith store on Regent Street. After draining a couple of iced teas while finishing off the latest New Yorker (stereotype, moi?), I headed onto the shop floor to check out the menswear – then, to my surprise and delight, the fragrances. On the shelves downstairs was a tight little edit of scented things, amongst them Perfumer H incense, Lola James Harper candles, and the refreshing Kith x Malin & Goetz ‘Vapor’ line of bodycare. On the frag front, Non-Fiction’s Santal Cream was a delicious discovery. Not creamy as in “vanilla-y”, but creamy as in fuzzy and undulating from a gentle, warm note of lactescent sandalwood that lingers under the initially more prominent spicy notes of cardamom and ginger before coming forward on the drydown, helped along by a barely-there note of sweet fig.

£155 for 100ml at kith.com

B87.135 Extrait by Marc-Antoine Barrois

There are some scents for which only black tie will do – and this is one of them. Sure, you could wear this new extrait from Marc-Antoine Barrois to plenty of occasions that don’t require a cummerbund, but it’s so beautiful, so intense and so darkly seductive that, frankly, it demands the respect of the chicest of dress codes. Led by dizzyingly deep, almost umami-like notes of leather and tobacco, rose and pink peppercorn adds a little soft freshness, while notes of saffron and butter bring a smooth creaminess into the mix. Rich, resinous and volcanic it’s a whole lotta fragrance – bold, but never overpowering, and further testament (as if it was ever needed) to Quentin Bisch’s perfume expertise.

£295 for 50ml at harrods.com

Metal Lavendar by Matiere Premiere

If there’s one thing I’ve learned this month, it’s that apparently I’m craving the crisp, aromatic freshness of lavender – because here’s another scent that centres on that particular note. Released this month, Metal Lavender is Matiere Premiere’s take on one of perfumery’s most classic notes, blending two lavenders together (one grown in the founder-perfumer Aurélien Guichard’s eco-certified fields in Grasse, France) with musk. Initial spray brings out the cool, icy-clean side of lavender, which then mellows into a more comforting, softer take on the floral as your body heat warms it. And, while the lavender definitely evolves on your skin, it’s worth saying that it never strays into that granny/detergent territory. This scent might divide opinion, but it certainly feels like a modern take on one of perfumery’s oldest ingredients.

£250 for 100ml at matiere-premiere.com

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Hermessence Musc Pallida by Hermès

Musc Pallida originally joined the Hermessence line back in 2018 as an eau de toilette. Now, the house’s perfumer Christine Nagel has revisited the formulation and upped its concentration to an eau de parfum. As you might guess from the name, the result is a soft, skin-like perfume that showcases the notes of musk (musc) and iris (pallida). Dreamy and sophisticated, the scent opens with a burst of powdery-floral iris (think petals, not root) that then mellows into a wonderfully warm-but-not-stifling, suede-like, creamy musk. Perhaps the most notable aspect of this scent is Nagel’s use of aldehydes, which keeps the iris away from “vintage makeup” territory, and instead verges clean, light and fresh. Plus, it has impressive longevity that once sprayed, lasts for hours.

£300 for 100ml at hermes.com

Salt by Perfumer H

Earlier this week, I stopped by Lyn Harris’ Perfumer H outpost on Chiltern Street in London to acquaint myself with the brand’s full line (more of that to come). There are so many of Harris’ fragrances I love, but one that especially resonated with me on this trip was Salt. This is a perfect springtime scent with top notes of coriander, rosemary and white sage bringing an initial vegetal bitterness, followed by cool-spicy cardamom and fresh-floral rose and angelica, then evolving into cedar, patchouli and orris root. Imagine you’ve rented a beautiful cottage by the sea. It’s twilight and you are raising a glass of Cynar and tonic to your lips, a herb garden to one side of you, a forest to the other, and a bracing sea-breeze chilling your cheeks.

£160 for 50ml at perfumerh.com

Portal by Kingdom Scotland

Another superb spring scent, this time more on the warm botanical side. Inspired by Scotland’s ancient forests, Portal is herbaceous and woody balanced with zesty-fresh bergamot and dry, earthy vetiver and oakmoss. Classic, cologne-like and infinitely wearable at this time of the year when I crave a little comfort on a cool, rainy morning.

£140 for 50ml at kingdomscotland.com

Banana Rush by Juliette Has A Gun

This is a whole lot of fun. According to most trend forecasters, banana is set to be one of the big notes of 2026, and boy is it here in spades. An initial blast of deliciously ripe banana is given intense, sugary depth from maple syrup, opening into a sweet tropical two-some of coconut and frangipani flower, then creamy vanilla. I’m not usually a gourmand guy, but what I liked about Banana Rush was the drydown, which increasingly gave off the vibe of freshly bruleed brown sugar on top of a banana cream pie. Something I’m looking forward to spritzing on my next baking-hot beach day.

£100 for 50ml at spacenk.com

Pool by Tsu Lange Yor

Speaking of feeling the rush (geddit?), last week I also made sure to check out the pop-up for Troye Sivan’s brand, Tsu Lange Yor, at Space NK on Oxford Street. Of the six fragrances on offer (you’ll also find candles, cashmere jumpers and beautiful oil burners as part of the brand), I found Pool incredibly intriguing. At its heart is a mouth-watering note of tomato leaf, piquant and vegetal, given a wonderful watery greenness from notes of cucumber and lychee. Cool spice from tangy red pepper and coriander are tempered by juicy raspberry and bergamot. I suggest you dip a toe in. Quite possibly calling it as my scent of the summer.

£126 for 50ml at tsu-lange-yor.au (or at Space NK)

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Dizziak Hard Serum

I have an annoying patch of hair at the crown of my head that, when cut too short, sticks straight up where the rest of my hair lies flat. After a recent haircut went awry, I have been dealing with this turkey-like plumage once again. However, the difference this time was that I had Dizziak’s Hard Serum to hand. Rather than the gloopy gels in pots of my teenage years, this serum has a smooth, slick, aloe vera-like texture that stiffens when applied to the hair, meaning it’s perfect for styles that require sleekness and control. Frizz-beating, hydrating, light and buildable (should you need), it had the power to keep this troublesome tuft in check without leaving my hair feeling like a crunchy helmet.

£28 for 50ml at dizziak.com

Aesop Resolute Facial Concentrate

As I approach my 40th birthday, I have been increasingly interested in what serums I can start using to both keep my skin in tip-top condition, and also ensure I stave off sharpay-like lines for as long as possible. Retinoids are widely seen as one of the best ways to do this – these Vitamin A compounds are designed to speed up cell reproduction and boost collagen meaning more supple, resilient and smoother skin. However, they can also be irritating. That’s why Aesop’s first retinoid, Resolute Facial Concentrate, has been a decade in the making. The core ingredient of the Aussie brand’s formula is Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate (HPR), which is specifically designed to be far less irritating, and thus far better for those with sensitive skin (like myself). I have been using it every other night before bed (along with Aesop’s Gentle Facial Cleansing Milk, B & Tea Toner and Seeking Silence Facial Hydrator moisturiser) and can report brighter, more even skin texture as well as reduced pore size. Worth noting, it also smells wonderfully aromatic, like going to sleep in a warm woodland. Perfect with a forest sounds sleep playlist.

£79 for 25ml at aesop.co.uk

39BC Sage Water Oil Body Cleanser

Speaking of forests, my showering highlight of the past month has been 39BC’s Sage Water Oil Body Cleanser. Not only a beautiful luxurious texture – a silk-like liquid that turns to a fine lather when smoothed over slick skin – but a delicious scent. If you’ve read NOTES for a while, you’ll already know my love for a petrichor fragrance, so this oil is just my style – that calming earthy, verdant vibe, combined with a damp, subtly woody note of moss and mineralic salt all mingling in the shower steam. It’s like washing in a warm waterfall from a historical novel surrounded by trees and rocks. A welcome bit of escapism before the day really kicks in, an eye-catching bottle, and it leaves your skin superbly soft.

£39 for 280ml at 39-bc.com

Horace Vetiver Primavera Beard Oil

For the hirsute amongst us, a beard oil is a daily essential to ensure you keep your beard nourished and neat. However, I find the scents of most traditional iterations tend to err on the side of lumberjack – heavy woods and spices. If you want something fresher for spring, French grooming brand Horace has just released its Vetiver Primavera oil, which is based on its EDP of the same name. Citrusy and grassy-woody, it is light, zingy and elegant – the perfect choice for your beard on the brighter days ahead.

£13 for 30ml at horace.com

Kiehl’s Cucumber Conditioning Cleanser

I first discovered Kiehl’s Cucumber Conditioning Cleanser on a trip to New York over a decade ago. I loved its aromatic, fresh scent (cucumbery and sagey) and its rare, creamy-yet-gel-like texture. Since then it has been near-impossible to find. I looked for it when I travelled in Europe, I looked for it when I travelled in the US, and each time I asked in stores, I was told it was out of stock. I convinced myself it was discontinued. Then a couple of weeks back, my husband spotted it in the Kiehl’s outpost in Gatwick and picked me up a tube. It’s still superb, leaving skin feeling clean, but not tight or dry, as other gel cleansers do. Is it back for good? Who knows. I can’t see it on the Kiehl’s website yet or Gatwick’s, but it is available at various places on the internet and currently through Stansted duty-free website. I will be stocking up.

£17.80 for 150ml at london-stansted.worlddutyfree.com

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Mezcal Musc by Horace

French grooming brand Horace is on a bit of a roll with its fragrances right now. Having only got into the scent game in 2024, Mezcal Musc is its sixth release following Vintage Vanilla (one of my favourite new juices of last year). And what a superb way to continue the series. Mezcal Musc brings that uniquely deep smokiness of its namesake Mexican spirit to the fore, blended with guaiacwood, pimento, pink peppercorn, birch tar, and woody-aromatic davana. Spicy and green and smoky, like the scorched embers of a green wood fire, cooled and extinguished a rainstorm.

£62 for 50ml at horace.com

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Tilia by Marc-Antoine Barrois

Yes, I realise I just talked about Ganymede in my Valentine’s Day post, but humour me as I bring another Marc-Antoine Barrois EDP to your attention. I don’t know if it’s the incessantly overcast weather, but this superb solar has brought me so much joy over the past month. Tilia is like a walk through a flower garden at the height of summer: honeyed yellow (linden blossom and Spanish bloom) and sweet-crisp white florals (jasmine and orange blossom) mingle with the soapy, powdery-ness heliotrope, underpinned by hay-like vetiver and a dry, cedary, resinous note of Ambrofix (think amber but with the volume turned WAY up). Sunshine in a bottle.

£200 for 100ml at marcantoinebarrois.com

Own Time by This Works

Have a look at any fragrance ad and, culturally speaking, the general consensus around fragrance is that it’s something you should apply to energise you ahead of a night out. That’s what makes Own Time, the new scent from wellness brand This Works, so different. Combining neuroscience know-how and the input of fragrance expert Alice du Parcq, this EDP is intended for wear in the evenings in order to rebalance, destress and prepare our busy minds for bedtime. You can read more about the science behind the fragrance here, but the olfactory result is a spicy, woody, cocooning mix of notes, each chosen to help prepare your brain for better sleep: pink peppercorn (uplifting), cardamom (reassuring), sandalwood (calming). Cool spice that warms through mellow rose to a fuzzy, cashmere-y musk conclusion. Cosy.

£80 for 50ml at thisworks.com

Metal by Homework

Rooted in the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Homework is a brand that creates fragrances adhering to the holistic principles of TCM to balance body and mind. That means it offers five eau de parfums, each one dedicated to the five basic elements in nature: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Of the five, I was particularly drawn to Metal – a zesty and cooly spicy mix of lime, mandarin, pink pepper and aromatic bay, that dries down into lightly warm notes of tobacco, Chinese cedar and ho wood. Apparently, this fragrance designed to enhance clarity, strength and focus, which feels apt considering I am currently going through the anxiety-piquing process of selling a house.

£85 for 50ml at homeworkstore.co.uk

P.s. If you’re near Bedford or Battersea in London, you can also buy this IRL at Not Another Jungle, which is where I was introduced to the brand.

Segreto by Brunello Cucinelli

Brunello Cucinelli dropped three additions to its Incanti Poetici fragrance collection in December (a little late to the party on this one, apologies), all designed by the legendary Alberto Morillas. FYI this is the man behind icons including Acqua di Gio, CK One and Versace’s Dylan Blue to name a few. Of the three, I keep coming back to Segreto – a cosy, floral and ambery blend of mandarin, bergamot, orange blossom, benzoin and sandalwood. Resinous but not cloying, citrusy but not sharp, creamy but not sickly, it’s been a wonderfully comforting wear that’s been like a warm Italian breeze during this past month’s grey, rain-laden British skies.

£225 for 100ml at harrods.com

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Let’s start perhaps with the most controversial: cumin. Now, I realise that for a lot of people cumin can verge into “BO” territory, but for me, that animalic, savoury, sweet-spiciness brings a distinct raw sexuality to a scent. Like bodies in motion, it is a note that feels like those moments of anticipation where you approach someone on the dancefloor of a nightclub – cumin brings a hot, heavy, overt masculinity that’s hard to resist.

Next, leather (or its slightly more fuzzy and approachable cousin, suede). Much like its fabric counterpart, leather is a note that delivers that skin-like slinkiness in a fragrance. Smoky, velvety and deep, there is a muscularity to a leather note – a powerful warmth that is intoxicating, soothing and seductive.

Vanilla has a slightly different ‘sexy’ profile. In contrast to cumin and leather, there is an element of comfort, giddiness and decadence to a vanilla note. I would say it falls to the more romantic side of the spectrum – a note that feels warm, luxurious and reassuring, like receiving a massage from someone you love by candlelight.

Finally, saffron. This is a note that combines a lot of the qualities of the notes already mentioned. Saffron has an inherent floral spiciness and soft leatheriness, but what I think makes it truly sexy is its unique lacticness. Not as sweet as a vanilla note, saffron’s milky fluidity brings a soft intimacy that’s hard to describe. It’s seductive and subtle – a mouthwatering note that gets more magnetic as it matures on your skin.

It’s usually a selection of these four notes in various combinations that tend to appear in fragrances I consider '“sexy”. So, as the most romantic night of the year approaches, I wanted to share a few that are currently on my fragrance shelf with you. Enjoy.

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Ganymede by Marc-Antoine Barrois

Leathery, clean and mineralic, infused with saffron’s signature milky florality – crisp, metallic and decadent. Named after one of Jupiter’s moons, there is a distinctly sexy otherworldliness to this scent. Its inherent coolness and ethereal nature gives Ganymede a unique sort of unknowability – and that makes it (and its wearer) all the more intriguing. One for men of mystery.

£200 for 100ml at marcantoinebarrois.com

Fugazzi by Borntostandout

While there is a big dose of saffron in Fugazzi, here the cumin is the star of the show, with the juicy, saccharine citrusiness of mandarin warmed by heady incense, woody vetiver, and earthy moss. In the background, vanilla and a milk note bring a combined creaminess, and there’s a comforting, chalky powderiness from iris. The result is a scent that feels mischievous, intoxicating, skin-like – hard to decipher and completely insatiable. A complement magnet.

£173 for 50ml at harveynichols.com

June 28 by 19-69

I have tried my best not to repeat fragrances I already mentioned in my cumin-centric post from this time last year, but this one bears repeating. June 28 by 19-69 is one of my best recommendations for cumin lovers. Dark and animalic, raw and raunchy, its mix of saffron, pepper, musk, cumin and myrrh feels heady and illicit – a writhing body glistening with sweat. This is a scent with no inhibitions.

£165 for 100ml at nineteen-sixtynine.com

Above Us, Steorra by Aesop

If you’re looking for something more on the cosy, intimate side of the spectrum, the latest addition to Aesop’s fragrance line is the one. Above Us, Steorra is front loaded with warm spices (cumin, cardamom, cinnamon) and frankincense, and dries down into a sweet, deliciously resinous mix of vanilla and labdanum. Snuggly and opulent, like a cashmere sweater on bare skin.

£150 for 50ml at aesop.co.uk

Eau d’Hermès by Hermès

Originally released back in 1951, this is one of those classic fragrances that I never feel gets the popular recognition it deserves. It was designed to replicate the smell of the interior of an Hermès bag, so there is a big dose of leather here (quelle surprise), that is complemented by bitter citruses (bergamot, lemon, petitgrain), dusty-floral aromatics (lavender, sage, geranium), and spices (cumin, cardamom, coriander seed, cloves). Initially fresh and spicy, this juice mellows on the skin, the leather maturing alongside light woods (birch, sandalwood), and honeyed tonka bean and vanilla. Feels like stolen moment in the cloakroom at the opera. Properly old money, complex, and proof that seventy-five can still be devastatingly handsome.

£113 for 100ml at hermes.com

Leatherize by DS & Durga

While this is meant to be a layering fragrance for use with other DS&Durga juices, I think its power is best executed when worn solo. As you might guess from the name, Leatherize is an absolute leather bomb: dark and smoky, like the smell of motorbike tyres sizzling on the tarmac and catching in your throat. Rugged and roguish, a scent that suggests its wearer is one wild ride.

£155 for 50ml at libertylondon.com

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Patate Douce des Caraïbes et Carotte d’Afghanistan Eau Triple by L’Officine Universelle Buly

Just before Christmas, I went to Selfridges in London to have a nose around the concession for L’Officine Universelle Buly (or Buly 1803) – the only UK outpost of the cult French grooming, home and fragrance house. While I had fond memories of picking up a tube of their Pomade Concrete hand cream during breaks in the Paris Fashion Week schedule back in my GQ days (the brand’s delightfully overstuffed Rue Bonaparte flagship was equidistant from two locations that often hosted catwalks shows), these pitstops hadn’t left me with much time to savour the full range of Buly’s water-based ‘Eau Triple’ scents. But better late than never – and what a collection. While there are numerous highlights (I’m thinking there’s a future post here), Buly’s six-piece ‘Les Jardins Français’ capsule especially captured my imagination – particularly Eau Triple Caribbean Sweet Potato and Afghan Carrot. Before smelling this, I couldn’t have fathomed a sweet potato note, but this scent is proof that it should be used more often. Sweet and rooty, this note mingles with the powdery, earthiness of carrot and the dry warmth of vetiver to create something that’s both truly unusual and distinctly wearable. Vegetal, starchy, a little lactic, aromatic with a dry sweetness, it’s a beautiful, soft skin-scent with a savoury bite. Hard to describe, beautiful to wear.

£144 for 75ml exclusively at the Buly counter in Selfridges, London. buly1803.com

Carte Blanche by Ode Ona

Last week I was invited to a dinner to celebrate the arrival of Ode Ona’s Carte Blanche eau de parfum in the UK (it was launched internationally in 2023). Ode Ona is a fragrance house based between Hong Kong and London, whose founder, Ruth Chao von Gehren, looks to create juices that combine scent and psychology to shift the wearer’s mindset and mood. Carte Blanche is designed to help calm the minds of overthinkers – pretty on-brand for me TBH. Beyond this precis, the notes present were personally appealing too: sage (one of my favourite notes with all its dusty, soft vegetal-ness), cardamom (that unique mix of cool-warm spicy), pine needle tea (sappy-yet-crisp) and tart, fresh notes of bergamot, black peppercorns, all drying down to warm, dry, citrusy amyris and sandalwood. While wearing, it evolves from comforting and cool to comforting and warm – energising and reassuring, the perfect start to a busy morning.

£125 for 50ml at odeona.com

Fortuitous Finley by Penhaligon’s

On these cold, often wet British winter mornings, I find myself craving warm, green scents – and Fortuitous Finley is spot-on. Matcha and pistachio come in hot with their rich, green creaminess, mingling with warm-spicy star anise and cardomom, then given bite by mineralic salt and cool cracked black pepper – finishing off with smooth, rich leather. Like galloping through a forest protected from the crisp, dewy morning air by a fuzzy fleece.

£245 for 75ml at penhaligons.com

Millésime Impérial by Creed

Launched in 1995, this is an aquatic scent from the golden age of aquatics - I like to think this is the origin story of the bottle. What sets this apart from many of those salty-citrusy ozonics of the era is the presence of blackcurrant, mandarin and orris in the mix, giving the formula a signature buttery, juicy fruitiness. Dries down to a sophisticated musky, cedar-y afterburn that lasts for hours and hours.

£220 for 50ml at creedfragrances.co.uk

Depending on the sources you choose to read, the current explosion in the popularity of fragrance and fragrance collecting means that anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 new perfumes will be released over the course of 2026. Now, I can’t see into the future per se, but an awful lot of fragrances cross my path and, from that, I can take a solid shot at what I think this means for the market – and for my fellow olfactory obsessives.

Now, when it comes to upcoming releases, there are scant details out there right now for what will be dropping over the coming year. However, taking into account the few we do know about and what I’ve noticed in the releases over the past year, here are my totally subjective 2026 fragrance trends.

Fragrances with a backstory

One trend I’ve seen becoming particularly prominent in the luxury bodycare world over the past couple of years is new brands with beautifully intricate worldbuilding. Take 39BC, a body oil-maker whose entire vibe is dedicated to reimagining Roman bathing rituals, from the beautiful bottles, to the notes used, to the copywriting referencing the love affair between Cleopatra and Marc Anthony. Or To My Ships, a personal care brand launched by Daniel Bense (formerly of Aesop and Sunspel) that draws on classic literature, notably The Illiad, to tell the stories of its scents. While the founder is present, these brands are about creating moods rather than simply listing off ingredients – and, crucially, the founder is more hidden than in much of contemporary perfumery, where the founder or the perfumer tends to be the selling point.

As the fragrance market gets evermore crowded, I think we will start to see this sort of approach adopted more widely by perfume brands with fragrances sold on their backstories and the mood they are creating as opposed to simply on notes – much like Maison Margiela’s Replica line which attempts to re-create ‘moments’ in time that build into a coherent brand universe – a new era of brands that bring more to the table that “you’re gonna smell great”. It’s gonna be about the vibe.

Scent accessories

Right at the end of 2025, Victoria Beckham dropped her Portofino ‘97 Necklace, featuring a fully functional, charm-sized version of the Portofino ‘97 fragrance bottle hanging from a brushed brass chain that could be refilled from a full-sized edition via a matching mini funnel. It sold out. The idea of accessories for your fragrance isn’t necessarily new (Acqua di Parma sells leather sleeves for its bottles, Jo Malone London sells alternative lids), however, as the market expands, I think accessories will get more adventurous, innovative and covetable – in a similar way to how traditionally home scent and/or grooming brands such as Diptyque, Officine Universelle Buly or Trudon offer all manner of accoutrements for the maintenance and elevation of their candles (stands, trimmers, toppers etc). I predict perfume pedestals, artist-collab refillable bottles, and the inevitable gimmick or two along the way.

Savoury gourmands

While we have been inundated by dessert-style gourmands over the past few years (lots of milkshakes, lattes and jammy-creamy creations), certain notes have started creeping onto my radar that suggest a shift to the more savoury. Notes of tea (black, green, matcha, chai) are bringing a herbaceous, tannin-y note into trend after the dominance of coffee over the past couple of years (see: the just-released Infusion de Santal Chai by Prada). Salt has crept in with its signature mineralic bite. Nuts are increasingly bringing a woody, buttery edge. While these have been bubbling in the background of scents over the past few years, I think they’ll the hero notes of a new wave of gourmands over the coming year – less sweet and more serious, yet still delicious.

Bonkers fantasy notes

Over the past year, we saw a latex note in Vyrao’s beautifully squeaky and sexy Ludeaux and a beautiful, burnt lava note in Terre d’Hermès Intense (one of my most-worn fragrances of the past year – see below). Fantasy notes have always been an attention grabber for smaller independent houses, but as we move into 2026, I think we’re going to start seeing more of them at the major brands, and even perhaps in the mainstream. After all, in a market that’s seeing more and more releases, what better than a unique note to truly sets you apart?

Extraits a go-go

Back when I was at GQ in the late 2010s, I remember seeing an explosion of “intense” flankers to classic perfumes – sometimes these were slightly stronger concentrations and sometimes these were an entirely new formulation focusing in on a specific note in the original mix. Nearly a decade later, and I feel that we have started to see the next wave of flankers in a similar vein, but this time it’s “extraits”.

Through 2025, we saw extrait editions of existing ‘icon’ fragrances dropped by Byredo, Prada, By Killian, Maison Francis Kurkdijan and more. I think this will most definitely continue over the coming year because, frankly, at significantly higher price points, these are a bit of a money spinner. Less cynically, perhaps, I think this is also because those who wear fragrances really want those fragrances to last on their skin and be super present – subtle fragrances are increasingly out and bigger, ballsier scents are increasingly in. We are in our collective maximalist era.

However, I think the real trend predictor is more along the line of Brioni’s Les Extraits de Parfum collection or Parfums de Marley’s Les Extraits triptyque, both of which launched last year. These capsule collections exist separately to the houses’ existing lines of perfume as a unique offering of extrait-strength juices in distinct bottles. We’ve already seen this with Louis Vuitton’s Les Extraits Collection, but I predict we’ll start to see more brands across the board start to release specific ‘extrait de parfum’ lines with fragrances that are only available at this concentration (and higher price point).

Check back in this time next year and we’ll see if I was right…

What trends do you reckon we’ll see hitting the perfume scene over the following year? Let me know in the comments below.

I hope you enjoy the post below. All that remains for me to say is thank you for being a part of Noted in 2025 and Happy New Year!

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Rose with Insect by Perfumer H

Dark and addictive, yet light and distinctly wearable, this eau de parfum opens with a burst of alluring sweet citrus and peach, before a clean, delicate rose blooms through. Then the magic happens: bitterness emerges thanks to neroli and cardamom, both adding a wonderful carnality, before drying down into an hypnotic musky, skin-scent-like rose. Romantic, dangerous, frankly unique – if a rose was a carnivorous plant, this is what it would smell like.

£160 for 50ml, perfumerh.com

Iris Root by Loewe

Part of Loewe’s ‘Crafted Collection’, Iris Root is a superb showcase of the versatility of this singular note. Unlike a scent that’s trying to recreate the florality of iris petals, this concentrates on capturing the signature chalky creaminess of orris butter (aka the waxy result of steam-distilling the plant’s roots). This is spliced with the grapefruit-spiciness of tart Timut pepper and the light leatheriness of angelica. Soft, clean, masculine – and all contained within one of the most beautiful, tactile bottles to hit the market this year.

£365 for 100ml, perfumesloewe.com

Blindfold by L’Objet

The sexiest scent of the year, and my go-to black tie scent of the past party season. For me, the reason this is so seductive is because of how subtle and intriguing it is. Top notes of milk, saffron and tobacco bring an initial wave of comforting creaminess, before sandalwood, cedar, amber and anamalic notes emerge, giving a sensual, suede-like drydown on the skin. A silk shirt with one too-many-buttons undone in a bottle.

£200 for 100ml, l-objet.com

American Psycho by 19-69

My scent of the summer, American Psycho is a crisp, sparkling aquatic. This EDP lives in something of a liminal space between a cold morning shower and a scoop of lemon sorbet in an extortionately-priced, overly sparse Manhattan restaurant. Opening with bitter-citrusy bergamot and squeaky clean white florals, salty marine notes, sage and cool, green pine before evolving into a bracing, dry-woody afterburn (cedar, sandalwood). Super-fresh, yet slightly dangerous

$195 for 100ml, nineteen-sixtynine.com

Terre d’Hermès Intense by Hermès

A bonkers release from Hermès, but one that’s kept me returning to it again and again since its release. This EDP might be a flanker to the iconic Terre d’Hermès, but there is very little of the original’s DNA here – maybe with the exception of the opening bergamot note. However, this citrusy start is quickly subsumed into an explosion of dark, earthy coffee, cool, cracked black peppercorns and sticky, spicy liquorice root. Then the kicker – a fantasy lava note, which brings an intense, burnt mineralic note to the finale. Wild.

£85 for 50ml, hermes.com

Vintage Vanilla by Horace

This winter, I found myself craving the hearty, suede-like solace of vanilla, and Horace’s Vintage Vanilla was just the ticket. Rather than saccharine and sweet, this eau de parfum blends that classic creamy note with leather, black pepper, saffron and cumin for a cleaner, more savory take on vanilla. Soft, inviting and tactile, like a fuzzy alpaca cardigan.

£62 for 50ml, horace.com

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Unlike many of its luxury peers, Louis Vuitton took its time getting into fragrance. Having started out making luggage for well-heeled Parisians back in 1854, the house flirted with fragrance in the early half of the twentieth century, launching Heures d’Absence in 1927 (which was limited to just 300 bottles – and whose formula was destroyed in a fire in the 1950s) and Je, Tu, Il in 1928. Réminiscences and Eau de Voyage followed in 1946. Then… nothing. Vuitton didn’t release a new scent for the next 70 years – that is until the brand dropped seven new fumes designed by nose Jacques Cavallier Belletrud (aka the man behind Aqua di Gio and L’Eau d’Issey) back in September 2016.

Since then, a person could argue that the house has certainly been making up for lost time. Today, less than a decade later, the house has around 30 scents for sale in its collection right now and has released over 50 iterations in that time – all masterminded by Cavallier Belletrud. And while many of the fragrances themselves have managed to get themselves cult followings in their own right, the very bottles these juices are contained in has also become a coveted classic.

Created by industrial designer Marc Newson, the minimalist bell-shaped flacons with their delightfully light-touch, LV monogrammed magnetic lids and sans serif lettering are not only beautiful, but they’re also refillable. It’s a design that has become so impressively iconic in such a short period of time that even when architect Frank Gehry reimagined it in an exploded, twisted form for the launch of Vuitton’s ultra-luxe ‘Les Extraits’ line (£455 a bottle), it’s still instantly recognisable.

Having only really had a passing association with the range up until this point, last Friday curiosity got the best of me, and I headed to Bond Street in London to the Louis Vuitton flagship armed with blotters to nose around the current line-up. Out of a strong selection, here – in no particular order – are four that most definitely caught my attention…

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Pacific Chill (2023)

Look, I’m just going to get one thing out of the way before you scroll further – it turns out that out of all the Louis Vuitton offering, I really liked the house’s California-inspired capsule collection in their eye-catching ombre bottles. You can take the boy outta Berkeley alum, but you can’t take Berkeley outta the boy etc. However, the thing is that these fragrances are united by the easy-breezy, citrus-y freshness that made me fall in love with scent all those years ago. Pacific Chill could have been made for me – a delicious mix of all of my favourite notes. An initial blast of zingy lemon, orange, mint and basil leaf sweetens with fragrant, juicy blackcurrant and apricot, and mingles with earthy-spicy carrot and coriander seeds before drying down into sticky, sexy fig, dates and musky ambrette. Makes me want to surf. A sparkling new addition to my summer rotation.

£260 for 100ml at louisvuitton.com

Imagination (2021)

Fresh and spicy, Imagination opens with a burst of bright, zesty citruses (Sicilian orange, bergamot and citron) before cooling notes of fresh ginger, neroli flower and freshly grated cinnamon creep in. However, this scent is all about the dry down – a big, ballsy dose of ambroxan and black tea emerge from the wings, leaving a resin-y, tanin-y, soapy afterburn on your skin.

£260 for 100ml at louisvuitton.com

Sur La Route (2018)

Those of you who’ve read Noted for a while will know my love for a leather ‘n’ grass scent. And while I will always have love for Byredo’s Rodeo, LV’s Sur La Route is right up there with it. A sparkling, tart citrus opening of lemon, bergamot and pink peppercorns, mingle with green notes of grass, hedoine (god, I love hedoine) and cardamom before giving way to a rich leather-y, balsam-y base that lingers on. Summery, sophisticated and intriguing – a slick city guy whose more rugged side emerges as the sun goes down.

£260 for 100ml at louisvuitton.com

On The Beach (2021)

Another from the California collection, On The Beach leans into another of my favourite genres: aromatics. Yes, we’re starting with citrus again, however this time it’s yuzu with its signature, saccharine bitterness, combined with the green-bitterness of neroli. These are joined by rosemary and thyme, and a salty, mineralic fantasy note of sand, before retreating into the shade of an earthy, dark green cypress dry-down. A zippy freshie that crescendoes to a soft woody conclusion – cool and comforting.

£260 for 100ml at louisvuitton.com

• If you liked this, you might also like my totally subjective guide to Aesop’s fragrances.

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Sous Bois by Nancy Meiland

Regular readers will know my love of an earthy, petrichor scent – maybe it was the countless hours I spent camping in rain-soaked forests in my Scouting days. Sous Bois from Brighton-based perfumer Nancy Meiland is an absolute masterclass in the genre, bringing together a whole host of verdant woods and leaves (pine, fir, cypress, papyrus) with chalky-bitter flowers and grasses (moss, hemlock, vetiver, iris), cool spices (black pepper, cloves), watery notes and deep, rich, resinous birch tar and tonka. The result is a scent that feels like it was distilled directly off the forest floor from under a layer of sopping-wet fallen leaves and rain-slicked, moss-covered stones – and I can’t get enough of it.

£135 for 50ml at nancymeiland.com

Coffea by Jil Sander

There are a couple of real standouts in Jil Sander’s first scent collection, Olfactory Series 1, but Coffea is a really intriguing little number. Opens with a hit of dry, powdery iris before the smooth, creamy sweetness of aldehydes creeps in. Then the coffee note hits, initially vegetal before maturing into a more roasty-toasty note. A fresh, almost green fragrance that, thanks to the coffee bean note and rich, sticky balsam, becomes suede-like, rich and autumnal in the dry down.

£190 for 100ml at selfridges.com

Vintage Vanilla by Horace

As we verge into full-on winter scent season, there are few notes that deliver the warmth and wrapped-in-cashmere-comfort of vanilla. Horace’s latest release is a beautiful take on the note, blending it with leather, cumin, nutmeg and saffron to create something that’s sweet, smooth and sexy all at once. Cosy and soft like a well-loved winter scarf.

£62 for 50ml at horace.com

Kist by Anfoh

Another winter warmer. Kist is one of the three fragrances just launched by grooming guru, Robin James (aka Man For Himself) – rich sandalwood and Texan cedar cosied up with ambery, resinous benzoin. Very ‘Stetson in the city’. Masculine, nostalgic, woody, and easy-to-wear; a strong start to his own-brand scent journey that makes me think this is the first of many to come.

£74 (currently £62.60 in Black Friday sale) for 30ml at anforh.com

Brioni Eau de Parfum Suave by Brioni

When I went to test out the new Les Extraits de Parfum collection at the Brioni townhouse in London last month, I also took the opportunity to familiarise myself with the Italian tailoring house’s entire eponymous perfume line. Boy, I’d forgotten what an absolute banger Brioni’s Suave flanker was. Released last year, this is a deliciously sophisticated take on the 2021 original that swaps out the fresher ozonic and powdery notes for cool spices (pink peppercorn, cardamom) and sweet orange, leather, amber and the dry warmth of sandalwood and vetiver. A perfect festive party season fume.

£125 for 100ml at brioni.com

Bright Spice by Happy Paul

This cheeky little barbershop splash by Happy Paul is the latest drop at Moss Bros. Refreshing and zingy, it’s got all the classics in the mix: citruses (lemon, bergamot), aromatics (eucalyptus, rosemary, spearmint), woods (sandalwood, cedarwood), a sprinkling of pink peppercorn and cinnamon for spice. What’s a little more unusual is the citrine crystal in the bottle, intended to bring an extra spritz of good energy to an already joyous juice.

£45 for 50ml at moss.co.uk

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Here in Europe, roses aren’t what we collectively tend to think of as traditionally masculine. While men in the Middle East have worn rose scents for hundreds of years, here in the West, our history and gender dynamics surrounding these flowers means they are seen as inherently feminine to the point of cliche. The result of that is that rose scent tends to get used most often in women’s perfumes, spliced with vanilla to create sticky gourmands or resinous woods to create sexy, velvety concoctions. However, as a man, I have always loved the scent of roses because of their ability to also bring a refreshing, almost citrus-y clarity to perfumes. While the big brands tend to pull rose in a very predictable, traditionally ‘feminine’ direction (even a touch ‘granny’), rose has this wonderful ability to be far more multifaceted – and far more gender-fluid.

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I think I can trace my personal love of a rose scent back to my mother, who used to have a miniature bottle of YSL Paris on her dressing table. While I don’t remember her really wearing it (on nights out in the Nineties, she was more of a Paloma Picasso gal), I used to enjoy a quick sniff of it when she wasn’t looking. It’s strong and bold and overtly feminine, but it’s not sickly sweet: with big notes of rose and violet as well as orris, bergamot, jasmine and all manner of greenery, it leans into the more clean, powdery side of the note. However, whilst I appreciated it, I never actually wore it. Maybe, as a kid who knew deep down that he was gay as he verged into his double digits, those associations with wearing what would be seen as a girl’s fragrance would have the potential to bring even more attention to a deep battle I was already having with my own sexuality. I verged aggressively into the Y2K ozonics that were trending for men and forgot about flowers.

I rediscovered rose just under a decade ago. Back in 2018, I was offered the chance to craft my own fragrance with one of the perfumers at Floris. For a perfume head, this is a sort of once in a lifetime kinda chance. Not only is Floris the oldest perfume outpost in the UK, but for nearly three centuries it’s created fragrances for all manner of famous faces (necks?) including Ian Fleming, the Duke of Windsor, Marilyn Monroe, Beau Brummel – the list goes on. While Floris’ shop at 89 Jermyn Street in London’s Mayfair has undergone restorations and modernisations over the years (its mahogany counter out front was bought at the Great Exhibition in 1852), it’s wild to think this is still the same store the founder, Juan Famenias Floris, opened in 1730 after moving to England from Menorca – and perfume consultations still take place in his original perfumery at the back of the store.

Sitting down with the perfumer in this room, lined with floor-to-ceiling glass cabinets whose shelves are crowded with all manner of oils and extracts, we started to sample some of the bases which would be our jump-off point for the notes we’d then add to create something suited to me. However, as we started to sample the traditionally masculine woods and spices that I felt I should be wanting because I am a boy, I had a sudden realisation: this was my chance to create the rose fragrance I’d always wanted with an expert. Together, we worked on a juice that combined a fresh, sparkling rose note with green notes, warm citrus and woods – crisp, comforting, clean, and a little decadent. The perfumer did a beautiful job. As with all of their previous creations from the past 300 years, the formulation was noted down in one of the house’s signature leather-bound ledgers alongside some of those aforementioned celebs in case I ever need a refill – but I’m still working through this first bottle nearly a decade later.

Since then, rose has become a note I actively keep an eye out for in new perfumes, and there are now a few I return to regularly when I need that citrusy, floral hit. Below are a few of my favourites that are formulated in a way that prove roses aren’t just for girls – they’re for everyone.

Rose with Insect by Perfumer H

Lyn Harris’ latest is rose with a vegetal, animalic edge. The dry, soft pink floral note has been combined with juicy peach, tart-green neroli and crisp bergamot, layered with creamy sandalwood and cool-spicy cardamom. Imagine if a rose was a carnivorous plant – and had just had its latest meal.

Rose with Insect eau de parfum by Perfumer H, £160 for 50ml at perfumerh.com

Rose Atlantic by DS & Durga

A jammy, blooming rose note underpinned by clean, tart citrus peel and a big dose of salty sea air and dry grass. Imagine standing in a coastal rose garden on a chilled, cloudless afternoon as cold waves crash over the sand dunes below – perfect for cooling down on a warm day.

Rose Atlantic eau de parfum by DS & Durga, £163 for 50ml at dsanddurga.com

Rose 31 by Le Labo

A delightfully dirty rose, where the central floral is blended with slightly sour cumin and earthy, woody notes. One of the least sweet rose scents out there, this is sexy and spicy and addictive.

Rose 31 eau de parfum by Le Labo, £172 for 50ml at lelabofragrances.com

Rose Highland by Jorum Studio

The most chilled rose on this list, Rose Highland mixes the powdery floral with the cool-yet-sweet spice of freshly ground pink peppercorns, mineralic notes, heather and clove. Like walking through a rose garden in a storm, being buffeted by wind and the stone pavers slick with fresh rain underfoot as your clothes catch on the thorns.

Rose Highland extrait de parfum by Jorum Studio, £132 for 50ml at jorumstudio.com

Hermessence Oud Alezan by Hermès

I’ve never been a huge fan of the one-two punch of oud and rose in a fragrance – yet this scent, which only lists notes of oud and rose in its pyramid, is one I always return to. I think it’s because the oud doesn’t overpower the whole formula, merely acting as a spiced support to the wonderfully powdery central rose note. Elegant, sophisticated and uplifting – a truly black tie take on the genre.

Hermessence Oud Alezan eau de parfum by Hermés, £290 for 100ml at hermes.com

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My husband is a keen horticulturalist and takes great joy in watching Gardeners World on the BBC on a Saturday morning. I am not, by any means, a keen horticulturist, but at the weekend I find a certain ASMR-like comfort in letting the verdant visuals and Monty Don’s dulcet tones wash over me while I drink coffee on the sofa. While most of the programme’s practical contents and technical terminology is all Greek to me (or should that be Latin?), sometimes there will be a feature that sticks with me. In the last episode, I was intrigued to see that now’s the time to be planting iris bulbs in order to ensure your own personal carpet of their purple-blue florals is ready for the spring. However, this clearly isn’t just something that’s on the minds of those with green fingers – I have been to two fragrance brand events this week where both new collections have included a juice that showcases iris.

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We might still be living in the great era of the gourmand, but it seems to me like iris – or, more specifically, orris root – is potentially the new sleeper hit note no-one’s talking about.

This is great news for me as iris is one of my absolute (no pun intended) favourite notes. Maybe it’s because I grew up obsessed with books and magazines, but the buttery, powdery, paper-like scent of orris – aka the dried and aged roots (rhizome) of iris flowers – reminds me of running my fingers over the pages of a freshly printed tome.

I also realise that iris can be a divisive note, one that gives some sniffers the overwhelming impressions of old make-up or parma violets. Like lavender, some see it as a bit ‘granny’. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed a parma violet, however, for those who don’t, in my opinion this new generation of iris scents that are arriving on the market really skew on the savoury of the note as opposed to the sweet, blending it with fresher, woodier, earthier notes that emphasise that dry, warm, comforting, suede-smooth side of the note.

Below are a few of my favourite iris-centric scents that riff on this contemporary approach to the powderiest of powdery notes, both historic and hot-outta-the-perfumery. Whichever catches your attention, I can guarantee you one thing – your granny’s fragrances these ain’t.

‘Les Extraits de Parfum’ Iris Exquis by Brioni

Part of Brioni’s four-part ‘Les Extraits de Parfum’ collection that launched earlier this month (honourable mention to Papyrus Éternel in this line), the Italian tailoring house enlisted the help of perfumers Karine Vinchon-Spehner and Michel Almairac to compose this symphony of iris, black tea and lavender. While crisp, cool and aromatic on first spritz, this dries down into a warmer, darker leatherier afterburn – and, as it’s an extrait de parfum, lasts and lasts on the skin. Just like the gorgeously rippled, octagonal Lalique glass bottle, this is sophisticated, alluring and has a real presence – one that starts understated, but gets more powerful as time goes on.

Brioni Les Extraits de Parfum Iris Exquis extrait de parfum, £260 for 80ml exclusively in-store at Brioni 32 Bruton St, London W1J 6QR. brioni.com

Iris Pallida by Marie Jeanne

Longtime readers of this Substack will know I’ve already talked about this one in my interview with the man behind Marie Jeanne, Georges Maubert. However, the fact that this is one of the most addictive iris scents I’ve smelled in recent years bears repeating. This take on iris showcases how warm and comforting and silky-smooth it can be. Green-woody and fresh, there’s a real velvety quality to this scent thanks to a buttery hazelnut note. This feels like slipping on a cashmere jumper – perfect for autumn.

Marie Jeanne Iris Pallida eau de parfum, £165 for 100ml at bloomperfume.co.uk

Ilio by Diptyque

Totally seasonally inappropriate to wear right now, but Diptyque’s Ilio is another interesting take on iris – this time combining it with fruit to give a sunny, summery take on this particular floral. The fruit in question is prickly pear, which brings a sparkling, watermelon-like edge to the powderiness of the iris, combined with an exhilarating one-two punch of bergamot and jasmine. The result is chalky, aquatic and luxurious, like lying on a volcanic beach in the crisp, dry heat.

Diptyque Ilio eau de parfum, £135 for 100ml at diptyqueparis.com

Iris Root by Loewe

Launched last week, Iris Root is part of Loewe’s new ‘Crafted Collection’, a trio of scents dedicated to showcasing three specific perfumery notes (the other two being oud and vanilla). If you are one of those people who just think of iris as the smell of lipstick, this fragrance is the rebuttal, with the buttery-softness of iris given bite by the inclusion of fresh-spicy Timut pepper and light, floral leatheriness of angelica. Soft, clean and masculine, this is the scent version of a great suede jacket.

Loewe Iris Root eau de parfum, £365 for 100ml at perfumesloewe.com

Vermeil by Bienaimé

If you’re looking for more of a ‘lipstick’ take on iris, Vermeil by recently revived Paris perfume house Bienaimé is a superb option. Yes, there’s that powdery, palma violet-y undertone there from the combination of iris and violet, but there’s a rich softness from rose and from almond-like heliotrope, a crunchy earthiness from carrot seeds, a soapy, waxy quality from aldehydes, a cheeky, sweet tartness from raspberry. There’s a 1940s vintage feel to this, but it’s also modern, fresh and intriguing – a scent I’ve found very addictive and joyful.

Bienaimé Vermeil eau de parfum, £160 for 75ml at fiole.co.uk

No. 19 Poudré by Chanel

Look, I might be slightly biased on this one as Chanel No. 19 will always remind me of my wonderful friend Mina, who has worn it for many, many years (something that I found incredibly glamorous when I first met her aged 20 and thought Abercrombie & Fitch’s Fierce was the height of sophistication). What’s magical about No.19 (and what’s kept it relevant since its launch in 1970) is that bold mix of bitter, freshly-snapped greenery, crisp florals and powdery iris at the heart of the scent. 2011’s No.19 Poudré takes that signature and amps up the iris note, blending it with white musk to give an alpaca wool-like softness and comfort. Elegance bottled.

Chanel No.19 Poudré eau de parfum, £149 for 100ml at chanel.com

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I’m sure, dear readers, that Aesop needs no introduction from me – the Melbourne-born brand’s liquid hand soap in its sleek brown glass bottles with distinctive beige and black labels have become a byword for a certain urbane sensibility. Of course, liquid hand soap existed before Aesop, but it was Aesop that defined a genre – elevating something as run-of-the-mill as washing your hands after chopping onions into a tactile, intoxicatingly scented ritual.

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However, while most people might just leap straight to those glass pump bottles when they think of Aesop, there is far more to the brand than merely soap. A few of my favourite recent purchases from the brand include their Sarachina incense (which burns beautifully and has such a delicate, spiced-woody scent), Eleos Aromatique Hand Balm (which sinks in superbly well) and Immaculate Facial Tonic (a delightfully refreshing, non-abrasive exfoliator). What unites all of these products is not only efficacy, but fragrances that bring joy, ritual and indulgence to that functionality – arguably Aesop’s superpower over the many, many brands that have attempted to come for their crown over the years.

Pure fragrance was not in Aesop’s initial offering as a brand. Established in 1987, bottled fragrances would only appear on Aesop’s shelves in 2005 with the launch of two eau de toilettes: Marrakech and Mystra (since discontinued). It was only in 2014 that Aesop launched eau de parfums, reformulating Marrakech EDT into Marrackech Intense EDP in the house’s now-distinctive, simple bell-like brown glass flaçons. Over the past decade, this range has expanded to ten offerings – so it was high time I got back into a store to give them a try.

One of the great things about Aesop is that scent consultations are totally free, so I booked in with Miguel at the Chelsea outpost for a guided tour of the fragrance range. And, having had a few days to mull it over, here is my totally subjective take on the best bottles currently on the sleek, stainless steel shelves – in no particular order.

Karst

Vibe: Nordic beach, the forest behind you and the sea in front of you

With juniper, bergamot, pink pepper, cumin seeds and vetiver, it’s got that herbacous-yet-fresh quality I look for in a fragrance this time of year. Like sitting on a windswept beach under a blanket in autumn. Cool and comforting, spicy and refreshing, woody and crisp.

Karst eau de parfum by Aesop, £145 for 50ml at aesop.com

Hwyl

Vibe: Morning in your tent in the forest

Like Karst, Hwyl is very forest-like and herbaceous, but it is much warmer and, in my opinion, wintery – there is a closeness from resinous (but not overpowering) olibanum, freshly pummelled spices and cypress, which brings the note’s signature ‘sticky verdant’ quality. Thyme is also very present, which brings its distinctive, suede-like green-ness into the mix. Bright and uplifting, yet cosy.

Hwyl eau de parfum by Aesop, £145 for 50ml at aesop.com

Gloam

Vibe: Sexy sunset

Two of my favourite notes combine in Gloam: the rich, soft leatheriness of saffron and the squeaky florality of mimosa. Add to that the powerderiness of Iris and sparkle of jasmine, undercut with patchouli, and the result is an intriguing woody floral that’s as seductive as it is soothing.

Gloam eau de parfum by Aesop, £145 for 50ml at aesop.com

Above us, Steorra

Vibe: Watching a shooting star from your bedroom window

Spicy scents that absolutely slap you around the chops with their spices have their place, but I tend to prefer something more subtle. Above Us, Steorra is exactly my kind of spicy scent: a spritz initially opens with an exhilarating cool-fresh hit of cinnamon, cumin and cardamom, before warming with frankincense, then settling down into an afterburn of rich, ambery, smooth vanilla, labdanum and elemi. Not just for after-dark, this scents will come into its own on winter days.

Above is, Steorra eau de parfum by Aesop, £145 for 50ml at aesop.com

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Gelsomino a Freddo by Acqua di Parma

After a year where it felt like every other new scent had a shot of coffee in the mix, there’s something happening with perfumers and tea right now – not necessarily as a spotlight note, but more as a supporting note that brings a new dimension to others. Gelsomino a Freddo, the new EDP from the ever-prolific Acqua di Parma, is a great example. It’s got that classic autumnal combination I love: crisp florals (jasmine, iris) and citrus mixed with cool spices (pink pepper) and warmed by woods, but given an crunchy, tannin-y earthiness from patchouli and black tea. I have found it hard to put down during these transitional weeks since its launch.

Gelsomino a Freddo eau de parfum by Acqua di Parma, £205 for 50ml at acquadiparma.com

Monsieur Bienaimé by Bienaimé

Last month, I was invited to Liberty to learn more about Bienaimé – founded by French perfumer Robert Bienaimé in 1935 and revived by Cécilia Mergui in 2021. Apart from its beautiful Art Deco packaging, I was impressed by Mergui’s approach to the fragrance offering – distinctly era appropriate for a brand at its peak in the early twentieth century, but with a clean simplicity that make the formulations relevant for wearers today. While I’d encourage you all to try out Vermeil (a waxy, wonderful, powdery lipstick scent), it was Monsieur Bienaimé that really caught my attention. Created in homage to Robert, this is the kind of formulation most people would think of as a quintessential gentleman’s scent: bergamot, cedar, geranium, vetiver. However, the twist in the mix are the notes of fresh ginger and nutmeg, adding cool bite. A modern, and infinitely wearable, take on a classic.

Monsieur Bineaimé eau de parfum by Bienaimé, £160 for 75ml at libertylondon.com

Rodeo by Byredo

I got a bottle of Rodeo back when it launched as a Harrods exclusive back in 2016. I found it so intoxicating that I drained the bottle until I had a mere dribble left. When I went to replace it, I discovered it had departed the UK to become an LA city exclusive – and by the time I got to LA two years ago, I was told in the Byredo outpost in Echo Park that it had simply been discontinued. That means for the past near-decade I have been eking out that original bottle, wearing it only for super special occasions. So you can imagine my surprise and delight when it suddenly reappeared like a wild stallion at Selfridges as a store exclusive. I rarely say this, but Rodeo is one of my all time greats – and it single-handedly showed me how versatile a leather note can be. Its combination of green violet, subtle mineralic, animalic amber and rich leather is wonderfully light yet present. Approachable, yet unusual. The whole feel is like mounting a brand new saddle on a crisp morning out on the grassy plains, salty dew in the air as the sun rises. All I can say is get a bottle while you can.

Rodeo eau de parfum by Byredo, £220 for 100ml at selfridges.com

Ludeaux by Vyrao

I dig that we live in this era of functional fragrances – aka scents that are specifically designed to influence our moods and minds. Yasmin Sewell’s Vyrao has been at the forefront of this functional fragrance wave since 2021, crafting fragrances for grounding oneself (Mamajuju), creativity (Witchy Woo), and joy (Sun Rae). It’s two latest are dedicated to arousing the more sensual side of us – and of those, Ludeaux is designed to put wearers in a flirtatious mood. Note-wise, that means you’ll find a big dose of juicy peach inside that frosted pink bottle, cut with white florals, creamy osmanthus, soft musk, tonka, ambrette and an intriguing fantasy note of latex that mingles with the magnolia to give an interesting, ‘squeaky’ plastic edge. Cosy and skin-like, it’s a lightly fruity, milky and suede-y dream – a subtle, sexy spritz.

Ludeaux eau de parfum by Vyrao, £89 for 30ml at vyrao.com

Mission Fig by La Bougie

I know, I know – we’re verging out of fig season. However, before we get into the deepest, darkest days of winter, I’d like to suggest this little number from West Cork-based perfume house, La Bougie. A wonderfully soft fig fragrance, given depth from light woods and a comforting grittiness from a note of “parched earth”. Like the branch of a fig tree that’s freshly snapped off in the breeze.

Mission Fig eau de parfum by La Bougie, £60 for 50ml at labougie.co.uk

Quiet Riot by Diem

In case Diem hasn’t crossed your radar, it’s a British perfume house that makes in small batches and sends you small 10ml vials of fragrance that you can swap in and out of its signature branded scent case. Made in the UK and cruelty-free, there are a few bangers in the selection, but my top pick is Quiet Riot – an earthy, slightly powdery, but bright mix of matcha (tea again!), magnolia, osmanthus, citrus and violet. Smooth and sharp all at once, it’s a fragrance that I have found quite addictive, and one that doesn’t fail to put a smile on my face in the morning.

Quiet Riot eau de parfum by Diem, from £20 at diemscents.com

Bleu de Chanel L’Exclusif by Chanel

This is a whole lotta fragrance. While L’Exclusif is officially the latest Bleu de Chanel flanker, this new take on the scent doesn’t have a huge amount in common with its 2010 namesake. Rather than the citrus, pepper, ginger and woods of the original, this is an intense meditation on amber, labdanum and sandalwood. Rich, resinous, dark and powerful, it’s also formulated to the concentration of an extrait de parfum, meaning you’ve got to make sure you like it as it’s gonna LAST when you get it on your skin. A very grown-up scent that’s bold and Bond-like.

Bleu de Chanel L’Exclusif extrait de parfum by Chanel, £158 for 60ml at chanel.com

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Back when I started this Substack, I wrote about how my fragrance addiction can be traced back to my father bringing me those coffrets of mini scent bottles back from his business trips abroad. I still wear, or at least appreciate the occasional whiff of, many of those today. The only one I still have in regular rotation is Cerruti 1881, but there are plenty more distinctly Nineties names that are all, in their own way, responsible for getting me hooked on fumes: Hugo by Hugo Boss, Cool Water by Davidoff, Eternity by Calvin Klein, Safari by Ralph Lauren – the list goes on. However, for my first school discos, I developed a particular penchant for Giorgio Armani’s Acqua di Gio. Crisp, aquatic and citrusy, for a young kid who had just tipped over into double digits, it felt sophisticated and grown-up without feeling like an old teacher drenched in too much piney, throat-tickling aftershave. I got through that mini bottle, then got through bottle after bottle of the full-sized stuff over the coming years – until I moved on to Crave by Calvin Klein as I hit my later teenage years.

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My love for Acqua di Gio had laid dormant until the death of its namesake, the legendary Italian designer Giorgio Armani (pictured above), a couple of weeks back. As the first think pieces and tributes started to hit my push notifications, I was travelling into London for work and, getting off the tube at Oxford Circus, I felt compelled to take a detour to go and smell the scent once again.

The closest place was that bizarrely narrow-yet-tall Boots on Oxford Street by the steps that lead down to the Photographer’s Gallery or Sweatbox Soho, depending on your vibe. Tucked right at the back is a compact L-shaped run of glass cabinets packed with fragrances on the inside and shelves holding sad samples of generally empty celebrity scents with their spray nozzles missing (the more shoplift-inducing stuff is, of course, behind lock and key).

Acqua di Gio campaign, 1996

To my excitement, in the cabinet clearly designated as the men’s selection, there was a surprisingly healthy selection of Armani’s offerings. Acqua di Gio was there, but so too was a delightfully Y2K double-hitter of Armani Code and Emporio Armani He (the 2020 reformulation of 1998’s Emporio Armani Lui), as well as a rather impressive selection of flankers for all.

In fact, the sheer volume of remixes of these three scents was a reminder of just how beloved Armani’s fragrant creations are – and how they continue to resonate with different generations, albeit with a tweak to the formulation or strength here and there to reflect changing tastes.

Unlocking the glass cabinet, the incredibly patient sales assistant dutifully spritzed juice after juice onto a forest of mouillettes, filling the corner of the shop with a cloud of citrusy Italian goodness. Acqua di Gio is just as good as I remember, and just as wearable nearly 30 years after its launch: zesty and herbaceous, with that distinctly chilled combination of marine notes, zingy citruses and white florals – understated and easy-to-wear, yet with that deceptive complexity that makes it a super addictive sniff. I was back in my teenage bedroom again getting ready to go out.

However, the hot take after my extensive blotter test is that the 2024 flanker, Acqua di Gio Profondo eau de parfum, is even better than the original – or is certainly more suited to my nose circa now as opposed to three decades ago. And when I say that, I mean the 1996 Acqua di Gio, not the first Acqua di Gio Profondo that was released in 2020 (although I’d say it’s superior to that, too).

I think the reason I responded so well to this particular take on the classic is that it really amps up the aquatic notes at the heart of the fragrance, which is frankly the reason I fell in love with the original. It is also more tart than the original (perhaps this is from the addition of green mandarin) and has more of a minerality overall. If Acqua di Gio is like waves lapping an Italian beach on a warm summer’s day, Profondo is like waves slightly further down the coast hitting the cliffs – more clean, sharp and sparkling. However, both are united by their casual, sophisticated, sexy-yet-approachable wearability.

A bit like looking at photos of the legendarily covetable wardrobe of tailoring that Giorgio Armani designed for Richard Gere in 1980’s American Gigolo, when it comes to Acqua di Gio there are notes of the era in which it was born, and yet there is a timelessness that can be appreciated today.

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Great Lord by Vilhelm Parfumerie

Even before I’d smelled the sample, I already had very high expectations for Great Lord by Vilhelm Parfumerie. Not only is it the latest sniff from one of my favourite fragrance houses (VP’s Modest Mimosa is one of my all-time top scents), but it’s also by perfumer Jérôme Epinette. Epinette is not only the man behind Modest Mimosa, but also behind other personal faves including Byredo’s Sundazed (RIP), Bibbi Paris’ Swimming Pool and Noyz’s Shitty Day. This didn’t disappoint. Firstly, it’s a saffron-centric scent – a rich, savoury-floral note I find incredibly addictive. Secondly, that note is paired with a lot of other elements that are totally interest-piquing. The initial blast is sweet-ish plum and warm-spicy cardamom, before opening into slightly-squeaky, powdery violet, juicy apricot-y osmanthus and saffron, then drying down into a base of light leather, musk, patchouli, and sugar cube (you’ll get it when you smell it). Sexy, intriguing, unexpected and begging to be worn with a silk shirt in a dark bar.

£256 for 100ml at libertylondon.com

London Hall by Jusbox

Speaking of saffron, let’s talk about London Hall, the latest release from Italian perfume house, Jusbox. Here, the initial blast is an intriguing mix of cumin, saffron and lemon that morphs into a bouquet of sweet, clean florals (most prominently jasmine and rose) before drying down into rich, smoky leather, vetiver and cedar. A weird scent, for sure, but that kind of really good weird that makes you stop for a second sniff just to figure out what in hell is going on. A rare freshie that turns into a smokey – aka a perfect start-of-autumn scent.

£250 for 78ml at harrods.com

Forest Lungs by The Nue Co

The Nue Co’s scents are designed to shift your mood – that intersection of aromatherapy and aromacology that’s being dubbed ‘functional fragrance’. Inspired by Japanese forest bathing, Forest Lungs is a calm combination of pine and cedar, a splash of crisp bergamot and smoky, incense-y vetiver, patchouli and that classic, dried-tree-sap vibe that only resinous benzoin brings to the party. Imagine lighting a few joss sticks and lying down on a cashmere blanket in the middle of the woods as a light, warm breeze blows through the trees. Very that.

£125 for 100ml at uk.thenueco.com

Fierce by Abercrombie & Fitch

In case you haven’t noticed, we’re going through a Y2K revival right now and, as a card carrying Millennial who lived through it all the first time around, there are fewer brands that sum up the ‘oughts more than Abercrombie and Fitch. That’s not just in the bootcut-jeans-and-flip-flops visual aesthetic, but also when it comes to fragrance. Fierce by Abercrombie & Fitch launched in 2002 and became one of the great “going out-out” scents of my university years – so I was overjoyed to see it make a comeback earlier this year with a re-release at The Fragrance Shop. Sadly, the iconic original bottle with its headless six-pack decal has been changed in favour of clear glass, but that juice inside is still excellent: gargantuan notes of sweet citrus, pine and sea surf combine with cardamom, rosemary, sage and jasmine before exploding into oakmoss, rich woods, dry vetiver and musk. It’s one of those overtly ballsy scents that you just can’t ignore – and one you’ll recognise even if you didn’t wear it back when it first dropped. I’m hoping the kids today rediscover it and enjoy it just as much as I did, but for us elders, I’d also recommend you get a bottle for the pure nostalgia of it all.

£58 for 50ml exclusively at thefragranceshop.co.uk

Verdant by Eau de Boujee

God, this is beautiful. As you’ll know if you’ve read Noted, I love a green fragrance and have quite a few in my collection – but they all bring something new to the table. The thing that sets Eau de Boujee’s Verdant apart for me is its super interesting notes of cactus and timur, a spice that’s used in a similar way to pepper, but when distilled has a citrusy, aromatic quality. The initial opening of neroli gets an interesting, green-bitter, ‘snapped vegetation’ quality from the cactus, while the timur brings in a hint of grapefruit rind. This then softens into a greenhouse-y combination of tomato leaf and white flowers before drying down into a skin-on-skin-like, light-green-woody musk. Insanely wearable, wonderfully addictive and a must-add for any fellow green-frag fans like me.

£160 for 100ml at eaudeboujee.com

Oud Zarian by Creed

Ordinarily, I find oud – or more specifically the way the note has been used in a lot of western perfumes – tricky. This is mostly because I started writing about and reviewing fragrances at GQ during the great oud explosion of the 2010s, when it was chucked haphazardly into a bunch of fragrances. With a few notable exceptions (Jo Malone London’s Velvet Rose & Oud Cologne Intense and the sadly discontinued Tobacco Oud by Tom Ford come to mind), the result was a slew of fragrances where the note was paired with heavier-than-heavy lashings of leather, smoke, whisky and spice that clawed at the back of my throat. TLDR, it’s taken me a while to turn myself onto the note again. Thankfully, this precious wood is going through somewhat of a renaissance at the moment, with perfumers using it in new and interesting ways. Creed’s new Oud Zarian is a prime example. Not only is it a remarkable out note in itself (distilled from an 80-year-aged oud – a rarity that’s reflected in the price), this juice has warmth and depth, yet a lightness that is a joy to discover. The opening is fresh, bitter and spicy with notes of bergamot, dried ginger, rose and frankincense. After, this dries down into a sweeter, complex base of liquorice, myrrh and that signature oud – velvety, soft and rounded. It’s an undulating, skin-on-skin dry-down; sexy and deep, but also wearable and not room-fillingly overpowering like so many ouds. Also, scent tends to slide off me rather quickly, so it’s worth noting that this has superb sillage and lasted a good few hours on me (so it’ll probably last for days on most).

£495 for 100ml at creedfragrances.co.uk