Icon; Our New Scent Heroes...

Jovoy, that perfume ‘Xanadu’ in Mayfair, London has a few new brands, either to the store or to the UK, that are so good we may well look at them as potential new icons in the world of fragrance.

Perfume brand Alexandre J has added to its collection a new line: Atelier D’Artistes, which is quite remarkable. There are five in the collection and they differ from the mainline in terms of not just ingredient but also in the very feel of the way they have been mixed.

Firstly E 1

It starts with ginger and bergamot alongside juniper berries so you come straight away to fresh ginger which is almost warm to but not spicy its like a fresh warmth which mingles with delightful rose and jasmine. These are two of the greatest ever flowers and they meld together perfectly with musk, which keeps it soft and rounded. The benzoin and cedar round and ground the magnificent scent. A delicious floral with the warmth of the ginger spice but unusually cool, light and soft

The initial hit is soft and sweet mixed with sharp and fresh, which gives an unusual flirty top. It’s a mix of grapefruit with bergamot on top, which opens fizzy and a rounded off ‘sharp’. The middle is all floral with jasmine, tuberose and ylang-ylang, which gives it is a full, ripe, deeply pretty middle. The bottom softens and gives a ‘cloudy, puffy, soft finish’, which brings this whole scent together. White woods, cashmere woods, vanilla and musk create an unusual take on a woody floral.

This one opens like a morning spring breeze, all grapefruit and bergamot. Its alive, fresh and ever so slightly gourmand with its inclusion of coffee. It then gives a slightly woody hint of smoke and depth with cedar, patchouli, geranium and delicious vetiver which brings down the opening ‘height’. Its warmed at the end with musk and amber all giving a depth to this rather wonderful, aromatic, woody citrus.

This starts with the pungent warmth of cinnamon alongside bergamot and the pretty scent of freesia. But this follows through with that classic musk of rose, jasmine and patchouli, which gives its heart a full, rich, sexy middle. its base is labdanum, tonka and myrrh vanilla and musk which round off the perfume yet give it a little kick at the same time. It’s a warm spice and balsamic fragrance.

And finally E5

kicks off with the lovely light black tea with greenmate and almost astringent bergamot. Its a wow of an opener! Pear, peach, blackcurrant and jasmine give a full, fruity middle that feels Caribbean meets Asia in its fullness. Vetiver, chestnut and musk bring the perfume to the ground yet softens and rounds off the scent.

All of the above is a refreshing take on classics but with such twists that they feel utterly new and extremely delicious and exciting.

La Maison Hedonique

The next brand we have told you about before Hedonique, but its now available in at Jovoy, which is a great window for this rather lovely British brand Lucy Atkinson arrived at the Perfumery only recently. Her passion, her fervour, her joy when describing her scents shows a real depth of feeling and an instinctive understanding of the passion of fragrance.

To quote her :-

“Your nose remembers more than your head; it jogs the memories of your soul. A scent caught on the breeze can make your heart expand with happiness or contract with sudden sorrow. How often have you taken up a piece of clothing placed at the bottom of a drawer and found that a scent has lingered on it? And how often has that scent given solace, even as it made you weep?”

Her four initial perfumes and now the newest addition Inn Saei are all very well thought out, evocative and bold. All are inspired by her own life and are totally (thankfully) uncompromising.

Inn Saei

Described as a ‘smoggy tumult of city life’, it’s a citrus floral but with hints of spice and a musky base. It opens with a burst of grapefruit, sharp grapefruit that ‘rushes’ the nose which soon detects big, lush, florals and then finally softens at the base with calming musks. As ever with Lucy, this has an edge and that’s what makes her such an interesting perfumer.

Lastly, let’s fill you in on Welton London

Although the brand has been in the UK for a while, it’s not a brand we have been able to share with you before. Now its easy to get as Jovoy also stock it as well as being found several other London Stores

John-Paul Welton fell in love with perfume during his many trips to the Middle East, where he fell in love with culture in which fragrance played such an important role. Like the best companies, he knows fragrances give a place an individual identity, they whisk you away they transport you in time and they and release memory. When he decided to explore this wealth of possibilities he created his own refined set of fragrances. He now develops and works in Grasse, in southern France, on all the fragrances. The newest perfumes to be included in the olfactory are Jasmin Sacre and Ionic Amber. These two new fragrances were inspired by his travels, the emotions felt at a specific moment, the beauty of Italy, Egypt, Middle-East, Spain…. therefore they are extremely intimate, so much so when reading them, the French artist Cecil got the inspiration to illustrate the journeys.

Jasmin Sacre; a fresh floral oriental blend

It starts as a celebration of the beauty of jasmine. The warmth blending with the sweet tones of neroli. The deliciously amber-coloured cistus intensifies the extravagant floral heart notes. This perfume is wrapped with white lily, Moroccan rose absolute, and davana with an apricot narcotic accent. Its base is a hint of patchouli with the softness of musk and sandalwood.

Iconic Amber Oud a spicy oud amber blend

Deep, dark sensual oud here, is brought to life with the spicy notes of ginger and cardamom which blend with the sweet honey notes of tobacco. This is all enhanced in the heart notes by saffron and spicy pink berries. Finally, the fragrance reveals rich base notes of velvety black musk, ambergris combined with sandalwood and warm amber-coloured labdanum.

With all the above fragrances and brands these represent a newer way of looking at scent, a story a moment a memory, evoked but scent.