Absolutely: Perfume

-
My inaugural perfume column in the absolutely lovely Absolutely Magazine.

Absolutely Columnist Lawrence Roullier White on the art of scent…

In Hollywood’s heyday it wasn’t unusual for stars to be synonymous with one particular scent. Gloria Swanson scented the set of Sunset Boulevard with Caron’s Narcisse Noir, Cary Grant spritzed Eight and Bob and Grace Kelly famously walked down the aisle - a walk that was to make her Princess of Monaco - wearing a perfume created to replicate the aroma of her wedding bouquet: Fleurissimo by Creed. 

But that was then. Too often people focus on trying to find that single signature scent. My best advice? Spare yourself the struggle and start your own ‘fragrance wardrobe’. In the same way that your weekday suit should be different to the red-carpet-worthy gown you might throw on for an evening out, no one perfume should be expected to fit every occasion.

For day try something light, fresh and zingy. Carthusia’s Mediterraneo is a chic and sparkling number from Capri with crushed lemon leaves and green tea. Or Caldey Island Lavender Water made by Cistercian monks of coastal Wales is a cool and sophisticated minty lavender. La Tulipe by Byredo is uncomplicated, fun and fresh, whilst Aedes de Venustas - a new scent from the New York perfumery of the same name – is an addictive combination of rhubarb and vetiver. This remarkable scent leaps from the bottle and I defy anyone to wear it without a smile. 

Evening fragrances are inevitably more sensual. Tuberose is a night-blooming plant said to drive men wild with desire and thus traditionally harvested only by married women in India. Mona di Orio’s incandescent Tubereuse teamed with an LBD is bound to turn heads.

There are no hard and fast rules when choosing a fragrance, but it is wise to remember the perfume mantra: mood, occasion and season. It is also important to remember that everyone’s skin is different and an individual’s chemical make-up will react in a unique way to every perfume, so while you may love a fragrance you should also make sure that it loves you back. 

In the end, let the people around you be a guide - when friends, waiters, people in the supermarket queue stop you to ask what perfume you’re wearing, you can rest assured that you have found a partnership that will last. And when the glass window of a taxi rolls down and the driver enquires then, trust me, you have found your perfect match.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Holy Trinity: Perfumes Made by Monks

-
Image
The rarefied aura that surrounds fragrance dates back to the remotest times of antiquity, when incense and fragrant oils would be offered up to the gods and deities of the ancient world. The Arab world is credited with introducing modern perfumery to the West, having preserved the ancient arts of distillation, evaporation, and filtration that had been lost to Christian society, and in turn heralding great advancements not only in the field of fragrance but of chemistry and science too. In passing this tradition on, Christian monks began to adopt the practice of creating fragrances as an expression of faith, before eventually the art form became available to the wider public, for a price. Today, most perfume is manufactured on a grand commercial scale; a far cry from the artisanal monastic traditions that gave birth to modern fragrance! However, some perfume houses still survive from this bygone age and serve to remind us of our industry’s history while continui...
Read more

Bâtard Folding Picnic Knife by Lamson & Goodnow

-
Image
As author of The Best Bread Ever; Charles Van Over is expected to show everywhere up with an armful of bread. Whilst Charles enjoys breaking bread with friends; he does insist that the bread is properly sliced with a breadknife, not just ripped apart. The problem here is that bread knives are very long and with their serrated edges they are not the easiest of things to carry around. Charles wondered why a folding bread knife could not be produced and took his idea for a pocket bread knife to Lamson & Goodnow, American manufacturers of the LamsonSharp range. The Bâtard Folding Picnic knife is the result of this collaboration. At Roullier White we believe this may possibly be the best picnic knife ever made. The French word bâtard – and yes it does translate how you think it does – is a shorter and thicker type of baguette. The knife, of course, will cut everything including cheese, fruit, vegetables and as you cannot have a picnic without wine it also has an integral corkscrew. Rou...
Read more

L’Édition Française: French Style File

-
Image
ICON: Leslie Caron ICON: Catherine Deneuve ICON: Alain Delon The Middle Ages: Serge de Nîmes AKA Denim | 1926: Coco Chanel: LBD | 1930: Elsa Schiaparelli: The Wrap Dress | 1933: René Lacoste : The Polo Shirt | 1946: Louis Réard: The Bikini  | 1954: Roger Vivier: The Stiletto Heel | 1955: Christian Dior: The A Line | 1955: Coco Chanel: The Strapped Handbag | 1966: Yves Saint Laurent: Le Smoking |  Selvedge Jean A.P.C Paris Mr Porter Hawsorn Shoe Aigle, Paris Sweatshirt BWGH Paris Carven Paris Roullier White Work Jacket Le Laboureur Digoin The Shopkeeper Store Sweatershirt Maison Kitsuné Paris Hat Le Slip Francais x Jean Paul Gaultier Colette, Paris Vuarnet Meaux, Paris French Roast coffee is a dark roast where the beans are almost charred at a high temperature of 240 degrees. The beans crack twice, once as they release steam and then again as they release their oils. The resulting toasted, smokey ground...
Read more