Buying British Fragrances - Absolutely Magazine - November Issue - by Lawrence Roullier White

For centuries it was the preserve of the select French few, passed from father to son, the near alchemic skill of creating and capturing a scent was a closed shop. The air of the Parisian salons was filled with fragrances prepared with the patronage of the wealthy in mind. Then came the revolution and riding the winds of change was a new breed of perfumer. No longer curtailing to the whims of the French aristocracy, they travelled throughout Europe, to foreign courts, and with them they took their skills. In London, through the network of licensed apothecaries and barbers, the perfume trade flourished; Lavender Hill in Battersea is where the lavender for perfume and soap making was grown and, being an important port, exotic ingredients flooded in from across the globe. Today British perfumers produce some of the most enviable and creative scents in the world. Seek them out, they are sensational. Here is Absolutely’s guide to How To Buy British.

Ruth Mastenbroek is an architect of aroma, creating scents with absolute precision. Every note, every aspect of her creations is carefully considered. There is nothing haphazard, nothing is a happy accident; Ruth has a vision and she realises it impeccably. This meticulousness pays off in dividends, so if you want to feel in control wear her signature citrusy scent. 

When it comes to buying British, there is perhaps no more pertinent brand than Union Fragrances. Encased in a steel Flag of the Union, each bottle bursts with only British derived ingredients. Quince, Mint and Moss uses quince from Somerset, English garden mint and Irish moss. Gothic Bluebell is full of handpicked woodland bluebells from Devon and Dorset. Be patriotic, try the fragrances from this ground-breaking brand, but be aware, they are addictive.

Angela Flanders has two shops in Spitalfields and Shoreditch. If you are lucky enough you might visit one of other of the shops and meet the prolific perfumer in person. There really is nothing more satisfying than meeting the maker – I struggle to select my favourite scent (Mandarin and Mint is right up there), so go along and be guided, hopefully, by the lady herself.

4160 Tuesdays is the number of Tuesdays a person will see if they live to be 80, and I would not mind if I spent every one of them chatting with Sarah McCartney about, well, anything really. Sarah is an olfactory lyricist. Her poetic perfumes reference moments in her life and others, which she bottles for our pleasure. For me, the sign of a must-have scent is when you find yourself looking at an excel spread sheet whilst absent-mindedly waving your wrist beneath your nose. Time To Draw The Raffle Numbers does this to me every time, it is sublime and divine. I want to live in it.

Floris is a fabulous fragrance house with an over 280 years history and, to my mind, its creation Floris No. 89 is one of the most elegant gentlemen’s colognes on the market. Grossmith dates back to 1835 and three of their re-worked original formulae are still in production to this day. However, it is the newer, Floral Veil, which I find completely captivating.

Finally, I have never been more impressed than I was my Matt Zhuk’s first release for his label launch: Ex Idolo. Wary of oud, Matt’s craftsmanship opened my eyes with his fresh, intelligent and so wearable, modern take on the oeuvre. Thirty Three is to die for and is one of the cleverest scents of recent years. Sophisticated and engaging, it’s bound to solicit that question everyone wants to be asked: ‘what are you wearing?’ And, if I were you, I’d keep it to myself whilst simply replying: ‘Oh something British.’