June 2016: Absolutely Magazine: Lawrence Roullier-White: Summer Nights: Sensual Scents

As we move into holiday mode we start to think of sultry nights, of far-flung destinations where scent hangs heavy in the still air or a warm, gentle breeze blows across a balcony, bringing with it the notes of exotic night blooming flowers. These potent perfumes elude those living in London, however, there are ways we can bring the authentic, alluring aromas of summer into our urban lives.

Fornasetti's La Notte Di Capri candle is natural vegetable wax hand-poured into a ceramic vessel featuring the island's softly moonlit buildings. Top notes of lemon, bergamot, mandarin, galbanum blend beautifully around a heart of pine sap and samphire, that sits on a base of elegant cistus labdanum, iodine and ambergris. You can almost hear the waves breaking on the rocks below.

Frédéric Malle’s Perfume Guns were originally designed to diffuse his own scents in luxury hotels. Frédéric Malle loved them so much that he started using them in his home. They are an efficient way to maintain a scented environment, the fragrance collecting in carpets and curtains. Created by Dominique Ropion and using Headspace analysis, a very modern technology that captures and reproduces the molecular scents of nature, Un Gardenia la Nuit reproduces perfectly the almost carnal smell of the eponymous flower. Lose yourself in the milky, spicy, fruity flower but also fresh and green smell that gardenias exude on a summer night. The Tropical Gardenia candle by gorgeous Australian brand Cocolux, combines intoxicating gardenia in super-ecological coconut wax in an immaculately presented copper vessel. 

Jasmine is a scent that is indelibly linked with passion, a sweet narcotic flower that’s fragrance intensifies at night to attracts the moths that pollinate to its moonlight-reflecting white flowers. For many years, due to the rarity of its ingredients, Joy by Jean Patou enjoyed the reputation of being the world’s most expensive perfume. The fragrance is believed by many to be the best one of the best jasmine scents ever marketed. In this iconic scent that was first released in 1929, Rose de Mai and Jasmine from Grasse mix with Ylang-Ylang and Tuberose, anchored by a light sandalwood base. Rose Centifolia and Jasmine de Grasse are nurtured in the house’s own fields and flowers are plucked by hand at dawn during the months of May and September when the blooms are at their finest. 

With Alter by Sammarco, the perfumer Giovanni Sammarco accentuates the sensual nature of jasmine by pairing it with rose and incense in order to fully reveal the seductive quality of jasmine sambac. Native to Italy, Giovanni Sammarco is a perfume maker who resides in Switzerland due to his love for the country and his love for perfume making. All of his perfumes are 100% hand-made and all raw materials and ingredients used are carefully chosen by Sammarco himself to ensure only premium materials from across the world are used. 

The tuberose is a tropical night blooming plant that is renowned for its heady, almost aphrodisiacal, scent. Hiram Green is a master of natural perfume making, his collection is perfectly conceived and masterfully executed. Moon Bloom is the scent of seduction; the rich, creamy aroma of tuberose absolute. This scent is also perfectly captured in the beautiful Mademoiselle de La Vallière candle by Cire Trudon, a most for the side table as a precursor to a night of passion. Just as appropriate for such an occasion, is the brand new lingerie perfume from Lebanese perfumers; IDEO Parfumeurs. Tubereuse-Mexique is a triumphant rendering of a sensual scent that can be secretly and intimately worn and discovered.