Smell is incredibly provocative and perfumes for me conjure up powerful memories. Anytime I get a whiff of Thierry Mugler’s Angel, I remember an old school friend; Youth Dew by Estee Lauder is the familiar smell of my mum in a bottle. My first ever perfume, like most people of my age, was Pretty Peach from Avon, and then I moved on to Versace Baby Rose Jeans – the little tin it came in still remains on my dressing table, currently holding cotton buds. Over the last eight years, I have found three perfumes that I absolutely love, one that’s now been discontinued, one has been around for a while, and another has recently been relaunched and is a brand new discovery for me.
Here are my three perfect perfumes:
Inhale by B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful
Anyone remember B? It was the beauty sister store from Lush that closed down a few years ago. A couple of items survive in Lush stores, but this perfume has been resigned to a tiny blend of essential oils rather than a full blown perfume. The original was woody but feminine, musky with scents of sandalwood that I can breathe in in deep lungfuls. It’s homely and welcoming and I keep a tiny amount of it in the original bottle so I can smell it every now and again.
Lily by Stella McCartney
Between Inhale and Lily, I wore Lola Rose by Marc Jacobs for a while before concluding that it is too sweet for me. Lily is still earthy but not floral and not musky. It’s use of lily of the valley gives it more of a fresh, spring scent. It’s uplifting and light but familiar and incapable of being too overwhelming. With Spring coming, this will be my fragrance of the season – a perfect accessory for Devil Wears Prada style ‘groundbreaking florals’.
Hugo Woman by Hugo Boss
This is one of those smells that literally stopped me in my tracks when I first got a whiff of it on a colleague. I would actually put it slap bang in the middle of Inhale and Lily as it is floral and musky. There’s cantaloupe and green apples which give it some zest and then the same delicious sandalwood I mentioned above, which I love. If it wasn’t for the fruitiness, it could almost be a unisex fragrance, but it’s still feminine and it’s definitely a keeper.
What is your favourite perfume? I’d love some recommendations for next time I have a few hours to kill in duty free!
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