There’s a strong whiff of otherworldliness to today’s news, as mysterious hazes appear in fragrances and shops literally disappear before our very eyes. Our newshound Amanda Carr – writer, trend-spotter and Barnes Fragrance Fair founder – has her finger on the pulse-point
A ghostly haze at Kingdom Scotland might be an industry first
Kingdom Scotland’s hotly-anticipated launch showcases pink pepper, tuberose, frankincense and cedarwood
The beautiful (and long-awaited) new Æthereal fragrance launch from Kingdom Scotland harnesses an innovative technique for fragrance production.
Inspired by the Edinburgh-born physicist James Clerk Maxwell, the name refers to the aether, the invisible fifth element once believed to carry light.
All perfumes are chilled and filtered before bottling, but founder Imogen Russon–Taylor has used her heritage in the whisky world to deploy a processing technique where the final fragrance liquid is not over- filtered. She told us ‘If you hold the bottle to the light you may see a soft natural haze in it. It isn't a fault (or a ghost, ed). It is the natural waxes and lipids of the iris butter and tuberose at its heart.’
To make Æthereal perfectly clear would have required a further, harsher filtration step, so the brand chose in this case to leave in the lipids. Imogen explains: ‘In whisky, where I spent much of my career, that choice has a name – non-chill filtration – and many of Scotland's finest malts wear it with pride. We haven't found another perfume house making same case for fragrance, so we put a small card in every box to explain it.’
So, could we see a move towards a less-processed perfume, where the emphasis is on the richer story around each natural ingredient rather than achieving a crystal clear juice? Watch (or maybe sniff) this space.
12_things founder Charlie Vickery in the temporary space showcasing eight fascinating, story-led fragrances
Atmospheric scenting at 12_things
Should you be wandering down East London’s Hackney Road anytime soon, be sure to pop into 12_things, a cool-as-it-gets new fragrance boutique, before it mysteriously disappears. Charlie Vickery, formerly of Haeckels (now renamed Dulcie), has created a perfume brand that allows the customer to take away not just a fragrance but also part of the store furniture: the drawer that each purchase is displayed in turns into the packaging. Which means that the current store design will eventually disappear, like a ghoul in the daylight…
The first Registration fragrance collection of eight extrait strength scents is also boundary-pushing and aims to shake up what’s ‘expected’ from perfume. Made in the UK, the fragrances bear evocatively atmospheric names such as Void, Vacuum, Infrastructure and Cold_Storage. Note: these atmospheres are more urban than bucolic – for instance, how a city smells before it becomes somewhere to live (Infrastructure), or the impact a warm body has on a space of cold air (Condensation).
These introduce a fascinating and an exciting new voice in fragrance storytelling and style – because, as Charlie says, ‘the world doesn’t all smell like a garden.’
Noses on standby for four reissued GAP favourites – Om, Grass, Heaven and Dream – with a new creation, Harmony
All The 90s Nostalgia Feels - with Gap Beauty and White Diamonds Icon, by Elizabeth Taylor
Nostalgia has been a trend for quite a while in both fashion and fragrance, so no surprise that two big 90s fragrance icons have relaunched and revamped their original, very successful perfumes for today’s fragrance–mad market.
Firstly, Gap Beauty has revisited its original Gap Fragrance collection from 1994, relaunching Dream, Grass, Heaven, Om and the new–for–now Harmony, in a weightier 20% eau de parfum concentration. The original eau de toilettes were beloved and captured the youthful, fun vibe of the 90s during Gap’s heyday as the go-to place for well designed, easy to wear casual dressing. You can still find the originals on resale sites, but according to the brand today’s consumer wants a more lasting and substantial formula, hence the new EDP strength.
The original perfumer Honorine Blanc has been brought back to tweak the original formula into the new strength, alongside Nicole Mancini, both from dsm-firmenich. Deb Redmond, Head of Beauty at Gap Inc. explained ‘We were rigorous about the technical journey, maintaining the core DNA of the original scents while modernising the formulations for how people actually wear fragrance today.’
Apparently, today’s fragrance buyers want feelings, and each of the five fragrances aims to captures an emotion. Dream is warm and woody, Grass is light and restorative, Heaven is soft and sensual, with Om offering grounded sandalwood and ginger. New addition Harmony adds a playful and uplifting vibe with apricot and amber. It’s good to see new launches in the more affordable sector of the market, but sadly Gap can’t tell us when the collection will be launched in the UK, it launched in the USA on July 30th. Back to Vinted and eBay for us, then.
Over at Elizabeth Taylor, it’s 35 years since the original White Diamonds, was launched, creating not just a hugely successful and much-loved fragrance icon but also setting the template for celebrity fragrances throughout the next three decades. Esteemed master perfumer Carlos Benaïm, worked with Taylor on the original scent, has been brought back to give it something of a lift for today’s consumer. For White Diamonds Icon, Carlos has worked alongside fellow IFF perfumer Catapano Natasha Côté-Mouzanner to lighten the fragrance, balancing ‘luminous florals with a modern warmth’. (Word is that the UK launch will take place in 2026. Meanwhile, got any friends travelling Stateside…?)
We thoroughly approve of this 90s relaunch trend. Some of our favourite fragrances were created during this period and we’d be thrilled to see lots of them return. What fragrances would you like to revisit from the 90s? Cartier’s aptly-named So Pretty, perhaps? Dior Dolce Vita, with its jaunty flacon? Prescriptives Calyx, which enjoyed its heyday in that decade…? Let us know! We might just start a petition.
Estée Lauder’s first launch in over a decade, Glimmer, hit the shelves this week
Glimmer Glamour at Estée Lauder
Big news at Estée Lauder. After a gap of some 12 years, the company has released Glimmer Eau De Parfum, its first major prestige pillar fragrance launch since Modern Muse (excluding the odd flanker here and there). We officially declare it worth the wait.
Created by perfumer heavyweights Dominique Ropion, Anne Flipo and Jean–Marc Chaillan, the fragrance is a grown–up, amber floral, both elegant and warm with just a touch of gourmand sweetness (and Chypre whispers, with it). It feels both thoroughly modern while remaining glamorous and wearable, and is intended to add micro moments – glimmers! – of joy throughout the day.
We were introduced to the Glimmer Eau de Parfum world via journalist Sali Hughes and General Manager of Estée Lauder UK, Luke Evans, who explained the extensive research and thought that went into this beautiful new addition to the family. Luke acknowledged that the addition of a new fragrance to the Estée Lauder stable was later than they would have liked, but that getting the fragrance perfect was very important, however long it took.
The fragrance has also captured the current mood for emotionally grounded perfume, it’s been created to stimulate an immediate emotional shift in the wearer, to enable them to capture the tiny–but–wonderful sensory cues felt from those smaller moments of life that can spark joy. An astute move by the brand – goodness knows we all need some glimmers of joy in our current crazy world.
The fragrance also comes in beautiful, weighty bottles carved with stylish semi circles that feel like tiny sculptural works of art in your perfume wardrobe. The fragrance also comes in 30ml, 50 ml and 100ml bottles with the same sculptural design, as well as a travel 10ml version, a nice touch and one that reflects a need for affordable ways to buy at the moment. We think Estée Lauder has a hit on its hands, let us know what you think.
And in other scent news….
While we were at the Glimmer launch, we learned that Andy Warhol (pictured below) – despite creating celebrated art works around the Chanel No5 bottle – was actually buried with a bottle of his beloved Estée Lauder Beautiful. He was never without a bottle during his lifetime, and clearly made sure he’d be well stocked with it in any afterlife!
Andy Warhol photographed at The Jewish Museum/copyright WikiCommons
