Season 8 • Episode 10: Last of the Summer Scents? + Perfume Prescriptions
From latest launches helping us hang on to summer to those that feel a wisp of autumn in the air, Suzy and Nicola have so many scented suggestions for you to try – including a new niche house by a young perfumer who has both of our hosts incredibly excited. They also have answers for two listeners who wrote in with perfume prescriptions – one seeking a cold plunge into icy incense and swimming pool perfumes, and another searching for a scent to memorialise her memories of a book-loving best friend.
So yes, they’re hanging on to summer with the new fragrance launches discussed, and in what they’re wearing this week, but there is a noticeable change in the weather here in the U.K. There have even been sightings of socks, jackets, cardigans and knee-high boots on the streets! A week ago, such items were unthinkable, but now we’re almost looking forward to the seasons changing again.
So are our hosts ready to give up the summer scents yet? Well ALMOST, but not quite yet. Not when there’s a plethora of new perfume discoveries to delve in to (many of which will prove incredibly versatile in cooler weather anyway, we feel).
Quite apart from some exquisite new fragrant finds to welcome Nicola back from holiday with, we’ve two more of your utterly brilliant Listener Prescriptions to answer, and an exciting update from Madeline – the musician / vineyard worker / medal-winning fighter we helped find new fragrances for last week!
In this week’s episode we discuss…
Jo Malone London Sea Salt & Bergamot
‘Plunge into the exhilarating surf of the Celtic Sea. Immersed in the wild waters, every wave carries a fresh minerality. Joining a burst of bergamot, driftwood anchors this sea-salt fresh scent. Experience the untamed beauty of the British coast.
Top Note: bergamot
(Brightens with its sparkling, citrus freshness)
Heart Note: sea salt
(The crunchy nature of sea salt accord brings both texture and a sense of freshness and purity to the heart of the fragrance)
Base Note: driftwood
(Suffused with the saltiness of the sea, this accord brings a light woodiness to the fragrance)’
Jo Malone London Iris & White Musk Cologne Intense (Suzy highly recommends to our listener in last week’s episode seeking clean / soapy iris fragrances!) Harrods
‘The Iris and White Musk Cologne Intense from Jo Malone London is a light and airy scent that’s perfect for everyday use. It marries powdery iris with creamy white musk, resulting in a distinctive aroma that’s ideal for layering with other fragrances but can also be worn alone.’
Ex Nihilo Demon Dancer (Harrods)
‘Ex Nihilo recreates the defiant freedom of dance in motion.
Inviting you to move to your own rhythm, Ex Nihilo’s Demon Dancer is a call for ‘unapologetic self-expression’. Inspired by contemporary dance performance, the fragrance ignites an inner fire through energetic fruity notes that flow with freeing freshness and grounded intensity.
Top Notes: rhubarb, bergamot, peppermint, blood orange
Heart Notes: orange blossom, blackcurrant
Base Notes: georgywood, akigalawood, ambrofix, musks, tonka bean.’
‘Clean linen accord, white flowers, bergamot, ambrette absolute
Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman, also known as the White City.
The sun drowns the immaculate walls with its rays. It is a bright light that makes eyes squint. Omanis wander the streets, elegantly wearing their dishdashas, a long white tunic decorated with a pom-pom that is delicately dipped in perfume.
'Sun Bleached' is adorned with freshness, in an accord of clean linen, white flowers and a zesty flight of citrus fruits as if biting into a piece of orange, with white musks and sandalwood rounding off its explosiveness.’
‘A sun-drenched Mediterranean fragrance with bright citrus and aromatic herbs, evoking the warmth of golden afternoons along sunlit shores.
Top Notes: orange, bergamot, lemon, mandarin, grapefruit.
Heart Notes: rosemary, neroli, petitgrain.
Base Notes: amber, vetiver.’
Roger & Gallet Neroli Solid Perfume
‘Discover your Néroli Wellbeing Fragrant Water in a new solid format to put on the neck, the neckline and the wrists. An alcohol-free perfume merging soflty with the skin. A new way to boost and facet your trail all day long. Enriched with rose essential oil, known for its relaxing benefits, the solid fragrance is a real caress onto the skin. Its rich and unctuous texture with vegetal waxes encapsulates the olfactive notes and keep the trail longer. A small and nomad format with an addictive gesture, to bring everywhere, wherever you are.’
‘Almond, Ambrette Seeds, Jasmine, Meringue, Pear, Pink Pepper, Powdery Musk, Vanilla.
Ashley Santiago is the youngest perfumer at Givaudan and the co-founder of French Cowboy. California-born with Mexican-Caribbean roots, she honed her craft in Paris, New York & Singapore: blending global flavour with French savoir-faire.’
PERFUME PRESCRIPTIONS:
Update from Madeline (the musician / vineyard worker / medal-winning fighter from last week’s Correspondence Special episode):
‘OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS!!
Suzy and Nicola thankyou so so sooooo much for my prescription!! When I saw that you had dropped a new episode WITH MY NAME IN THE NOTES I screamed!!!! It's perfect perfect PERFECT beyond words. I have already ordered a bottle of the Map Of Hearts Valour and I am currently hunting for samples of the others you both suggested!! I CANNOT wait to let you know how I go, l am so so sooooo excited to try them all!!’
Jessi - aka @grotesquex_o asked
‘Hi Suzy and Nicola,
The day that you answered my cave perfume prescription was one of the best days of my life. I was hiking around the forest on a break at the museum in san francisco where I work, squealing and reveling in our shared zeal! ill remember the feeling forever. Although I haven’t gotten my nose on that perfect perfume you found just yet, my sister and boyfriend know exactly what to get me for Christmas…
I’m writing to you humbly with the hope of another perfume prescription. I love cold incense perfumes, and found that my favorites (Andrea Maack craft and CDG Avignon) have a chlorine note (to my nose at least, tho unlisted) that I crave. Like the way your skin and hair smell after a swim in the pool, not the smell of sunscreen or tropical fruits that so often characterises pool culture-inspired perfumes. Are there any other cold, chlorinated, incense perfumes you love?’
Suzy suggested:
‘By Christopher Sheldrake. The fragrance features Sea water, Pepper, Mint, Musk, Incense, Olibanum, Ginger and Vetiver.’
‘"The situation was too hot for me to handle.” or “A chill ran down my spine.” I simply applied a similar concept to an Eau. The hero of this story is a tree during the dog days of summer. If an incision is made in its trunk, "tears of glass" come out. Without air conditioning, the heat would kill it. Frankincense helps this scent preserve an icy cool." - a note from the brand.’
‘By Jérôme Epinette. Top notes are mint, basil and Ginger; middle notes are Eucalyptus and Geranium; base notes are Blonde Woods, Grass, White Wood, Ambroxan and Light Amber.
You completely forget about time and space when you swim in the pool. The water forces you to go through all the darkest hours and brightest moments of your life. After swimming in the pool, you will be forever changed and have an intense basil-like scent stuck to your skin forever.’
‘SMELLS LIKE: An encounter with an apparition in the cold, damp caves of Count Orlok's castle.’
‘In partnership with Nosferatu and Focus Features, Heretic is proud to present Nosferatu Eau de Macabre, a fragrance inspired by the iconic vampire. A chilling scent of wilting lilacs, velvety vegan ambergris and strikes of lightning that fill the air with petrichor and electricity—It's both delicate and hedonistic. Samples available.
Top Notes: lilac, ambrette
Heart Notes: petrichor, violet absolute, orris concrete, cypriol
Base Notes: vegan ambergris, oudh, labdanum.’
Pip said:
‘Hi Suzie and Nicola. I’m looking for a perfume prescription. I’ve had a bit of a rollercoaster year, my partner and I were lucky enough to have a little boy together after IVF and it’s been a really incredible (though exhausting!) time.
One of my oldest and dearest friends died a month before we had him and there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about her. I’m incredibly sad that we never got to share any of our boy mum moments together. She was always so positive though and down to earth, and I want to remember her with happiness, as well as have a comforting fragrance that will make me think of my little boy when he’s older and him of me.
My memories of my friend when we were growing up together are scented with incense, books and the sticky floors of rock bars! I like vanilla, sandalwood and scents that have a bit of smoke. Thanks so much and thank you for keeping me company on my particularly sleep deprived days, I love listening to you both! Pip x’
Suzy’s answer:
The Perfumer’s Story Old Books by Azzi
‘Character: intelligent, eccentric, rock & roll.’
‘incense, books and the sticky floors of rock bars! I like vanilla, sandalwood and scents that have a bit of smoke.
This character is intelligent, warm – something quite turn of the century about it, a Dickensian style with a twist of rock and roll.
It whispers to you when you wear it and also to those around you by the incredible ingredients of Frankincense, Olibanum, Myrrh, and Elemi with a loyal accord of Patchouli, Amber, Vetivert and Cedar.
With an air of tenancity, this perfume is like a good book you just can’t put down.
Packaged in its own special scent storybook with bookmark.’
(Mini spray from £23)
Olfiction Lab Editions Librido
‘A torrid affair with the printed word. Evoking the glue of book bindings, fresh ink from glossy magazines, new and worn paperbacks and aged leather-bound tomes. A romanticised moment – catching eyes with an impossibly handsome librarian or bookseller.
If perfume be the food of love, spray on.
The formula explores the perfumer’s obsession with books and libraries, a result of hundreds of trials to capture the impression of paper, evolving into a well-stocked library as the ultimate book lovers’ scent.
NOTES / SCENT IMPRESSIONS
Fresh ink, new magazines, spicy accord, lemon
paper, papyrus, new books, rectified cedarwood, iris
Old paperbacks, leatherbound books, sandalwood Australia, ambergris infusion, orris, musk.’
(£50 for 15ml)
Nicola suggested:
‘One spray is enough to bathe the neck in the atmosphere of a world suspended in time. A world of old books, the scent of their leather-bound pages arranged on dark wood shelves.’
Suzy added:
Norfolk Natural Living Annotations Parfum
‘Time stretches in that particular way it does when you’re absorbed. The warmth builds gently. Your skin warms under the glass. The scent of books deepens: paper, leather, that faint resinous sweetness that only appears when things have been left alone long enough. Balsams and benzoin gather quietly in the background, smoothing everything out, and then oud arrives, unshowy, steady. It doesn’t darken the room. It holds it. It smells like confidence built slowly, thought layered upon thought.
By the time you look up, you feel held inside a quietly luminous world. Full of asides. Full of small, private understandings. The sort of place where nothing has to prove itself, and everything feels, somehow, meant just for you.’
Top Notes: cedarwood, bergamot, lemon essential oil,
Heart Notes: rose absolute, coriander seed,
Base Notes: oudh, balsam of Peru, benzoin resin, patchouli
Want to get in touch with feedback or prescription questions for Suzy & Nicola? Message via a DM @onthescentpodcast and they’ll try to get back to you or answer on the show!
