Fancy a scented tour through unexpected florals (via toasted seeds and cool green leaves), autumnal sunsets in California, walled gardens where a warrior goddess might stroll, impeccably tailored heritage, and a gloriously gilded pop fantasy?

Step right this way, because this week Suzy Nightingale & Nicola Bonn are discussing perfumes for taking a calm breath, for making an entrance, for leaning into your own glow, and the pleasure of simply choosing the perfect scent to suit the moment.

They’re also asking whether fragrance can influence mood, considering solid perfume in a new jelly-like form, and finding plenty to discuss in a line-up that moves from poised and polished to maximalist, sensual and gloriously escapist…

Let’s dive in!

Texture gives us another way into a fragrance, beyond identifying individual notes. Does it feel plush or sheer, cool or deliciously warm? Does it settle around you like a favourite piece of clothing, or suggest the pleasure of stepping outside and taking a properly head-clearing deep breath?

From desert velvet, cake-soft warmth and (not too) sweetness to mineral stillness, crisp air and even the smooth touch of an iconic fashion house’s nylon, these scents offer six very different ways to experience texture and touchable, strokable sensations in fragrant form.

For this episode, Suzy & Nicola ask you to re-imagine what the way you experience your perfumes. So close your eyes as you listen to the descriptions, and imagine how they’d feel if you could reach out and touch them…

Suzy & Nicola are back for part two of the Pitti Fragranze roundup, continuing their deep-dive into the perfume launches, houses and ideas that made this year’s Florence fair feel so full of possibility…

From a Chinese-French house capturing the transient scent of sun-dried osmanthus, to Korean brands evoking fire-charred ingredients, graceful calligraphy and fine-dining balances of flavour, this episode travels widely through fragrance’s newest creative terrain. There is also a decadent, night-time gourmand journey through Bandra in Mumbai; a woody incense and two beautifully emotional creations from an Italian poet-perfumer.

Listen on for a perfume that smells of roasted chestnuts, fermented tea and Korean seaweed crisp; a vivid, herbal peach; a “new century” Parma violet growing in a cold spring garden; and a cocoa-rich love story that charts the bitterness and sweetness of heartbreak.

As she mentioned in the last episode, having attended Pitti Fragranze for thirteen years, Suzy felt this was one of the most exciting editions yet. Listen to this episode to hear the breaking trends, new brands and fragrances of note – and discover why Suzy was so excited…

If you’ve ever wondered what goes on in a fragrance trade fair, get ready for all the news as Suzy reviews this year’s Pitti Fragranze in Florence. There are some some thrilling new launches and brands to get excited by, and she reveals some of the trends we can expect to see filtering their way through to the wider fragrance world over the coming months. 

Suzy has been attending the Pitti Fragranze trade fair for thirteen years, and genuinely felt this was one of the best ever years. The overall vibe seemed to be a return to beauty - classical perfumery elements woven in new and intriguing ways, and with greater cultural diversity from brands showcasing their heritage and aromas they grew up with.

We’ll be focussing more in this aspect - as well as talking about the trends Suzy saw emerging this year - in next week’s episode. But until then, enjoy this whistle-stop rundown of some of Suzy’s scented highlights of the show this year… 

Are you feeling the need for snuggly scents yet? Suzy and Nicola are leaning into the cosiness in this week’s episode and have been gathering together some of new launches and favourite fragrances they’ve been wearing as autumn approaches…

The discussion ranges from ultra-sophisticated gourmands encompassing chocolate, warm milk and chai lattes, to a bohemian rose, a truly fantastic new woody scent, and an American niche tobacco fragrance Suzy fell for years ago and a listener kindly sourced a sample of for her. Plus, the #listenerprescription this week is for a ‘friendship fragrance’ to link and be shared by a listener and her best friend who is moving far away...

Presaging the soon-to-be-published autumn edition of On The Scent magazine, this podcast episode finds Nicola and Suzy nose-deep in new iris launches. You cannot have failed to notice this note is enjoying a perfumed renaissance of late, and together they explore one of the most traditional (and costly) notes in perfumery – now made modern by perfumers exploring it in surprising ways.

From one of the all-time classic iris perfumes launching a new version after 114 years, to another historic house who’s just launched a dashingly debonair iris scent; and a brilliantly affordable iris from a high street shop that’s one of their star buys sofar this year… There’s a lot to love!

In this episode our podcast duo are partnering with Estée Lauder for the first in a new series: Fragrant Focus. This is a sponsored segment where they take their time exploring a single scent - smelling it together and sharing their thoughts. And they have an exciting GIVEAWAY for you to enter! Listen and read on to find out how to enter, hear Suzy & Nicola’s reviews of Glimmer, and the beautiful inspiration behind its launch. 

But that’s not all, of course – in this week’s epsiode they have a plethora of exciting new launches to tell you about, from niche names, designer and heritage houses alike. But we begin the show this time with an emotional journey to capture the scent of something very special to Suzy…

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.

From a listener seeking a clean iris vibe replacement for a much-loved (and now discontinued) fragrance, to another searching for an emboldening scent to help her win a fight (literally!) there’s nothing Suzy and Nicola love more than receiving your questions and requests for ‘Perfume Prescriptions’.

It’s something they’ve always specialised in at On the Scent Podcast – it brings them such joy being able to match people to perfumes they’d perhaps never tried or even heard of). And my word, they get a LOT of DMs @onthescentpodcast on Instagram, and messages on the On the Scent Podcast Facebook group, and so it made sense they dedicate an entire episode to do a deep dive on these two fascinating fragrant conundrums...

Think you hate vanilla, or that you’ve tried every type? Think again! This week the award-winning perfume podcast host Suzy and Nicola rate and review five of their favourite vanilla fragrances (five each, that is). Encompassing hip-swivelling seduction, a stunning high street body butter, hugely powerful fragrant talismans, and summery every-day wearability, there’s also a truly affordable modern classic vanilla – created by a Master Perfumer who trained at Chanel, created scents for Frederic Malle, Guerlain, Gucci, Amouage and Atkinsons; but THIS one can be snapped up for under £32! It’s deliciously unexpected, why don’t you dive in…?

This week, hosts Suzy and Nicola welcome back dear perfume pal and friend of the pod (star of two previous episodes), the multi-award-winning fragrance writer, presenter, content creator and now AUTHOR, Alice du Parcq! Alice has always been ‘on a mission to decode perfume in a fun, relatable and objective way.’ Now, added to her perfumed portfolio will be an incredibly gift-able (to self or scent-loving friends) book, created in collaboration with none other than The British Library, called The Philosophy of Perfume.