THE www.perfumesociety.org NO.scented 45 CHRISTMAS 2020 LETTER WHAT MAKES THE TREND A BESTSELLING + FOR EXQUISITE SMELL? EXTRAITS +20 PAGES OF FRAGRANT GIFTS Secret Scent-er editor’s LETTER This has surely been the strangest year that any of us has lived through. But as we count down to New Year’s Eve (or more likely, New Year’s Day, with its clean sheet of paper), we think it’s time to celebrate the joys of fragrance and have some fun. In this editiion, we of course bring you our annual scented gift extravaganza. We are anticipating that fragrance gifts will be hugely popular for 2020, and you can read our picks from p.27. We have surely all been been reminded, in this surreal year, of the real power of perfume. It has wrapped us in its arms and comforted us. It has picked us up and lifted our mood. And it has given us a welcome sense of glamour, in a year during which we sometimes didn’t get out of our PJs for days on end. Have you started boogie-ing around the kitchen to Wham yet? I only know it’s all really happening when I first hear ‘Last Christmas’ or Band Aid’s chorus. But there are parallel, perennial Christmas Number Ones in the fragrance world, too. On p.48 in ‘Jingle Smells’, Viola Levy explores those scents which top the bestseller – or best-smeller – charts, year after year. And others, which simply are Christmas in a bottle. Poignantly, many of us won’t be able to spend Christmas with those we love. And it’s always a bittersweet time of year, as we remember people we’ve lost. One of perfume’s magic tricks is to be able to conjure up absent friends and family through scent. So for ‘Spraying Home for Christmas’, p.13, we reached out to the perfume community to ask who they’ll be missing, this festive season – and which scents will conjure up their presence. As you’d expect, we like to be ‘on it’ with fragrance trends, at The Perfume Society. Something we’ve been seeing lately is a revival of a particular concentration, the extrait, or pure parfum. These aren’t necessasrily room-rockers, but instead can offer a more intense and intimate scent experience, for the wearer... and whoever manages to get within nuzzling distance. Dariush Alavi has some fascinating insights into this renaissance, in ‘Extraits, Extraits, Read All About It.’ And you can do just that on p.18. Finally, we share with you Santa’s own Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Intrepid Senior Writer Suzy Nightingale managed to get a Zoom call in with the white-whiskered Christmas whizz just before it all kicked off in the grotto, and you can read about his life in scents – right back to his childhood in Turkey – on p.46. (I learned a lot about Santa’s roots, reading Suzy’s piece.) And I’d just like take this opportunity on behalf of the whole wonderful team at The Perfume Society to wish you a healthy, Happy Christmas – and (fingers crossed) a much, much better 2021… www.perfumesociety.org The Perfume Society @Perfume_Society ThePerfumeSociety THE scented LETTER 3 CONTRIBUTORS scentedTHE LETTER Pratap Chahal Georgia Wellard Having graduated with a BA in English Georgia joined us just weeks before Literature, Pratap decided to follow his lockdown and thus far, is still dreaming EDITOR true passion and train to be a chef. He of attending glamorous fragrance Josephine Fairley was put through is paces in the launches. A former make-up artist with [email protected] kitchens of Gordon Ramsay Claridge’s, Charlotte Tilbury, Georgia had just Chez Bruce, Cinnamon Club, The returned from a long stay in Australia DESIGNER Jenny Semple Orrery and Galvin. Soon after marrying when she landed in our midst, and has enquiries@jenny his wife Nikhat, they decided to do since made herself utterly invaluable as sempledesign.co.uk something together and hit on the our researcher and EA, despite having idea of starting a personalised/ to work from home. In this edition, she ADVERTISING bespoke catering service and (when helped with the epic task of compiling MANAGER Lorna McKay permitted) dining club, offering our annual gift guide. Follow her on [email protected] spectacularly fragrant food. Insta both @georgiawellard_ and Follow them @thathungrychef @gwmakeupartistry SENIOR WRITER Suzy Nightingale [email protected] MARKETING/BRAND RELATIONSHIPS Victoria Evans [email protected] BUYING/EVENTS & SOCIAL MEDIA Hettie Jones [email protected] EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Georgia Wellard [email protected] Jo Fairley Suzy Nightingale Jo is Editor both of this magazine and Suzy contributes on an almost daily CONTRIBUTING EDITOR perfumesociety.org, ventures she basis to our site and frequently hosts Maggie Alderson co-founded after Green & Black’s and our Instagram/YouTube unboxing beautybible.com (a beauty website sessions. From treasured childhood CONTACT US born out of a series of bestselling memories of scent shopping trips with [email protected] c/o 106 High Street books co-authored with Sarah Stacey). her mother, Suzy progressed to Hastings Fascinated from toddlerhood with full-time fragrance fanatic, trading in East Sussex TN34 3ES scents, and a multi-award-winning her fashion job to become a freelance 07748-653288 fragrance writer, this year she writer and acting as consultant became the first overseas journalist fragrance expert for national The Scented Letter is a to receive the US’s coveted Perfumed newspapers, as well as contributing to free online/downloadable Plume Award for her article ‘Venice’s 2019’s The Essence: Discovering The magazine for subscribers to The Perfume Society Perfumed Past’ in last Christmas’s The World of Scent, Perfume & Fragrance Scented Letter. Follow her @jofairley (Gestalten). Follow her @fragrantmaven The Scented Letter is produced for The Perfume Society by Perfume Discovery Ltd. All information and prices are correct at the time of going to press and may no longer be so on the date of publication. © 2020 The Perfume Society. All text, graphics and illustrations in The Scented Letter are protected by UK and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, hosted or otherwise distributed by any means without explicit permission. 4 THE scented LETTER contents 6 13 a whiff of news to abscent friends NOSING SPRAYING HOME AROUND FOR CHRISTMAS 19 Alongside intel from scent’s front line, This Christmas, even if we can’t be LETTER scented discover some of the season’s most with those we love, we can conjure THE fabulous limited edition flacons them up with a spritz or a dab THE MOST INTENSE SCENTS STOCKING FILLERS 2020’s been all about small pleasures. EXTRAITS, Here are some of our festive fragrant faves BEST-SMELLERS Floris Edwardian Bouquet Luxury Soaps £23 for 3 EXTRAITS, florislondon.com FORGIVE ME FOR THE PUN, but as I type these words, everything feels quite concentrated. I don’t need to spell when (Especially gift.’ Christmas perfect signature panther motif, it makes the the makes it motif, panther signature out the reasons, and I don’t wish to let a single cloud Cartier’s to link a and bottle gold a with is Cartier La Panthère. A heady Chypre, Chypre, heady A Panthère. La Cartier is Molton Brown Juniper Philosophy Cozy by appear in what is meant to be a piece glowing with festive boxes the all ticks that that introduction Jazz Bath & Shower Gel the Fire Shower Gel optimism. But because of the forces that have shaped recent more Another too. year, every French opulence that many others enjoy enjoy others many that opulence French £24 for 300ml £15 for 480ml this strangest of years, we seem to have reached a place chic, a bring aldehydes sparkling and moltonbrown.co.uk next.co.uk Heathcote & Ivory The Artist’s Journey Travel Collection READ ALL flowers white – First Arpels & Cleef where things count more than they used to. Every meet- Van of glamour retro the be would £14 heathcote-ivory.com says. ‘My Christmas Number One scent scent One Number Christmas ‘My says. up with a friend is intense. Every journey away from home she popular,’ always are gourmands This is definitely true for Sarah Sarah for true definitely is This is memorable. Every purchase is weighed and considered rich and accords powdery vintage time of year, so big well-known florals, florals, well-known big so year, of time and pondered. this at needed is what is ‘Glamour distributor Kenneth Green Associates. Associates. Green Kenneth distributor In other words, what used to be ordinary seems to have fragrance for Training of Head Binns, taken on a sheen of extra ‘specialness’. And perhaps that’s Christmas. for home driving ABOUT IT! he’s when Rea Chris of enthusiasm and Diptyque Do Son Perfumed why we’re all far more aware than we ever used to be of its aside leaving it, face let’s And bottle. the of out it come December, with all the gusto gusto the all with December, come Bracelet with Three Charms powering aldehydes of overdose its with itself, juice The the approach of the gift-giving season. The problem of £75 diptyqueparis.com name. lyrical a of place in numeral, intriguing An aesthetic. Indeed, when you look at a scent like No5 – described described – No5 like scent a at look you when Indeed, As we dress up for the festive streamlined its in timeless utterly bottle’, ‘that There’s finding just the right present for our nearest and dearest Acqua di Parma Hair Mist Collection £45 for 3 x 7ml sellers, year after year, almost a century after it debuted.