SEPTEMBER is when major beauty brands and fashion houses unveil their biggest fragrance launches. The product of months – if not years – of famous 'noses' beavering away in their laboratories, mixing and modifying hundreds of ingredients until their creations are ready to be revealed, the hope is that one of these scents will make it onto your dressing table very soon.
And what a selection there is, with more than a few worthy of signature scent status. These are the perfumes vying to hit the sweet spot this year...
THE MODERN REDUX
Offering a fresh take on the house's eternally-adored perfume, Chanel No5 L'Eau, £68 for 50ml, Boots, opens with a blast of bracing citrus, making way for familiar wafts of jasmine and ylang-ylang, and a masculine finish courtesy of cedar and vetiver (www.boots.com).
THE HERBAL REMEDY
Basil is a key component in one of Jo Malone's bestselling scents, but the new Basil & Neroli Cologne, £86 for 100ml, is like nothing else. A gorgeously green aroma inspired by London's gardens, it blends two varieties of the distinctive herb with an orange note and white musk, bringing depth to the verdant bouquet (www.jomalone.co.uk).
THE EXOTIC ESCAPE
Conjuring the fragrant air of a hot, humid paradise, frangipani and ylang-ylang are front and centre in Prada La Femme Eau de Parfum, £69 for 50ml, Selfridges. Married with creamy beeswax and vanilla, tuberose and vetiver round off this seductive fusion (www.selfridges.com).
THE BOHEMIAN DREAM
Part of the Les Extraits Vert Private Blend Collection, Tom Ford Vert Boheme Eau de Parfum, £148 for 50ml, House of Fraser, is a 70s-inspired scent that opens with evocative notes of Sicilian mandarin before drying down to a heady magnolia heart, underscored with Gustavia wood – a rarely used ingredient from the plant known as the 'Tree of Heaven' – and heavenly it sure is (www.houseoffraser.co.uk).
THE BIG SMOKE
Dreamt up after years of horse-riding trips in Montana, Jo Loves Smoked Plum & Leather, £65 for 50ml, mingles firewood facets with warm plum liquer and rich leather – one whiff and you can practically hear the creak of a saddle and the whinny of an ebony stallion (www.joloves.com).
THE BERRY BURST
A tangy trio of blackcurrant bud, red ginger and bergamot lead the charge of Liz Earle's Botanical Essence No.9, £49 for 50ml, with rose, patchouli and vanilla fleshing out this dark, spicy composition (www.lizearle.com).
THE FRESH FLORAL
One of seven simultaneous new releases, Louis Vuitton Roses des Vents, £180 for 100ml, pays tribute to the Queen of Flowers, the beloved floral buffeted with pepper, iris and cedar in a delicately feminine amalgamation (www.louisvuitton.com).
THE EIGHTIES HOMAGE
Inspired by the decade of shoulder pads, perms and excessive eye make-up, Floris 1988 Eau de Parfum, £140 for 100ml, is a thankfully more tasteful affair. Sparkling citrus notes are joined by the savoury tang of rosemary and thyme, with musk and amber imparting an androgynous edge (www.florislondon.com).
THE SWEET TREAT
Undeniably rich and sophisticated, like a perfectly packaged box of Laduree macarons, Michael Kors Midnight Shimmer Eau de Parfum, £79 for 100ml, Boots, falls firmly in the gourmand category. Emanating vanilla and amberwood, this warm, enveloping aroma will satisfy any sweet tooth (www.boots.com).
THE POWDER PLAYER
Powdery and proud of it, Amouage Lilac Love Eau de Parfum, £260 for 100ml, Harrods, frames the classic floral in swathes of jasmine and rose, with tonka bean and sandalwood providing a smoothly sweet finish (www.harrods.com).
