Beauty: Let summer's scents whisk you away
Perfume has the power to take you to far-flung places and immerse you in a verdant sanctuary of blossom and blooms. Lisa Millard enjoys an olfactory journey
Penhaligon's Cairo eau de Parfum, £178 for 100ml, penhaligons.com
What’s not to love about British perfume house Penhaligon’s? Beautifully presented bottles of fragrance celebrate a home-grown heritage that creates scents from near and far. Cairo brings warm saffron spice, Damascan rose and labdanum bloom to summon sensual nights of musky pleasure and languorous sun-kissed days.
L’Occitane Verbena Eau de Toilette, £49 for 100ml, uk.loccitane.com
Instantly uplifting, the fresh zest of Verbena transports you to hot sunny days meandering winding pathways in Provence. The lemony freshness is instant delivering a dose of wellbeing and fizzy freshness. Perfect accompanied by a G&T served in the garden.
Amouage Secret Garden Discovery Set, £35 for four 2ml fragrances, perfumesociety.org
Loved for its mix of the ancient and alchemistic traditions of perfume making, Amouage captures a mesmerising floral haze in this beautiful set showcasing Blossom Love (floral trail of cherry blossom), Lilac Love (fiercely feminine), Love Mimosa (mimosa kissed with violet leaves), and Love Tuberose (luxuriously and passionately floral)
Jo Malone Osmanthus Blossom, £94 for 100ml, jomalone.co.uk
A delicate cologne blending the white flowers of Osmanthus blossom with the sweetness of apricot, the ripeness of peach and luminosity of petitgrain all rolled over cashmere woods. Dreamy, yielding and utterly charming.
Lush Nero Perfume, £60 for 30ml, uk.lush.com
Fresh green notes are energising and bursts of floral neroli roll with smouldering petitgrain oil to muster a bright yet woody fragrance. Bergamot is sunny and sends spirits soaring. Happiness is a spritz away.
Diptique Eau Capitale, £120 for 75ml, spacenk.com
A complex and intriguing fragrance blending fruity, floral and spicy notes while evoking rich rose tempered with crisper flashes of pink berries and bergamot. Intoxicatjng, definitely and possibly not for the fainthearted, a perfume to wear while treading the streets of Paris with an old flame.
Parterre Discovery Box, £30 for four 2ml eau de parfums, perfumesociety.org
A blissful way to discover the ‘from botany to bottle’ fragrances from Dorset-based Partrerre which grows ferns, lavender and mosses, roses, jasmine and geranium in the Tarrent Valley. These four niche fragrances include A Tribute to Earth (sumptuously rich rose), Root of all Goodness (aromatic, warm and leathery), Run of the River (fresh, citrus and vibrant), and The Hour of Dusk and Gold (sensuous silk and spice).
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Lisa Millard