BEAUTY: PHYL CLARKEreviews beauty products
Fragrance is one of the most popular gifts this time of year – you’re spoiled for choice as the public appetite for new scents shows no sign of waning. The following selection is a little out of the ordinary but all the better for being unpredictable.
FOR HER
Bulgari Jasmin Noir €63.50
Rich and rounded, this is a very grown-up fragrance with a heart of sambac jasmine combined with gardenia petals, almond, liquorice and tonka bean. It all adds up to a terrific statement scent which is strong and mysterious, with great staying power. From House of Fraser, Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin 14.
Hermes Kelly Calèche €74.50
Reworked from the original Calèche fragrance by perfumer Jean Claude Ellena, this complex mix of floral and leather notes blend together for a beautifully feminine and refined fragrance. This one has a universal appeal, so a good choice if you want to give someone something out of her usual comfort zone. From Brown Thomas, branches nationwide.
Sisley Eau du Soir €84.50
Sisley is better known for its luxury skincare, but this stellar scent has it all – grapefruit and mandarin are perfectly balanced with amber to produce an elegant and feminine blend that seems to be very attractive to men (if you’re looking for that sort of thing). From Brown Thomas.
Peace Love Juicy Couture €68
Fresh and fruity, drying down to a boho chic heart of patchouli and musk, this fragrance will appeal to free spirits. Extra points for the turquoise-beaded bottle adornment, which becomes a bracelet. Hippy and hip. From Debenhams, branches nationwide, with 10% discount this weekend.
Space NK Laughter Nuit €50
A headier version of the original Laughter scent, this glamorous fragrance blends incense, violet and bergamot for an exotic evening out. At Space NK, Harvey Nichols Dundrum or spacenk.com.
Chanel No 5 Eau Première €57.50
The world’s most popular fragrance never goes out of style and those interconnecting Cs never fail to please – but consider a new twist on the classic No 5. Eau Premiere is a fresher, sparkling version of the blend, which makes it a great daytime option for lovers of the original. I had three inquiries as to which scent I was wearing the last time I wore it – say no more. From Chanel counters.
FOR HIM
Miller Harris Terre de Bois £40
This super cool London perfume house produces some very unusual scents. Terre de Bois is a woody fragrance designed for a man who enjoys a scent evocative of all that is urban and French. If you fancy all that in your man, this is the one to buy him. It may all be over his head, bless him, but might just feel that certain je ne sais quoi every time he’s near. From millerharris.com.
Tom Ford Grey Vetiver €60
As classically traditional as a well-cut suit, this scent is built around vetiver, with complex notes to enhance its character.
But, just like a Ford suit, there’s always a twist that takes it above the ordinary. Very much the in scent, both stylish and manly. From Brown Thomas.
