The world around us remakes itself at this time of year, and it gets easier to feel optimistic. I find that this mood filters through everything from my Spotify playlist to what I’m reading, and even into my wardrobe.
I look to colour as spring saunters gently into summer – it feels appropriate. Scent is similarly capricious. The cosy-blanket scents I’ll wrap myself in during the cold months suddenly feel smothering and limp.
I want to wear a fragrance that reflects the light and colour around me. Something that embodies the opportunity of the season rather than the comfort I seek in the darker months. Something with a sense of fun but – crucially – not juvenile or overly sweet.
There are three standout fragrances that I will carry all the way through to next September – each is joy-giving, sparkles in its own way, and does something different.
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Jo Malone London Mallow on the Moor (€65, from May 2nd)
Violet is a wildly underrated note. There is something exquisitely velvety about it. While it gained a grandmotherly reputation (because our grannies showed good taste in their devotion to it), this classic floral is having an exciting resurgence.
Mallow on the Moor is the sort of scent Cathy might have worn while tormenting Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. That rich violet sits at its heart, while it has a powdery heliotrope and buttery mallow flower which gives it a delicious and unexpected freshness.
It is the best floral scent of the season so far (not to mention the most beautiful bottle) and I find myself choosing it over fragrance heavyweights when I reach for a perfume in the morning.
& Other Stories Rose Revival Eau de Toilette (€30, & Other Stories stores)
This is the season of floral scent revival. Jo Malone London is not the only brand doing something interesting with a classic floral note.
This old favourite from high street chain & Other Stories is back. Their collection of dresses this season have a sort of romantic floatiness which is also captured in the scent.
Rose can evoke the Werther’s-speckled lining of a granny’s handbag. This dodges that association, keeping things light with the crispness of green pear and the creamy flush of magnolia. It’s simple and lovely; a timeless rose scent that will appeal to rose enthusiasts as well as the sceptics.
Cochine Vanille & Tabac Noir (€130, cochine.co.uk)
This is not a new fragrance, but I wore it relentlessly last summer. Not enough people know of its existence.
The fun of summer scent need not be limited to fluffier or lighter notes. This is a real date fragrance – the sort that is designed to tempt. There is the tiniest frisson of tasteful obscenity to it. It smells fantastic on both men and women (I know because my husband likes to steal this one from my dressing table – a very rare occurrence).
It’s warm and rich with a fervour of soft spice as you inhale it, so it would work for winter too, but it has a deep, not-too-sweet feel of warm skin at the close of a hot day. Flirtation in a bottle.
