THE GODS of perfume have blessed us with an eclectic range of recent launches. Be they drop-dead gorgeous juices, splashy colognes, spicy numbers or scents inspired by post-apocalyptic skyscrapers, volcanic rock towers and even one for nightclubbing your life away, Glass has got you covered.
The House of Oud (THoO) – Crazy Wabisabi
£220 for 75ml – Available here
The House of Oud (ThoO) presents its fragrances in some of the most stunning and desirable bottles. From its latest collection, the totally unique floral-green Crazy Wabisabi is composed by perfumer Cristian Calabrò – the nose behind many of the house’s perfumes.
Drawing on his knowledge of Japan, Calabrò has created a one-off wasabi accord from the spicy rhizome of the Wasabia Japonica plant and added citrus, fruity bergamot, pink pepper and lime leaves, as well as a pear accord. Crazy Wabisabi has floral notes at the centre and a musk, cinnamon and vanilla base. This is a bright yet long-lasting extraordinary perfume.
Murdock London – Napier Cologne
£50 for 50ml – Available here
The innovative British barbershop and grooming brand, Murdock London, has launched Napier Cologne, inspired by the dapper and dashing early racing scene of the last century.
Napier Cologne is a confident and invigorating blend of cypress, fig, dried fruits and patchouli, lending a warm fruity touch. With a lot of staying power, it’s beautifully moored with earthy oakmoss and amber
Narciso Rodriguez – For Him Vetiver Musc
£90 for 100ml – Available here
Created by the very talented Mathilde Bijaoui, the nose behind scents for BDK Parfums, Dolce&Gabbana, Jo Malone London and Lalique, For Him Vetiver Musc is her latest. This flanker harmoniously blends and builds wood, green and spice aspects around the classic 2007 Narciso Rodriguez, For Him.
With patchouli, vetiver and cedar making a rich base, “the minerality is given by different agreements combined with each other,” says Bijaoui. “Cold and spicy cardamom, incense, aromatic geranium, marine and leathery red algae – a magnificent ingredient reminiscent of musk. This minerality is what makes the fragrance unique.”
Hermès – H24 Herbes Vives
£83 for 50ml – Available here
A new flanker of the Hermès’ H24, for H24 Herbes Vives master perfumer Christine Nagel takes her lead from nature as it is found in the city or town, rus in urbe, if you will, and the “happy smell of nature after the rain”.
Bosky, earthy, herbaceous, minty, musky and very fresh, Nagel combines nature and technology by blending notes of fresh herbs – savory[CS1] , sorrel, hemp, parsley, pear granita with a new mint-inflected molecule Physcool®, which gives the “sensation of freshness on the skin”.
Boujee Bougies – Verdant
£160 for 100ml – Available here
The pun-loving team behind Boujee Bougies, its creative director Nick Gilbert and perfumer Pia Long, have launched a fabulous fragrance line based on their brilliant candles.
Verdant is Inspired by the idea of a sci-fi JG Ballardian skyscraper completely engulfed by snaking and writhing foliage surrounded by “dewy mists”. This a is wildly brilliant green scent (made of neroli, cactus accord and timut pepper) underscored by a compelling musk-like “concrete accord” of violet leaf, tomato leaf and white flowers.
Bulgari – Pour Homme Eau de Parfum
£114 for 100ml – Available here
This year, Bulgari has launched an eau de parfum version of its classic eau de toilette, the eponymous Pour Homme. It’s composed by same master perfumer, Jacques Cavallier, who created the original back in 1996.
Pour Homme Eau de Parfum beautifully riffs on the original’s tea and musk profile, while intensifying and enlivening it by layering and adding shimmering new notes of a sparkling ginger and deeper, more smoky, woody tea notes of Darjeeling tea accord, Ceylon tea extract, guaiac wood essence and musk
A welcome contemporary update of a classic.
Penhaligon’s – ALUla
£215 for 100ml – Available here
From the brand’s Trade Routes collection and composed by master perfumer Fanny Bal, who was inspired by the Incense Road, the latest from Penhaligon’s AlUla evokes a treasure-carrying procession travelling miles and miles, by foot and camel, across the desert, under the sheltering sky to find a sanctuary in the oasis.
ALUla contains sparkling plum, spices notes (turmeric and cardamom) and soft vanilla. In the base, patchouli and olibanum are combined to give a spice-green base.
Initio Parfums Prives – Narcotic Delight
£245 for 90ml – Available here
The hedonists at Initio Parfums Prives have dropped the fifth in their Carnal Blends collection – Narcotic Delight. The intoxicating and playful Narcotic Delight is very juicy. It’s a more-ish blend of vanilla bean, pink peppercorn, cherry and even hedione, a molecule that apparently “opens the pleasure receptors in the brain and promotes attraction”. It has cognac, tobacco in the base.
The sensual Narcotic Delight doesn’t take itself too seriously and will leave you wanting more.
Memo Paris – Cappadocia
£235 for 75ml – Available here
Memo Paris, the cult and covetable perfume house known for its fabulous leather scents, launched Cappadocia earlier this year. It is inspired by the same-named Turkish city, Cappadocia, famed for its hot air balloons and distinctive landscape of volcanic rock formed into towers. Spicy and woody, the intriguing Cappadocia is rich with saffron, myrrh, sandalwood and Turkish rose.
by Caroline Simpson