OUR SELECTION of our favourite recent perfume launches include roses of all kinds, big brand blockbusters and more niche offerings – as well as reimagined classics – alongside some compelling olfactory debuts.
Prada
Paradoxe
£118 – buy here
Fronted by UK actor Emma Watson, who also directed the campaign film in her first directorial outing, Prada’s latest perfume, Paradoxe is a modern take on the white floral accord. Containing classic notes of tuberose with ylang-ylang, patchouli, neroli and vetiver, the triangular bottle echoes the Prada logo and is refillable. The packaging is also designed with sustainability in mind, with the boxes made of an FSC™ mix.
Guerlain
Shalimar Millésime Tonka
£90 – buy here
The classic Guerlain fragrance, Shalimar, has been reworked for this season as a new flanker, Millesime Tonka, by the brand’s perfumers Thierry Wasser and Delphine Jelk. This version highlights tonka bean and vanilla – central to the Guerlinade, the house signature accord. It is a sophisticated, warming delight.
Angela Flanders
Leather Rosa
£110 – buy here
Leather Rosa is the third launch in the UK from the east London-based, family-owned brand’s superb Atelier Collection, which is informed by the family’s shared love of textiles and fabrics and re-imagined as perfumes. Leather Rosa is a woody, smoky, heady joy – with its masculine accents infused with a warm damask rose.
Miller Harris
Myrica Muse
£125 – buy here
The latest debut by perfumer Emilie Bougée for the brand’s Colour Collection, Myrica Muse is very much on trend – containing, as it does, recycled accents of rose and patchouli. A multifaceted fragrance with a sparkly fruity start, which develops into a sophisticated smooth deeper perfume – with accents of jasmine, lily of the valley, musk, amber and sandalwood.
Argentum
Magician
£228 – buy here
Argentum is a fascinating company inspired by the healing powers of silver, as well as the concept of 12 spiritual archetypes, to create a luxurious skincare and perfume range. The perfume range consists of alcohol-free eaux de parfums that are made by a water- and plant-based technology to create a light, soft, milky blend which moisturises, as well as scenting your skin and can be used on your hair too.
They are housed in sleek black opaque glass bottles that have removable hallmarked silver tokens embedded in the lid. It is really hard to choose a favourite, but for winter, I recommend Magician, a mystical scent infused with rich cedar wood, myrrh labdanum, black pepper, amber, clove bud and chilli.
LilaNur
Incarnation
£225 – buy here
Working with leading French perfumers and based in Grasse, Lilanur is a luxury Indian perfume company with a social conscience, which brings together the great fragrance traditions of France and India. Incarnation is pretty yet intoxicating, with delicious hints of jasmine, rose, vetiver, orris, black pepper, patchouli, labdanum and aldehydes.
Hermès
Violette Volynka
£197 – buy here
From the Hermessence collection of eau de toilettes, Violette Volynka, by Hermès perfumer Christine Nagel, unusually combines the scent of violet with Volynka leather tones (as befits a brand famed for its luxury leather items). Volynka is a soft leather that blends beautifully with violet to create a light and warm, almost breezy scent.
Acqua di Parma
Magnolia Infinita
£204 – buy here
Stunningly blending floral notes with citrus ones, Magnolia Infinita is the latest launch from the illustrious Italian fragrance house Acqua di Palma’s Signatures of the Sun collection. The luscious Magnolia Infinita also has accents of Calabrian bergamot, orange, lemon and jasmine sambac, magnolia, rose, ylang in the heart, with a base of musk, and patchouli.
Merchant of Venice, Accordi di Profumo
Bergamotto Italia
£60 – buy here
Luxury Italian fragrance house, the Merchant of Venice has recently launched a very affordable range of eight perfumes, each celebrating a classic accord, designed to be layered. You can wear each as a single perfume, of course. The collection is made of sustainable, responsibly sourced ingredients that guarantee traceability. The bright Bergamotto Italia is a stand-out fresh and invigorating citrus.
Diptyque
Eau Rose Limited Edition
£140 – buy here
Green and honey notes are highlighted in Diptyque’s lovely Eau Rose which is composed of absolutes of Damascena and centifolia roses, as well as a firad rose and features an unusual artichoke twist – which actually works perfectly. For this Christmas, Eau Rose is presented in a beautiful, limited-edition bottle in striking, deep purple with gold-lettered packaging.
by Caroline Simpson