Um, wearing one fragrance in summer and a different one in winter?
I did that 10 years ago, but I don’t do that anymore. I do, however switch up my scent if I’m going out to a late dinner with my husband versus a outdoorsy wedding (it’s an occasion thing), but my mantra is, if I like the way a perfume smells, I wear it.
My thinking was largely influenced by leading experts in fragrance, Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez who penned a book called “Perfumes, The Guide” (amongst others). In it, Sanchez wrote: “When you love something, buy it.” She, very importantly, also urges readers not to feel duty bound to stop wearing fruity-florals in mid-winter for example. However, “if seasons are your excuse for buying lots of fragrances, in the belief that you need a year-round wardrobe, don’t let us stop you,” she says. Want something new? Here are the latest scents right now and they may not be traditionally wintery, but really, who cares?
DEEPLY MYSTERIOUS
Valentino Donna Noir Absolu EDP R2450 for a 100ml EDP
Encased in a black bottle, this is a scent for date nights as the seductive packaging suggests. A top note of black pepper with heart notes of rose and plum liquor and a base of leather and sandalwood create depth and sensuality.
Boss The Scent Parfum Edition For Women R1385 for a 50ml EDP
This luxurious, seductive scent opens with a fruity bouquet of honeyed peach, becoming more sensual as the dark side of the osmanthus flower comes to the fore. The roasted cocoa base gives this scent’s final accord a sensual edge that exudes a warm elegance.
GIRL POWER
Hugo Boss The Scent Eau De Toilette from R980 for a 50ml EDT
The gentle colour of the bottle and a rose gold cap plays on a delicate fragrance that’s luminous and fresh to wear. Think spring-like notes of green mandarin and pink pepper blended with osmanthus and orange blossom. And, in the dry-down you’ll find roasted cocoa beans.
Salvatore Ferragamo Amo R905 for a 30ml EDP
This oriental floral is a beautiful mix of fruit, herbs and flowers. Wear it if you love feminine scents that have richer gourmand and woody notes like vanilla and sandalwood.
SEA BREEZE
Giorgio Armani Air di Gioia R800 for a 30ml EDT
Evoking all the emotion of crashing waves and salty skin, this fragrance is a gorgeous blend of a salt accord blended with lush peony and woods such a patchouli and cypress. Truly glorious!
GENTLEMAN’S CLUB
Clockwise from top left:
Hugo Boss Boss The Scent For Him R1675 for a 100ml
A darker and far more sexy version of the original. Top notes of ginger, heart notes of maninika fruit, and a leather and patchouli base make for a modern, elegant scent that is still very wearable for most occasions.
Zadig & Voltaire This Is Him Capsule Collection from R475 for a 20ml
For your edgy dude (the packaging and bottle were designed by New York tattoo artist Virginia Elwood), the juice is an oriental woody scent. Notes such as grapefruit, pepper, incense and vanilla mean it’s strong, yet fresh and wearable.
Narciso Rodriguez Bleu Noir R1005 for a 50ml EDP
A sophisticated scent, Narciso’s signature musk is highlighted to create a woody-musky EDP. It’s rounded off with vetiver and amber.
John Varvatos Artisan Pure R1240 for a 75ml EDT (available at Foschini)
I love a fragrance with a story behind it, and this clean, crisp EDT has a great one. Inspired by the lush hills of Xalapa, Mexico – think vast coffee and citrus groves – the scent is deliciously woody, clean and zingy with citrus. It’s packed with it: lemon, clementine and mandarin are all found in the top note with petit grain in heart and woods in base.
WEDDING DAY (OR ANY DAY)
Elie Saab In White from R890 for a 30ml EDP
Know someone who is getting married? But this for her – and try it yourself! It’s flowery and delicately sweet with white florals such as sun-dried jasmine and orange blossom.
PRETTY PEONY
Stella McCartney Stella Peony from R750 for a 30ml EDT
Popular peonies are adored by women the world-over and are really loved in modern fragrances. This EDT is essentially a floral but it’s fresh spiciness (think geranium and patchouli) makes it a contemporary scent.
BLOOMIN’ MARVELLOUS
Alien Flora Futura from R755 for a 30ml EDT
A fragrance for dreamers, this woody-floral has unusual fragrant ingredients – think imaginary divine flowers that blossom in the heart of the dessert. The main accord is a white floral, while citrus is the top and white amber and sandalwood in the base give a creaminess to the scent.
Issey Miyake L’Eau D’Issey Pure Nectar from R925 for a 30ml EDP
One of my favourite scents of the to be launched this quarter (perhaps because rose absolue forms the heart of the scent), it’s like the name suggests, a nectar of a heady bouquet. A honeyed parfum, you’ll smell sweet pear accord as well as notes like sandalwood and cashmeran.
TRUE ROMANCE
Gucci Guilty Absolute Pour Femme from R1005 for a 30ml EDP
A play on fruits, woody notes and classic rose, this EDP is a little bit romantic and a little bit sexy. Basically it’s a blend of berries (particularly ripe blackberries), flowers (think Bulgarian rose) and traditional Chypre notes. Goldenwood provides the woody component the brings out it’s seductive side.
Roberto Cavalli Florence from R790 for a 30ml EDP
Radiant, white florals are so on-trend right now. This one is kept from being overly sweet with zesty grapefruit petals and tangy mandarin which compliment orange blossom perfectly.
Text: Helen Clemson
Styling & Photography: Candice Lee Kannemeyer
