I have spoken before about my deep love for beautiful perfumes and fragrances (regular readers may remember this post), but I don’t think the fact can be overstated.
I’m not sure about you, but I find something so wonderfully luxurious about the act of spritzing on a favourite smell as the final flourish when getting dressed (or, for that matter, undressed) each day. A seeminigly small act it may be, but it is, I believe, the one that most imparts the personality of the wearer upon the passerby. Few things are are as sensual and as emotionally evocative as our sense of smell. After all, we attach more feelings and memories to scents than any other sense and thus subconsciously judge strangers by how their smell makes us feel, so it is important that the fragrance you choose to make your own is one which evokes a trail of happy memories in your wake.
Needless to say, it’s important to get this right.
Constantly in pursuit of the perfect bouquet of fragrance (whether for myself or my home), I’m never one to turn down the wisdom of the experts. Diptyque is one of my favourite brands full stop (I wear their perfumes year round, and their divine scented candles are one of my favourite small luxuries for the home), so when I heard about their fragrance fitting service I leapt at the invitation.
Which is how I came to find myself perched on a stool in the charming little Diptyque boutique on Brook Street a little while back. I was meeting with Diptyque’s manager who couldn’t have been more lovely (we ever shared the same Australian-transplanted-to-England accent), and we began with a casual discussion that took in everything from my favourite colours, to the type of clothes I liked, to my favourite memories and the smells they evoked (the smell of orange blossoms in the sun in my childhood backyard, blousy garden roses and tiny violets in my mother’s garden, fresh mint and basil in an English herb garden…).
I then smelt a collection of single-note fragrances (in the form of Diptyque’s candles, each with their labels hidden so that my preference could not be influenced by my perception of the names of each one), grouped into three fragrance families (spicy, green/woody and floral). I already had a very clear idea of what scents I did and did not like, so it was reassuring to have this reaffirmed, with a few I wouldn’t have thought of myself added to the mix. In case you were wondering, I like white florals with a hint of sweetness and perhaps a fresh green undertone (but I can’t bear overpowering spicy, woody smells).
I was then taught how to layer fragrances which, for some reason (and despite already owning several Diptyque fragrances), had never occurred to me. But when you comine two different scents, they somehow elevate each other to become even more beautiful. I’ve been playing with this ever since (with seemingly endless combinations), and people are always stopping me in the street to ask what perfume I’m wearing (a wonderful boost for the ego, I tell you!).
Good combinations to try: start with a woody or a fresh green base and a layer a floral or citrus scent on top. I’ve been favouring Diptyque Neroli (orange blossom) with Olene (jasmine and narcissus and white spring florals) on top which smells heavenly for warmer days (or grey days when I’m craving sunshine) and either Eau Rose (delicate pink rose petals and fresh green notes) under Do Son (a heady tuberose and white floral), or Philosykos (fruity and woody fig tree) under L’Ombre dans L’Eau (blackcurrant leaves and Bulgarian roses) for cold days when something warm and luxurious is required.
I’d love to hear how you layer your favourite fragrances, and how you pair different scents with different seasons or occasions.
Love, Miss B xx
Diptyque offer complimentary fragrance fitting consultations (approximately 30 minutes) at all of their boutiques. I visited the little store located at 37 Brook Street, Mayfair.
