From glamorous and grown-up to feisty and fun, there’s an autumn fragrance for everyone. Katie Wright sniffs out the scents of the season
New season, new scent – that’s the adage we’re trying to bring into common usage, as an excuse to splash out one of autumn’s many fragrant offerings. And what a line-up it is.
Some of the chicest fashion houses are bringing out tantalising new fragrances (including one very cool debut), plus a number of pop starlets have come up with surprisingly sophisticated scents.
But it’s not all sassy and sartorial – elsewhere, perfumers take the spice route and classic florals come to the fore.
Take your pick from autumn’s aromatic selection…
FASHIONABLE FORAYS
Prada’s stylish little sister Miu Miu makes its debut on the scent scene, with an eau de parfum that’s as idiosyncratic as the label’s clothing offering. The eponymous fragrance is a light, verdant blend that includes a unique component, peppery akigalawood, created specifically for the house.
Dean and Dan Caten don’t do things by halves, and the designers’ latest foray into scent is no exception. Dsquared2 Want, with its shiny lollipop-inspired lid, is a real dressing table showstopper, and the scent within is equally attention-seeking, the powdery punch of mandarin and pink pepper drying down to a woody vanilla heart.
Echoing the polished aesthetic of the Michael Kors woman, the designer’s gold collection is a triple whammy of sophisticated scents, from the fresh, almost masculine White Luminous Gold to the girly Rose Radiant Gold, and the gutsy, fruity 24K Brilliant Gold.
Miu Miu Ea de Parfum, £66 for 50ml (www.johnlewis.com)
Dsquared2 Want Eau de Parfum, £56 for 50ml (available October 1; www.harveynichols.com)
Michael Kors 24K Brilliant Gold, £58 for 50ml (www.superdrug.com)
ADVENTUROUS AROMAS
Take a flight of fancy with fragrances inspired by exotic escapes.
Jo Malone’s latest cologne, Mimosa and Cardamom, evokes a trip to the spice markets of Morocco followed by a stroll through fragrant fields of sunset-yellow mimosa flowers.
Gold Lily, one of the five inaugural fragrances from the Chinese lifestyle brand, opens with a blast of Sichuan heat before revealing a heart of warm jasmine and musk.
Shanghai Tang Gold Lily Ea de Parfum, £100 for 60ml (www.harveynichols.com)
Jo Malone Mimosa and Cardamom Cologne, £85 for 100ml (www.jomalone.co.uk)
ICONIC CLASSICS
Fans of pure florals will love the trio of fragrances indebted to petals.
Housed in a stunning, antique-style amber bottle, Diptyque’s new jasmine-based juice is the product of two different harvests of the heady white floral, resulting in a rich scent with a slight caramel edge.
As part of the brand’s 20th birthday celebrations comes Liz Earle Botanical Essence No. 20, a lush symphony of three rose extracts, including delicate Turkish damask.
Did you know that bluebells don’t actually have a natural scent? So to honour this iconic flower, Yardley has dreamt up a fresh new fragrance, blending white florals with bergamot and sandalwood to create the delightful English Bluebell.
Diptyque Essences Insensees Eau de Parfum, £100 for 75ml (www.diptyqueparis.co.uk)
Liz Earle Botanical Essence No. 20, £49 for 50ml (available in October; www.lizearle.com)
Yardley London English Bluebell Eau de Toilette, £9.99 for 50ml (available in September; www.yardleylondon.co.uk)
YOUNG BLOOMS
The latest songstress to turn her hand to scent is Ariana Grande, with the pom-pom-topped Ari. A succulent blend packed with vanilla, marshmallow and rose, the eau de parfum opens with a tangy flash of grapefruit and raspberry notes.
Rihanna, meanwhile, is already onto her fifth fragrance. Riri is an effervescent cocktail of passion fruit, honeysuckle and sandalwood, with a cheeky dash of rum thrown in for good measure.
Described as a “feminist floral”, the unapologetically bold Ghost Girl eau melds punchy pomegranate with tuberose and almond – it’s a (girl) power-full combo.
Ari by Ariana Grande Eau de Parfum, £31 for 50ml (available in September; www.theperfumeshop.com)
Riri by Rihanna Eau de Parfum, £30 for 50ml (available in September; www.boots.com)
Ghost Girl Eau de Toilette, £34 for 50ml (www.boots.com)
