Firstly, apologies for radio silence. I’ve been double busy. First there was a holiday, which was supposed to lend itself to a post about packing, but the clothes I packed for a static caravan holiday in Devon were too depressing to post about. (It rained, we came home early).

Then I had to relocate my entire wardrobe because we’re having our loft conversion redone. There was supposed to be a post about reorganising your wardrobe, but I’ll do it when I put the wardrobe back together. Most of my wardrobe is in the garage, and because I didn’t properly think through what I needed to keep in the house, I spend quite a lot of time rummaging through the garage with a torch.

Then I went to Victorious festival which was supposed to lend itself to a post about festival dressing. I was too hungover to take pics before I went. That’s the last time I play Beer Pong. Anyway, I wore sequins, which was going to be the backbone of my festival dressing post. Randomly, whilst we were there I asked the very stoned lady next to me what perfume she was wearing (I love being asked that question) and she took it upon herself to douse me in her perfume. It was Coco Madamoiselle. All of which led me to think about this post..

I love perfume. Even more than clothes. No, really, I do. It’s so evocative. More than clothes ever could be. Perfume can transport you back to a certain place or time in a way no outfit ever could.

Here is a potted version of my perfume history…

The point of showing you the above, is to demonstrate that I like strong scents. Nothing floral, or zesty or fresh. So if you don’t like these sorts of scents, it’s unlikely that you’re goint to like anything I recommend here. But these four are my current favourites.

Penhaligons Halfeti Eau de Parfum 100ml £178

I think this is going to be my signature scent. It’s got top notes of bergamot, grapefruit and armoise, with heart notes of Cinnamon, Rose, Jasmine, Cypress, Muguet and base notes of leather, oud, tonka and vanilla. If Halfeti was a person it would be Debbie Harry. It’s possibly a bit Patsy Stone too.

Kingdom Scotland Metamorphic 50ml Eau de Parfum £110

Kingdom Scotland is the first Scottish fragrance house and the idea is to “bottle Scotland”. Metamorphic has top notes of black pepper and tobacco, heart notes of incense and Islay Malt & Dark Rose Absolute and base notes of amber and leather. I love this, especially because hardly anyone else wears it. I struggled with giving this scent a personality, but after much consideration if Metamorphic was a person, it would be Sharleen Spiteri.

YSL Tuxedo 250ml Eau de Parfum £290

I love this scent. Notes of black pepper, smoked patchouli, cardamom, ambergris accord. It’s just so grown up and classy. Almost certainly what Carrie Bradshaw would wear.

Maison Margiela Jazz Club Eau de toilette 100ml £98

Looking at the label, I’m struck by the fact that this scent is described as a male frangrance, which I hadn’t realised, not that it matters. Top notes: Primofiore Lemon, Pink Pepper, Neroli OilMiddle notes: ClarySage Oil, Rum Absolute, Java Vetiver OilBase notes: StyraxResin, Tobacco Leaf Absolute, Vanilla Bean. This perfume is Kate Moss in a bottle.

All of the above fragrance houses will send sample scents for a small fee, if you can’t get to a department store. Penhaligons also offer a gratifying scent profiling quiz on their website too (which is how I discovered Halfeti). I’d highly recommend taking the quiz if you’re not sure what you might like.

I promise to be on it more with the posts. Have a good week. x