Viole Nere is difficult for me to describe because while I am used to iris perfumes that lean towards violet (Iris de Nuit, Moulin Rouge, Infusion d’Iris Absolue), I am less used to…

  Every now and then, someone very kindly buys me a coffee to thank me for writing, which never fails to astonish me (believe me, I am bloody grateful).  I decided in summer last…

  I’ve decided to start a series where I document my impressions of perfumes I get to try on my way through airports or blitzing through a capital city department store on a lunchbreak. …

    These are my favourite perfumes, numbers 26 through to 50.  The list may change slightly over the years to come, but given that the fragrances that I feel have come to define…

    These are my favourite perfumes.  The list may change slightly over the years to come, but given that the fragrances that I feel have come to define me are ones that have…

  I recently changed jobs, which requires two six-hour daily commutes per week, meaning I start off in the cold darkness and return under the same conditions at night.  Though I know that this…

  Though I own Bois de Violette and the original Dolce Vita, I really only have eyes for Feminité du Bois.  I think this is because it is the only one that achieves a…

  I’d taken myself off the Francesca Bianchi PR sample distribution list when I moved to Africa in 2023, but by coincidence, my husband discovered the brand all by himself while on a business…

  La Rhapsodie Noir   Parfums Dusita is a brand that does its best work in the herbal-aromatic vein (see: Issara, Erawan, Le Pavillon d’Or) because the perfumer, Pissara Umavijani, brings a Thai sensibility…

  To be frank, 90% of the perfumes I smell are disappointing, if not downright awful.  Which is why I’m starting a series dedicated to reviewing (or should that be ‘roasting’) the duds. …

  Living on the equator has its advantages – year-round warmth, sun, lush greenery, the endless availability of mangoes – but heading into my second autumn in Africa, I do find myself longing for…

  Narcotico   Narcotico follows a pattern I’ve begun to notice in the work of Giuseppe Imprezzabile, the perfumer behind Meo Fusciuni, in that the perfumes are all either monstrously complex facades hiding simple…

  Luce Luce is like a plain girl whose face suddenly transforms when she smiles.  Full of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments that shuffle so quietly underneath its sweet, minty beeswax skin that you’d be forgiven for…

  #1 Nota di Viaggio (Rites de Passage)   The opening is pure Italian apothecary chic – a veritable cacophony of brackish herbs, aged citrus, and homemade toothpaste underscored by a streak of medicated…