Perfumes for the spring

(Image courtesy of Unsplash)

14th April 2021

By Anni Bray

Perfume captures the essence of someone’s personality. When you meet a stranger, their scent is the first impression you have before even knowing their name or shaking their hand. It can tell you that they are fun, bubbly and extrovert or content, mysterious and possibly chic. At least, I try to inspire the latter. Key word is ‘try’. However much we endeavour, the scent we choose to tell people who we are, for all intents or purposes, a very personal and instinctive choice.

I’m very happy to try new scents and perfumes. Don’t get me wrong, I love my signature scent but sometimes I want to be adventurous. I’m not able be to very adventurous in lockdown though. I would have loved to have headed over to Oxford Street and pretend I can afford all the perfumes I was going to look at. Google will have to do! For this Spring season, florals are a safe starting point but I am very curious about citrusy and particularly ‘fresh’ smells. Just imagine sipping an ice-cold mojito on a hot beach, that sort of fresh. The reason I move towards this sort of area is based on lockdown. As a home working student, getting out and about is rare, obviously, therefore fresh air is at a minimum. The feeling of simply walking out into the fresh air, as fresh as it can be in central London, is sensational and a simple pleasure now-a-days so I must bring the ambience into my room.

To start, we must look at Chanel of course! The one perfume that really stood out to me when looking at Chanel is the ‘Chance’ eau Fraise (meaning fresh water). The smell itself is described as ‘floral-sparkling’ by Boots and contains Citron (or lemon), a dash of Jasmine and Teak Wood. As you can guess, the scent is made to be a refreshing spritz on a spring morning. The classic round shaped bottle and green colour screams ‘spring time’. Imagine all the grass is starting to become green and summer is less distant than when we were walking to Sainsbury’s, wrapped in our thickest coats. (Retails at £146 per 100ml)

Image courtesy of John Lewis

It wouldn’t be spring without flowers, specifically daisies. Marc Jacobs Daisy, the ‘Spring’ edition is the perfect way to explore the spring time theme. Similar to the Chanel, this limited-edition scent has been dyed green and has a more accented bottle; glass daisies cover the lid. This scent is a little spicier with a pinch of spiced cardamom tying together the rosebud and rosewood aspects. The perfume is described as fresh, uplifting and vibrant rather than the classic ‘floral’. ‘Florals? For spring?…ground-breaking’ to quote Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, but it really is a go to! (Retails at £92 per 100ml)

Image Courtesy of Marc Jacobs Fragrances

As an alternative to the designer selection of perfumes, The Body Shop has some beautiful scents. Many are fresh and floral but our favourite of the bunch is the ‘White Musk – L’eau’. This fragrance is fantastic value for money and taps into the floral side of spring with notes of Jasmine, Rose and crisp pear. The pear is said to add a very fresh aspect to the perfume and is an unusual ingredient in a high street perfume which makes is even more special. The Body Shop is a major ambassador of vegan products and this fragrance is no different. It is fully vegan/cruelty-free and the alcohol in the scent is distilled from sustainably grown sugar-cane. Therefore, the main ingredient does not contribute to climate change or deforestation. What more could you ask for? (Retails at £24 per 100ml)

Image Courtesy of The Body Shop

This piece wouldn’t be complete without a little D and G. Dolce & Gabbana’s ‘fruit collection’ has given me the perfect finisher. Their Sicilian lemon fragrance looks and, hopefully, smells sophisticated and flirty. Most of all, the base note of the scent is the distinctive Sicilian lemon which is as fresh as you can get. However, D & G have been clever with this scent and made it an ‘eau de toilette’. This means the fragrance will be incredibly light on the skin and will tie perfectly with the wearer’s natural smell. This bright and upbeat fragrance will be one to try in the future. (Retails at £100 per 100ml).

(Below image courtesy of Harrods)

Looking at these incredible scents demonstrates the fabulous variety of fragrances that we can buy in our department stores. Once measures have been lifted in my area, we will be straight into John Lewis sampling these gorgeous scents. For now, back to our body mists.