Being the utter perfume junkie that I am, when I was recently invited to sample the Fragrance Profiling service at Penhaligon's I naturally jumped at the chance. The service offers clients the opportunity to spend time with one of Penhaligon's' fragrance experts to establish what your perfect scent (or, as I discovered, scent combination...) from the collection would be, a wonderfully indulgent hour with often surprising results.
I visited London's Burlington Arcade store one dreary afternoon, seeking solace in the heavenly apothecary-style shop with its dark wood features and intoxicatingly heady scents. I was led upstairs by Daniel, the boutique's fragrance expert, who settled me in to a plush velvet armchair with a coffee (essential for 'cleansing' the nose between scents, I learnt) before starting our session.
It began with a series of questions about which scents I wear, what kind of fragrances I like and whether I had or knew of any existing Penhaligon's perfumes that I definitely liked. Daniel then moved on to passing me tester strips of various different scents, judging by my initial comments. Interestingly, they were all sprayed outside of the room, without me knowing what the name of the scent was, before I was passed the strip.
It was fascinating how strong my reaction to some of them was. While I couldn't get enough of some scents, others almost left me reeling. Juniper Sling, for example, had a particularly strong reaction. I am big fan of Bombay Sapphire gin, one of the main ingredients of which is Juniper. To me that particular fragrance just smelt like booze, and I could imagine wearing it and smelling like a drunk 24/7. Similarly the classic Bluebell, beloved by so many, had me turning up my nose at it's too clean scent, surprising seeing as I generally like floral fragrances.
As the hour progressed many scents were discarded as not being right for me and many were guarded closely as my favourites. These were then whittle down further; often a scent will smell very different on a tester strip to how it will on the skin, which undoubtedly happened with a couple of those I tried. The last two I was left with were Gardenia, a soliflore originally created in 1976, featuring tuberose, jasmine, gardenia, ylang-ylang, spice and vanilla and Malabah, a beautifully heady concoction of sublime rose, ginger and aromatic spices, orris, sweet musks and amber.
Just when I thought my final choice would be one or the other, Daniel surprised me by suggesting layering the two - something I never would have thought of. The idea of mixing two totally separate scents, a fresh floral and a sensual musk, had never occurred to me, but as soon as the two hit my skin I was utterly captivated. Separately the two fragrances are beautiful but together they create something altogether different; fresh yet deep, clean yet sultry and sexy - you have to smell it to believe it but they work amazingly well together.
The possibilities of blending Penhaligon's fragrances, or any for that matter, are endless - it's definitely something I have been experimenting with recently.
For more information on Penhaligon's Fragrance Profiling, to book an appointment or find your nearest boutique, visit the website at www.penhaligons.com
Love Laurel x
