Whether you’re staying put or spending time away this year, the Cygnus Coffret by Amouage is perfect as both a travel companion or pride of place on the vanity table. Beautifully presented in a limited edition gift box, the set features one of Amouage’s star fragrances: Honour Woman — a scent which derives its inspiration from the tragic predicament of Madame Butterfly.   

But make no mistake, there’s no predicament here. 100mls of this exquisite eau de parfum, a white floral, woody amber masterpiece, is complemented by 4 x 25ml mini lotions and creams: Journey Woman Hand Cream, Ciel Woman Body Lotion, Honour Woman Body Lotion and Dia Woman Body Lotion.

Each perfume in the Collection Parisienne tells a story. Gris Charnel portrays a moment, a sequence of settings in which takes the wearer on a journey through the districts of Paris, culminating to a night of passion.

This most carnal of scents is woody, spicy and powdery all at once. Expressed through sandalwood and vetiver, this classic yet boldly contemporary scent flaunts Parisian urban sensuality, a gift best undressed.

A passage of text, taken from Scott Fitzgerald’s novel Tender is the Night, was the single brief given to perfumer Mathieu Nardin when creating Scherzo. 

Touted as an instant classic, and hailed by Grazia in 2020 as “one of the best perfumes on the planet” in its summary of cult fragrances taking the world by storm, Scherzo’s kaleidoscopic rush of colour captures a multitude of blooms: dark red rose, clouds of peony, sunny yellow narcissus and crisp white Pittosporum.

A vibrant mossy woods that twists and turns through citrus, herbage and rich oud, drying to a confectioner’s corner of surgery sweetness.  

Erba Pura celebrates the tactile beauty of velvet. Contemporary in spirit, this sublime floral travels through myriads of mediterranean fruits, into a gateway of dreamy vanilla, revealing white musk and amber along the way.

Evocative and enticing, the Italian house miraculously captures warmth and freshness as one, a delicately composed elixir that captivates and charms.

Until the French Revolution, people would spritz their wigs with a blend of crushed iris roots and rice powder.

Then, towards the end of the nineteenth century, violet made its first appearance in the first solid sticks. In the 1920s, lipsticks were flavoured with violet candy aroma. It wasn’t long before beauty houses perfumed them with a combination of iris, violet and raspberry — delightful on the tongue and lips, and the olfactory inspiration for Lipstick Fever.

This contemporary, gourmand fragrance is further enhanced with woody notes of patchouli and cedarwood, echoing the leather of a handbag so often inseparable from one's cosmetics — a kissable floral amber, provocative and sensual.

The best way to find yourself? Getting lost. Like an adventure of the soul, Montale conjures a mirage of the senses, in the middle of the Ubari sea of sand, mid-summer, when the Eastern sun is at its zenith.

This floral amber opens with sweet freshness of peach and citrus accord, into an enveloping heart of tuberose, before drying to a sandalwood and tonka bean base — a treasure hidden in the heart of a lush oasis.

An innocent glance, or something more? Possibilities captures the split-second where romance is won and lost.  

A flirtatious mossy woods that opens with the spicy sweetness of freesia and blackcurrant, into a petally, powdery heart of rose. An alluring base of vanilla follows, exotic and full of promise. 

Last chance and the moment wanes, a trail of amber turning heads for the last time. Minds wander about what might have been. A mysterious, magnetic fragrance that revels in the beauty of transience.