Wealden Times | WT186 | August 2017 | Wedding supplement inside

Beauty
Just spray
A
wedding is a new start. A door
to a new life. (Even if you’ve
been cohabiting for years, I
can promise you: you will wake up next
day and feel very different.) And so not
surprisingly – unless your beloved has
requested otherwise – it is the perfect
moment to mark this new beginning
by veiling with a new fragrance.
But shopping for that all-important
fragrance should be seen as much, much
more than simply another item on your
‘To Do’ list. Why not take a day – or at
least a morning – and devote yourself to
the sensuality and pleasure of the search?
‘It’s very important not to be stressed,’
insists perfumer Lyn Harris, founder
of Miller Harris and now working out
of a stunning mid-Century modern
perfumery and boutique on London’s
Crawford Street which (trust me) is a
wonderful place to while away a few
hours. ‘If you’re in a hurry or feeling
anxious, you can have a negative response
to a scent that you might otherwise love.’
What’s more, Lyn adds, the production
of stress hormones can itself change the
way a fragrance smells on your skin – so
she suggests shopping with a friend,
planning a lunch and taking it easy.
Importantly, fragrances should always
be skin-warmed before you make up your
mind about them. Perfume blotters are
‘I do’...
Josephine Fairley recommends romantic wedding scents
fine for helping you to dismiss a fragrance
– if you don’t like it, move on to the next
– but you really need to wear a fragrance
on your body, to know whether you love
it; individual chemistry subtly alters a
perfume’s character, on our skin – that’s
part of the magic, and though sometimes
we can fall in love-at-first-spritz, it takes
up to two hours for the base notes (which
are the lingering fragrance elements we
really live with) to emerge. So: try up
to half a dozen fragrances on blotters,
initially. (Even before that, I tend to sniff
the caps and nozzles of perfume testers
– because the oils concentrate there as
they evaporate – as a first clue, telling me:
that’s a possible, that’s a no-no.) Label
them; even I can’t remember what I’ve
sprayed where (and I do this for a living!)
Have a coffee. Smell those blotters
and narrow your choice down to no
more than three, which you should
then apply to the skin: one on each
wrist, one in the crook of one elbow.
(At this stage, don’t apply any of them
to your neck: it will dominate.) Then
go off and have that lunch. Chill. Ask
your friend’s advice about what smells
great on you, if you’re unsure – and
ideally, ask for samples to take home
and try, longer-term. (Most fragrance
consultants are more than helpful, if
you explain it’s for your wedding.)
10
Wedding
fragrance choices
Estée Lauder Beautiful – not
for nothing has this often been
advertised with a bride in the
ad; it’s swooningly pretty.
Chanel No.5 – or for a young
bride, try No.5 L’Eau as a
fresh and radiant alternative.
Jean Patou Joy – a classic,
grown-up, sumptuous floral, right
up there with Chanel No.5.
Frederic Malle Portrait of
a Lady – one of the most
hauntingly beautiful creations
of recent years, with an overdose
of rose and patchouli.
Calvin Klein Eternity – timelessly
romantic (and it happens to be
wedding-inspired), a harmony of
classic and contemporary notes.
Antonia’s Flowers (find
it at SpaceNK) – almost
photorealistically like walking
into a florist’s shop with its
mossy notes of freesia.
Byredo Flowerhead –
inspired by the flowers which
traditionally celebrate an
Indian wedding (including
garlands of jasmine), opulently
petal-perfect and ‘different’
Creed Love in White – notes of
hyacinth and magnolia, like an
airy, flower-powered breeze.
Christian Dior J’adore – a
modern bouquet of flowers
(including opulent Grasse
rose at its heart), but almost
as if warmed by sunlight.
Jo Malone London Red
Roses – one of the most
swooningly romantic rose
perfumes ever confected.
111 wealdentimes.co.uk