Scents of Style
There is no better way to start the new season than with a new signature scent. Hood spoke to Scottish perfumer Euan McCall from Jorum Studio, to ask what we should look for this spring.
Where winter demands perfumes with lots of nuzzling layers, warmth, spices and ambers, spring calls for refreshing tones and delicate flowers. I like to think it’s the season for bucolic, outdoorsy and aromatically embracing perfumes that centre around seasonal flowers, making way for bolder white flower notes and citrus in the summer.
In perfumery, spring is the season of the mimosa. The mimosa harvest starts in January and lasts until March. Perfumers and farmers gather as many of these little bunches of ‘winter sun’ as they can. The South of France is arguably the epicentre of the mimosa industry. Some 200 tonnes of these blossoms will be picked this spring and the lower levels of frost this past winter mean a great harvest is expected. In normal times, the Jorum perfumery team would be visiting our French material suppliers about now, partaking in the harvest and enjoying this beautiful little golden orb’s quintessentially spring-like aroma in person.
Jo Malone new-age classic Mimosa & Cardamom Cologne (£108, 100ml) perfectly captures the beauty of delicate mimosa flowers. The mimosa here has been underscored by the aromatic sweetness of cardamom, creating a wonderful bouquet that gently oscillates between soft musky flowers in bloom, and sweet spices. That little whisper of cardamom is the perfect spicy transition from the long winter into spring. Clever stuff that’s a joy to wear.
Frédéric Malle Une Fleur de Cassie (£250, 100ml) has been one of my go-to spring perfumes since it launched in 2000. The powdery, pollen-drenched character of mimosa is distilled to perfection in this perfume and the ‘fresh-laundered’ musks provide just the right amount of outdoorsy, washing-line freshness.
The team at Jorum HQ have been cracking out our latest hit Pentimento recently. It has a wonderfully realistic mimosa-in-bloom vibe that is quietly hidden beneath layers of moreish hazelnut and boozy rum. There’s still enough warmth here, but also springtime flowers too.
