OK for fear of being corrected, St Giles isn’t the Patron Saint of Fragrance, but he is of Blacksmiths, Cancer patients and the Mentally ill, amongst other saintly duties. But the man behind this new delicious fragrance range has been described as a Saint and is a true Fashion industry insider. To say what this man doesn’t know about the fashion, beauty, grooming and lifestyle industria isn’t worth even knowing.
Michael Donovan (above) has spent the last three years creating 5 individual mood inducing scents with the help of the master of innovative luxury fragrance, Bertrand Duchaufour.
The thinking behind this launch is the answer to the Holy Grail of fragrance questions, ‘How does a fragrance make you feel?’ We are all multifaceted creatures which experience different moods and have many differing sides to our complete our own personality and so we need an olfactory wardrobe that is multi-functional and fulfils the needs of our daily lives – a scent to make us feel empowered and successful or inspired, glamorous or stylish.
Think about a fragrance to match and maximise on the mood we find ourselves in or want to portray. Amongst our favourites are, The tycoon
This fragrance conveys luxury and power and is opulent, sumptuous and self-assured, wrapping you up in privilege. It will take you from boardroom to bedroom, it will lionise, it is empowered and entitled. The Tycoon is also a little intimidating!
The scent of extravagance is chypre and here it is balanced with an intense, vivid opening of bitter green galbanum, the gilded zest of pomelo and grapefruit, green lemons and fresh ginger.
Then we have The Writer
The written word is one of life’s great joys, from novels and poetry to newspapers and magazines, online content and the new cultural commentators of social media. Words have the greatest capacity to effect change. This fragrance, inspired by the talented writers that use their imagination, creativity and vision to enrich our lives, will aid concentration and summon the muse!
Rosemary stimulates memory performance and its bitter-green intensity provides the focus for this perfume. The scent opens with fresh ginger, rosemary absolute and the focusing sparkle of aldehydes.
Ohhhh next its the turn of The Mechanic
This is the sex scent! The smells associated with the mechanic’s pit – oil and rubber, fuel, hot skin – convey the purity of doing something physical and how empowering it feels. The Mechanic is animalic, hirsute and it growls!
Earthy geranium and patchouli open, conjuring the urban jungle, and then castoreum hits leather, caramel smooth, rich and dusky. There is something of the Grimm’s fairytale to this fragrance something, dark, smoky, brooding yet sensual, ready to overwhelm.
If that has whet your appetite, check all 5 of these individually crafted scents exclusively at Selfridges.
