Jo's Scent Notes: La Montaña Eau de Parfums

I am full of the utmost admiration for female founders. Having started five businesses myself, I know exactly what it takes. But it’s even more special, somehow, when someone you’ve known for donkeys – in this case, since Cassandra Hall’s days in the PR department of Lancôme, nearly three decades ago – takes the bold step to launch their own venture.

Many of you have come to know and love Cass’s successful candle brand, La Montaña (and Sarah and I have several times featured it in these pages). Inspired by the life she made on a Spanish hillside for herself and husband Jonathan Hall, post-PR days, each individual home fragrance is inspired by a nearby place and the mountain’s many moods, from aromatic First Light, which whispers of the dawn, through to Cloudburst (the scents of the mountain after a downpour), via Alfredo’s Café, coffee-powered, and swirling naughtily with brandy and tobacco, too. Amazingly, having launched with a handful of candles, there are 14 home fragrance options, now.

But it has long been a dream of Cassandra’s to launch eau de parfums for the body, not simply home fragrances. Obviously, it wouldn’t feel right simply to recreate the original scents exactly, for something to be worn on skin. Enter British-based, Finish-born ‘nose’ Pia Long, a true talent who has worked on many fabulous fragrance projects, including for cult brands Beaufort and Zoologist, and who was able to brilliantly interpret what Cass had in her mind.

Taking the wearer from dawn – that First Light – through to dusk, with Divine Sunset, and beyond, thanks to sultrily mysterious Night Star. I got to try them all over a rather magnificent cake at Claridges ArtSpace Café (a hidden Mayfair gem), a couple of weeks back. Since then, have been enjoying figuring out which I like most – which is a tough call, because these are all completely beautiful.

Thoughts, then…

First Light. Herby, aromatic, green, breezy and somehow crisp, with notes of geranium (always a love of mine), pine needle, fir balsam and rock rose. Does it conjure up dawn up a mountain in Spain? I can honestly answer ‘yes’, because for a brief while I had a house in just such a spot, albeit proving a less successful experience than Cass’s. This has the freshness of a Cologne, but the staying power of a more intense concentration – and I simply love it. (It’s almost aromatherapeutic, actually, and I find myself spritzing it when I want to feel a bit more awake.)

Divine Sunset. Fragrances like this always make me smile, because I sit there going, ‘Nah, I’m not really a florals sort of person.’ And then something like this comes along, and I realise that with the right fragrance, I am totally a florals sort of person. Orange blossom and orange feature here, for a sort of golden, glow-y, sun-baked warmth, along with plenty of musks that have me pretty compulsively sniffing my skin. Of the three, this is the one I find myself coming back to most often – a ‘clinging on to summer’ scent, which looks set to light up the coming months. It’s also going straight into my suitcase for my next warm destination jaunt.

Night Star. I THOUGHT I was going to love this most, because it purrs with lots and lots of vanilla and sweet, resinous myrrh, favourite notes of mine. It’s the most elegant and opulent of the trio, and yes, I do really enjoy it – but I keep finding myself coming back to the other two, perhaps because of the time of year. I reckon I’ll be reaching for this one when the velvet clothes come out, nearer Christmas, when I will as usual find myself trying to fight my natural hermit tendencies to nudge myself into the mood for partying – something I often do with the help of a fragrance that I have specifically chosen for its night-time vibe.

Cleverly – and there’s a female founder for you, ever practical – the eau de parfums are available in handbag-friendly 10ml options, priced £22, which also means don’t have to spring for a full size in order to try these out.

But oh, take it from me: you really need to do that.

From £22 for 10ml (£65 for 100ml eau de parfum) – buy here