Jo's Scent Notes: Parfums de Marly boutique, Covent Garden
It doesn’t matter how well someone writes about fragrance. (And I really try.) But truth is, there is really nothing to compare with actually smelling things in real life, in a real store. And that process is further improved if you can find someone to hold your hand, share their expertise and gently steer you towards fragrances that you might like, without feeling pressured.
A couple of weeks ago, I paid a visit to the new flagship Covent Garden store of a French fragrance house called Parfums de Marly, whose scents are all named after horses owned by the horses owned by perfume-crazy King Louis VX of France. (He was so obsessed, in fact, that Versailles was known as ‘the perfumed court’, where even the fountains ran with fragranced water.)
There I met Sarita, who held my hand through the consultation, and is honestly one of the best and most knowledgeable fragrance consultants I’ve ever put my nose in the hands of. (As it were.)
Unlike any other fragrance consultation I’ve had (and trust me, there have been plenty), this one began with an invitation to sniff individual ingredients in essence form, to help Sarita identify the fragrance families that were most likely to push my buttons, from Floral, Aromatic, Amber, Oud, Woody. With Sarita’s help, I was then able to sample my way through many different Parfums de Marly creations, having honed in on what I might like, through that initial smelling ‘edit’.
Turned out there were several that pushed my buttons, starting with Kalan, a shareable (the new word for ‘unisex’) scent, which has plenty of blood orange and orange blossom, some lavender and white sandalwood, underpinned by mosses and woods. It’s fresh at first, earthy later – and I’m very taken. (Sexy red bottle, too.)
I also really fell for D’Arcy (below), which is almost edibly delicious, finishing up with plenty of praline and patchouli (notes which pair beautifully), slowly drifting in after citrusy top notes and a rose and jasmine heart'; it’s presented in a very swanky and dressing table-worthy gold bottle, be-tasseled in black silk.
And while I’m not a pretty-pretty fragrance person, I do also admire Delina, which has been so mega-successful for Parfums de Marly (so much so that there’s an entire range of layering possibilities, from Hand Cream to Hair Mist, see below) – and is definitely worth exploring if you like your fragrances feminine, flirty and cashmere-soft. It’s almost halo-like on the skin, creating a sort of cloud of peony, Turkish rose, vanilla and musk, with tart lychee and rhubarb keeping it from tipping over into over-sweetness.
What made a huge difference was being able to set aside an hour or so for this exercise. There is, alas, a tendency to rush fragrance-shopping, spritzing something as we dash through a perfumery, enjoying the top notes – a fragrance’s overture – and rushing into buying it, which is how expensive mistakes are so often made. I got the sense that the consultants in Parfums de Marly, by contrast, would honestly rather send you home with a sample or two, to allow you to live with those fragrances and really experience how they develop – and only then make a purchase. Or, alternatively, go back and try a few others.
There are some fab touches, in-store, as you sniff your way around. Fancy perfume shops often use fragrance testers created from porcelain, because unglazed clay absorbs scent very well and gives a true impression of the fragrance as it’ll smell on your skin after a while; in the case of Parfums de Marly, though, these happen to be in the shape of horses’ heads. The iPad consultation tool at the beginning of your smelling session has a lot of truly fascinating info on there, too, so that you can learn as you sniff. And the whole place is just very pretty, well-lit and inviting.
And if you really can’t get to the Covent Garden boutique? Parfums de Marly have a beautiful Discovery Set, price £35 for x 1.5ml, here; you can redeem that expenditure against the purchase of any 75ml fragrance.
But do try. If you want to expand your fragrance knowledge, it is totally worth the perfume pilgrimage.
Just tell them I sent you.
Parfums de Marly 19 Market Building, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8RB/07568-115638
Opening times: 10am-7pm Monday to Saturday, 12-6pm Sunday
