The smell of rebellion on your collarbone –
that’s the current fragrance mood. In the
same way that CK One – with its grungy anti-Wall
Street vibe and unisex notes – thumbed its nose at
tradition in the 90s, a new raft of fragrances has
emerged that marks a revolution in scent in 2019.
Perfumers are reimagining classically muscular
notes, such as myrrh and rum, to create female
scents that capture the zeitgeist of empowered,
strong women. Not too girlie, not too macho,
we’re calling it the equivalent of the smoking-
jacket-over-birthday-suit look. Take Bulgari’s
Splendida Tubereuse Mystique, for instance. It is
built on night-flowering tuberose, a note that
has never been used in perfume before.
‘Traditionally, tuberose is harvested in the
morning when the buds are still closed,’ explains
perfumer Sophie Labbé. ‘It smells rough,
camphor-like and typically masculine. But when
you pick tuberose at twilight, the bloom is open
and now smells creamy, fruity and also animalic,as you get more of the orange flower part.’ All of
which translates into a female fragrance that isn’t
in the least bit frilly. Another example of a scent
that deviates from the familiar is Yves Saint
Laurent Libre. Master perfumer Anne Flipo took
fougère – a traditional style for men’s colognes
that leans heavily on lavender – and flipped the
script. Instead of a smoky or herbal iteration, she
introduced a seriously floral variety of lavender as
a top note. ‘We removed the camphor-like smell
that lavender typically has to make it fresher and
more feminine, before adding orange blossom
and jasmine for sensuality,’ explains Flipo. ‘It’s
radiant, bright and powerful, which is how I want
the woman who wears it to feel.’ Meanwhile,
Jérôme Di Marino, the nose behind Kenzo’s
World Power, goes one step further by
eliminating florals altogether. ‘It reinvents
femininity, which is quite a new concept in
perfumery,’ he says. Read on for our pick of the
best breakthrough fragrances for AW19.What does female empowerment smell like?
Anything but delicate, says Fiona Embleton, wh o
tries out this season’s punchy fragrance drop
DISRUPTORS
01 YSL Beauty Libre EDP, £78 for 50ml (Fabled.com) This walks the line between feminine and masculine, as lavender and
white flowers segue to citrus, vanilla and amber. 02 Nars Audacious Fragrance EDP, £125 for 50ml The first ever Nars scent
and, of course, it’s provocative. Smoky incense smells less church-like and more nuzzly with the addition of white frangipani,
tiare flower, sandalwood and white musk. 03 Kenzo World Power EDP, £65 for 50ml A fragrance that stands out for
its total absence of flowery notes – infused with sea salt crystals, almondy tonka beans and aromatic cypress. 04 Byredo Slow
Dance EDP, £110 for 50ml Sweet myrrh, geranium, violet and vanilla conjure up warm silk and breathless exchanges.