81
July 2020 | REDONLINE.CO.UKbeauty
D
o the months of June, July and August ever go
by without someone, somewhere in the world
wondering whether they need a summer
fragrance? Our answer (these are the beauty
pages after all) is perhaps unsurprisingly that
yes, you always do. Not for any great practical
reason – what you love in winter shouldn’t
necessarily be put away because the weather
turns warm – but because of all the seasons,
summer is the one that promises wild and
glorious abandon. For a handful of hot, too-short weeks, we can go
somewhere, see something, even be someone thrillingly new.
If you come to life when it’s time to get your summer wardrobe out
of storage, you’ll know that the sides of ourselves we express in puffed
seersucker and broderie anglaise are the best ones – floatier, probably cooler,
definitely freer. And much like the clothes we wear, perfume is another way
to exhibit a shimmering new self. ‘Who do you want to be today? For me, it
changes by the hour,’ says Michelle Feeney, founder of bright and beautiful
British fragrance house Floral Street. She recalls one of the first perfumes
she bought: Charlie by Revlon. ‘It started with the ad campaign,’ says
Feeney. ‘I saw this positive, confident blonde striding through New York
and just thought, “Wow, I want to be her.” I felt that confidence every time
I wore it, and by my twenties and thirties, I was living and working in New
York, where I stayed for more than 10 years. Perhaps it was the Charlie that
did it; I never underestimate the transformative power of perfume.’
London perfumer Maya Njie has sold her lush and luminous scents to
actors seeking to get under the skin of a new character. ‘I love that! If you
want to become someone else for the night, fragrance sets the tone,’ says Njie.
‘It can pick you up, bring you confidence and help you take on a persona.
It’s an armour of sorts.’ For her, summer’s dewy florals and buttery tropical
notes represent freedom and adventure, a liberation that is well-earned after
persevering through colder, darker months.
For the Brooklyn husband-and-wife duo behind fragrance brand D.S. &
Durga, a new perfume is an instant ticket to a different realm. ‘Fragrance is
a world unto itself. Like walking inside of a painting,’ says musician-turned-
perfumer David Seth Moltz. Inspired by folk songs, characters from novels
and moments in time, he and his architect partner Kavi Moltz use not just
scent but words, pictures and music to curate these worlds, hiding stories and
anecdotes inside packaging they design in-house, and posting playlists on
Spotify for every perfume. ‘I think people are drawn not just to the fragrances
but to the holistic worlds that we make – the name, words, scent, playlists
and images that each fragrance has.’ Intrigued? From anklet-wearing island
hopper to beatnik Parisienne, a new scent picked from these pages could
help you explore the summer alter-ego you’ve always yearned for. Enjoy...TROPICA EDP, £85,
Maya NjIe
Green, leafy fig
with glowing
ambergris and
sandalwoodCOULD A TRANSFORMATIVE
NEW FRAGRANCE HELP
YOU EXPLORE YOUR SHIMMERING
SUMMER SELF? WE THINK SO...
LONDON POPPY,
IRIS GODDESS AND
NEON ROSE EDP,
£24 each,
Floral Street
Who do you want
to be today?