Are you feeling the need for snuggly scents yet? Suzy and Nicola are leaning into the cosiness in this week’s episode and have been gathering together some of new launches and favourite fragrances they’ve been wearing as autumn approaches. The discussion ranges from ultra-sophisticated gourmands encompassing chocolate and lattes, to a bohemian rose, a truly fantastic new woody scent, and an American niche tobacco fragrance Suzy fell for years ago and a listener kindly sourced a sample of for her. Plus, the #listenerprescription this week is for a ‘friendship fragrance’ to link and be shared by a listener and her best friend who is moving far away...
Tom Ford Tobacco Chocolat
By Daniela Andrier
‘TOM FORD has long been drawn to the sensual, masculine heat of tobacco – and now, the perfumer adds another iteration to its repertoire. Tobacco Chocolat is an eau de parfum founded upon the brand’s exclusive cocoa smoke accord, a note that fuses the rich, intoxicating quality of cocoa with the grounding earthiness of tobacco. Alongside this powerful core are a host of complimentary notes, from bright orange essence to balsam and patchouli, coming together to make a fragrance set to capture attention.
Top Notes: cocoa smoke co-distillation, Orange Essence
Middle Notes: peru balsam, chocolat noir grand cru delight
Base Notes: patchouli cœur Indonesia, Ambrofix.’
NEST New York Cardamom Latte
‘Like cashmere on bare skin, this spicy gourmand eau de parfum is endlessly wearable. The gentle heat of cardamom drifts through jasmine-laced air steeped in the creamy comfort of coconut milk.
Cardamom Latte unfolds like the perfect pour—layered and immersive. Heat blooms into softness. Spice melts into cream. Steam diffuses into air. Transforming your atmosphere with warmth you can feel. An enveloping fragrance that surrounds before it settles. Because comfort isn’t static. It’s fluid.’
Acqua di Parma Signatures of the Sun Cedar Virtuoso (& body cream)
‘Cedro Virtuoso celebrates the sensorial warmth of creation—the moment when an idea begins to take shape and inner confidence turns sensibility into emotion. Like the different stages of a creative process, the fragrance unfolds like a warm embrace, encouraging creativity to rise from within. Between vivid, vibrant notes and deeper, cocooning tones that accompany the journey from intuition to realization is the fragrance’s distinctive singularity: a co-infusion of Virginia cedarwood and hazelnut, whose encounter shapes a creamy woody signature.’
Miller Harris Scherzo Extrait
‘Developed at 30% concentration, Scherzo Extrait captures the vibrant spirit of the original Eau de Parfum while unveiling a deeper, more intoxicating signature. Bright, luminous sweetness meets newfound richness and warmth, allowing the fragrance to bloom with a more immersive intensity for lasting presence.
The fragrance opens with the familiar rush of tangerine and davana, radiating vibrant fruity luminosity. At its heart, delicate peony blooms abundantly alongside crisp pittosporum, while a new dimension begins to emerge: a more sumptuous and velvety rose, enrobed in golden honey and entwined with creamy vanilla for a richer sensuality, its floral radiance enhanced by threads of incense to bring light and vibration. Together, they introduce a magnetic tension, guiding the fragrance towards more mysterious territory.
At the base, shimmering oudh unfolds with greater texture, amplified by intensified patchouli and moss. The introduction of smooth amber woods brings warmth and refinement, creating a striking counterpoint to the fragrance's signature sweetness. As these richer notes emerge, they reveal new facets of its character.
The result is a fragrance which is radiant yet mysterious, vibrant yet profound, with a more enduring and enveloping trail.’
HEAD NOTES:
Tangerine*, Davana* (herb with a fruity, sweet, tea like smell, member of the Artemisia family.)
HEART NOTES:
Rose Nectar Accord, Peony, Olibanum* (Frankincense), Pittosporum.
LASTING IMPRESSIONS:
Patchouli*, Vanilla, Oudh, Moss, Amber Woods, Sweet Note.
Sonoma Scents Tabac Aurea
‘Tabac Aurea has an enticing golden amber drydown and a pipe tobacco note that is enjoyed by women as well as men. It’s smooth and softly gourmand, with notes of amber, woods, spices, tobacco, leather, tonka, labdanum, patchouli, and vanilla. The amber accord combines dry earthy notes with sweet elements and subtle fruity touches to create an addictive, beautiful, golden aura. One of our top three best-selling scents.’
Ormonde Jayne Sybarite
Nicola has been finding great comfort and energy in this, lately. It’s the only store-exclusive founder and creative director Linda Pilkington has allowed for her own Royal Arcade boutique, this was so worth the wait. A perfect melange of creamy hazelnut and orris butter, it’s the Timur pepper and the effervescently spiced sparkle it adds to the composition that ties it all together. Utterly unique, and beautifully balanced, it’s the finer things in life lovingly bottled. Those craving outside London: call or email them for information.
Perfume Prescription:
Luci Tither:
‘Hi lovely ladies, you very kindly gave me a perfume prescription for a magical trip to Porto last year (excellent recommendation of Claus Porto). And I wondered if you'd indulge a second prescription if I may. I loved the notion of a friendship fragrance mentioned in a recent episode. It really struck a chord with me as my best friend is very sadly moving to Canada from the UK early next year and although I'm very happy for her, I'm going to miss her immensely. I wondered if it would be at all possible to help us find a fragrance that we could both wear whenever we meet, and will remind us of each other when we're apart.
She loves a gourmand like Bianco Latte, Seven Virtues Vanilla Amber or skin scents like Not A Perfume and Phlur Not Your Baby. For me, I love clean, powdery skin scents (like Molecule Iris, Prada Infusion), and warm sandalwood/ambery scents (think Sana Jardin Sandalwood Temple, BDK Vanilla Leather). We also both love a rogue option like Dries Van Noten Fleur de Mal, BDK Rouge Smoking Jacket and Amouage Guidance.
Apologies for the long message - I hope you can suggest something that we'd both love and can make being thousands of miles apart that bit easier. Thank you in advance - your podcast is very much my happy place on my commute to work. Xx’
Suzy thinks it’s definitely worth trying a sample of Estée Lauder Glimmer (and the Acqua di Parma Cedro Virtuoso), and also suggests:
Molton Brown Milk Musk Eau de Toilette
Milk gently laps at luscious notes of pear, delicate florals and sheer white musk, while Ambroxan and cashmere add that skin-on-skin warmth. Scented contentment awaits, tender as a fluttery kiss, softly embracing rather than swaddling.
Fischersund Faux Flora No. 1
Encompassing the life cycles of plants and humans alike, this scent ‘springs from universal experiences.’ A sparkle of bergamot’s brightness is swathed by ‘mountain milk’, cool, pristine and porcelain-like, warming to salty iris’s mortal muskiness.
Eris Parfums Mothers Milk
Antoine Lee’s ‘primordial gourmand’ blends buttery orris and vanilla with hyper-realistic warm milk, subverting the soft-focus skin-swaddled kiss of comfort, as ‘good’ mother (rosily nurturing) becomes ‘bad’ (suede-like, sultry). Think fairytale mother turned Joan Crawford.
Maison Louis Marie Bois de Balincourt (You can get a mini travel set with the oil and EDP, so could purchase one to share, perhaps?)
‘Bois de Balincourt is inspired by our family home, nestled deep within an ancient forest. Along a trail we fondly called Lover’s Lane, generations wandered under towering trees, surrounded by stillness and memory. This signature scent layers creamy sandalwood and cedar with warming cinnamon and nutmeg, anchored by earthy vetiver — a romantic, comforting fragrance with effortless depth.’
Olfactive O Skin
Nicola had the brilliant idea of using this scent as your shared ‘base’ layer, which you can wear alone or layer with any other perfume you have. That way, she thought you’d always be grounded in the same scent. Suzy then had the idea if you both ordered bottles, you could use then personalise them – each full-size bottle of Skin extrait comes with a fingerprint ink pad and blank label for this purpose!
Olivia, the founder, describes Skin as: ‘...for everyone, universal yet deeply personal. The delicate balance of notes blends with your skin chemistry to create the absolute essence of you – unmistakable and compelling. It can be applied on its own or worn in combination with any of the other personality scents to magnify and enhance your unique scent. I am the alchemist, the musician, the storyteller. I am confident in my own skin and never need to pretend. I confound expectations and you’ll keep coming back to me, intrigued and charmed. I am sun-warmed skin on the beach, tousled hair, the cool of cotton sheets at the end of the day.’
