Fragrance our top picks second selection

Amouage Love TuberoseThose who love tuberose have come to the right place for a fragrance sophisticated enough to suit any special occasion, including, of course, the most special celebration of all. Part of Amouage’s Secret Garden collection and feminine in the extreme, this scent is intended to evoke the desires and pleasures of Russian literature and classical music. Amouage creative director Christopher Chong, a trained opera singer who likens his work to the bottling of art and emotion, says it’s a manifestation of passion, hope and adventure that embodies the excitement and mystery of an unfolding love story. As well as its alluring heroine tuberose, it features warm gardenia, tender vanilla and Chantilly cream, plus cedarwood and sandalwood to add depth to the sweetness. It’s all encased in an elegant ivory bottle embellished with a pale rose Swarovski crystal. Available at worldbrand.co.nz

Amouage Bracken WomanFrom the Sultanate of Oman’s luxurious and storied fragrance house, Amouage Bracken Woman is a vibrant, crisp blend of violet leaf, galbanum (an aromatic gum) and bracken fern notes, with a bittersweet heart of wild berries, florals and leather, and smoky, woody undertones of patchouli, vetiver and birch. An intriguing and powerful fragrance that changes on the skin over time, it’s intensely green, even tangy, reminiscent of an early morning walk through dew-soaked woodlands where the scent of damp earth, crushed grass, moss and wild undergrowth greet you at every step. A sophisticated take on green notes, this has mystery and complexity for those who aren’t afraid of unusual perfumes. Available at worldbrand.co.nz

Carner ‘El Born’ eau de parfumThe founder of this high-end Barcelona perfume brand, Sarah Carner, says, “It’s not only about creating scents but also about evoking memories, sharing experiences and transmitting emotions” and El Born bears her out, transporting you to the winding, cobbled streets of this quaint and romantic Barcelona barrio. Perfumer Jacques Huclier perfectly captures the essence of its tiny balconies draped in foliage, which tumbles down to streets lined with bookshops, wine bars and vintage stores. This scent has rich, leafy notes of Sicilian lemon and bergamot, which open to a heart of fig, heliotrope and Egyptian jasmine before drying down to warm, sensual notes of Madagascan vanilla, Peru Balsalm, Australian sandalwood and a touch of musk. Available at worldbrand.co.nz

BeauFort ‘Iron Duke’ Eau de Parfum- Get your warrior princess or prince on with this bold, unisex scent from the British perfume house launched in 2015 by sailor and musician Leo Crabtree. It’s part of the Revenants collection, which celebrates figures from history whose reputations – like these scents – linger on. Iron Duke is named for the Duke of Wellington, aka Arthur Wellesley: epic horseman (hence the image on the bottle), mighty general (who forced Napoleon to finally face his Waterloo), celebrated politician and trendsetter who first popularised ‘Wellington’ boots. Created by perfumer Julie Dunkley, it’s woody, spicy and powerful, with notes of tobacco, snuff, gunpowder, leather and hay. Arm yourself with Iron Duke and you’re making a statement: Underestimate me at your peril. Available at worldbrand.co.nz

Marc-Antoine Barrois ‘B683’ eau de parfumThis unapologetically bold fragrance is French couturier Marc-Antoine Barrois’ debut. Working with avant-garde perfumer Quentin Bisch, he has turned for inspiration to childhood memories. Collecting wood to heat the family home, the scent of a leather desk blotter — these nostalgic experiences amount to a cologne with spicy top notes of chilli, black pepper, and nutmeg, a heart of violet leaf, amber and musk, and warm, woody base notes of sandalwood, patchouli and oak moss. Available at worldbrand.co.nz.

Clive Christian’s 1872 Eau de Parfum– They say ‘age before beauty’, but in Clive Christian’s 1872, the two come together exquisitely. Christian acquired the prestigious Crown Perfumery Company two decades ago, and this pairing is named for the year of its birth. The bottle’s apothecary aesthetic evokes the perfume’s rich past – Queen Victoria granted use of her crown for the very regal lid – but the scents speak to modern tastes. The feminine version is a fruity citrus bouquet, with zesty top notes of bergamot, tangerine and lemon, and middle notes of rose de mai containing the distilled absolute of 170 rose heads. The masculine version is a handsome match, wonderfully rich and spicy, with a heart of cyclamen, freesia, jasmine and Tagetes oil that woos like a Victorian gentleman, and a top note of clary sage. Both are part of a collection of three pairings. Available at worldbrand.co.nz

Histoires De Parfums’ 1899An extremely elegant French brand, Histoires de Parfums tells stories through perfume and has created more than 40 fragrances inspired by intrepid people, iconic places and special raw materials. 1899 pays homage to Ernest Hemingway, the novelist whose spare style changed literature and whose adventures have enthralled many young hearts. Born in America, a journalist who was witness to the Spanish Civil War and the liberation of Paris, he also spent time writing in Venice and Cuba and this perfume seeks to trace some of this. Opening notes of Italian bergamot, juniper and pepper are like a strong aperitif that lead into flavours reminiscent of the Mediterranean — orange blossom and Florentine iris. The fragrance ends with warm, spicy notes of vetiver, cinnamon, vanilla and amber, which combine to suggest the inviting dark of a Cuban bar. A whirlwind honeymoon in one breath, with staying power. Available at worldbrand.co.nz

Map of The Heart White Heart Eau de Parfum- Founded by film-makers Sarah Blair and Jeffrey Darling, Map of the Heart fragrances draw on their passion for storytelling and are proof of their shared belief that scent can takes us to places as powerfully as words, images and film. White Heart is an olfactory narrative that has love at its core, a big-screen romance distilled into a white, heart-shaped bottle. Ethereal lavender, accompanied by aldehyde and cardamom, offer a cool welcome. As you venture deeper into this beautiful yet potentially dangerous terrain, you’re seized by umeboshi (Japanese salt plums) and Somalian frankincense, and you begin to yield to its power. Then the intense, vibrant rush of gardenia and the sweet, woody scent of oud usher in the grand, romantic finale. This truly is a scent to fall in love with. Available at worldbrand.co.nz

Creed Original SantalParisian fragrance dynasty The House of Creed was founded in 1760 and passed from father to son for seven generations. Originally, it made custom-blended fragrances for royals including Queen Victoria, King George III and Empress Eugenie, but began selling to the public in the 1970s. Crafted by father and son, Olivier and Erwin, the sixth and seventh generation, this heady unisex fragrance pays homage to the splendour of India, combining the clean, calming scent of Mysore sandalwood, vanilla and Tonka bean with feistier notes like cinnamon, coriander, Jamaican ginger, orange, lavender, peppermint and juniper berry to keep things interesting. Infinitely layerable, this characterful fragrance could easily be layered, or just worn like a second skin, to casual or formal events. Available at worldbrand.co.nz

Eight & Bob Nuit de MegeveIt’s hard to tell how much is fact or fiction: although launched in 2012, Eight & Bob’s cologne, according to the company (which admits to embellishing the story), was originally blended in the 1930s by a Parisian aristocrat and his butler, gifted to a young JFK who made the scent popular with Hollywood’s leading men, and smuggled out of Nazi-occupied Paris inside cut-out books. (The company is registered in Valencia). Subsequent Eight & Bob releases have taken us to Cap d’Antibes to recreate the aristocrat’s summer holidays, to the fields of Provence and to Egypt. Nuit de Megève recalls the magic of party season in Megève, a (real) cobblestoned French ski resort town beloved of high society. Conversation and dancing, coffee and cigars, and bracing alpine air are suggested by crisp notes of grapefruit and Vetiver, blended with warm, languid notes of coffee and tobacco. It’s both fresh and smoky, elegant and unusual — perfect for a special night. All available at worldbrand.co.nz

Jardin Rouge ‘Bostonian Springtime’ Eau de Parfum– From the House of Lubin, a Parisian perfumery that has been performing its beautiful alchemy since 1798, comes a flurry of floral, fruity and musky notes. Scarlet oaks, American holly and raspberry canes have earned this fragrance its name. With top notes of bergamot, pink peppercorn and blackcurrant, and middle notes of magnolia, wallflower, raspberry and rose, it’s a stroll through a spring garden bursting into flower. The unisex scent is one of two new additions to ‘Evocations de Lubin’, a series characterised by simplicity, with only two or three natural ingredients at the heart of each fragrance. Think outdoor scents that are both fresh and immediate, but which also linger, like a poignant recollection of a special place. Available at worldbrand.co.nz

The DukeUnconventional and eccentric, sparkling notes of aromatic spiced gin and delicate florals suggest dandyism, alongside smoky, leathery notes of the hunt, with a surprising touch of cumin. An enchanting, contradictory perfume that is alluringly ambiguous. Available at worldbrand.co.nz