For the 600th episode of my Love At First Scent series, I was joined in the virtual studio by a very special guest: Patricia De Nicolai, founder of her eponymous brand, member of the Guerlain family, recipient of France's Chevalier De La Legion D'Honneur award, former president of the Osmotheque, and creator of some truly beloved perfumes, including New York…

- We are under stress. We have many players selling stock. They are discounting. We don’t know where they got the product from. It could be on social networks, it could be on Snapchat. We don’t know if they are original. And this is stressing the traditional players like us who are paying rent, training staff, doing things by the book.

There was a time when the word ‘Tauer’ was almost entirely synonymous with the idea of independent perfumery. Zurich-based Andy Tauer — a self-taught perfumer who started his brand by selling his wares at a friend’s shop — represented all that was best and most authentic about the non-mainstream side of the industry. Things have changed since then. The notion of indie scent-making is markedly different from what it was a few decades ago, and Andy’s style and approach to his work have also gone through a bit of a transformation.

In the first instalment of what will hopefully turn out to be a regular series, I was joined by Alice Du Parcq for a bit of Spray & Tell -- a completely unplanned perfume discussion, guided by nothing more than the wandering of our minds and some questions from the live audience. In this edition, we talked about our favourite releases of the year, the new 100th anniversary flanker of Guerlain…

For this year's Halloween list, I paired perfumes with some classic costume ideas, and enlisted some visual assistance from Google Gemini. Here's a link to the video: Top 10 perfumes for Halloween 2025. Skeleton 5:26Corpse Bride 11:31Pirate 16:26Mummy 24:00Morticia Addams 29:53Frankenstein's Monster 34:38Grim Reaper 39:35Ghost 44:00Witch 47:11Count Dracula 51:26 Enjoy! Persolaise

- Some perfumes arrive on the market not at the right time. I have a good example — Wrappings from Clinique. I love this perfume. But it arrived too early. It wasn’t the right moment, and really it didn’t have the success it deserved. I thought my sample number 99 was very good, but perhaps it wasn’t the right moment for it.

I was delighted to welcome self-taught, Holland-based perfumer Hiram Green into my virtual studio a few days ago. He discussed his latest release, Ultra -- which he describes as channelling the energy of the 1980s -- as well the way he got into perfumery in the first place, and what he thinks of the current standing of all-natural scent creation. Here's a link to the interview: Hiram Green live interview. Persolaise

Five reviews in brief 9:21Le Dix 12:50Getaria 17:09Extra 23:10Muscara 27:07No Comment 31:17 A few years ago, brands followed the 'why make one when you can make three' strategy of perfume creation. Now, that number has increased to at least five, with houses releasing six or seven scents in one fell swoop. Under the ownership of Kering, Balenciaga have upped the ante even more, offering a re-launch portfolio that includes no fewer than ten compositions, including a new version of…

Please click on the link below to be taken to my Substack reviews of the following perfumes: Room 1015 Jasmine FreakStephane Humbert Lucas God Of FireMaison Mataha Printemps BlancBon Parfumeur 403 Myrrh ShadowLe Gout De Peau Leigong MountainChambre 52 Soleil TonkaSospiro Il PadrinoCreed Oud ZarianBelnu Rose SteadyPlowden & Fallow Debonaire, Squire Jack, Audacity, A Masquerade and Ophrys Here's the link: Creed Oud Zarian, Room 1015 Jasmine Freak, Belnu Rose Steady and other reviews. Persolaise

My friend Neil Chapman (of The Black Narcissus) and I recently indulged in a chat about a vintage bottle of Chanel Antaeus, but if you don't mind, I won't write anything more about it here and instead I'll direct you straight to my Substack: The Black Narcissus and Persolaise on Chanel Antaeus. Once you reach the Substack, you'll have to do one more click to read the complete transcript of the conversation Neil and I had, and I apologise about placing this excessive demand on your 'click patience threshold', but trust me, there is a method to my madness. Anyway, I hope you enjoy our musings. Persolaise

Regular readers and viewers invariably tell me that autumn is when they enjoy pulling out the more baroque scents in their collections: the rich, Mitsouko-esque chypres, the darker florals, the more enveloping woods. That’s fine, but for this year’s autumn Top 10, I was guided by a rather different mood — a desire to seek simple, uncomplicated pleasures. So, in the spirit of being grateful for the blessings which we tend to take for granted, here’s a link to my rundown of the best scents for autumn 2025, followed by the complete list of perfumes I covered, with timestamps: …

I never cease to be amazed by the stories behind the creation of some perfumery ingredients. The latest one to be brought to my attention is linked to a shipwreck pulled up off the coast of Devon in 1973, inside which were discovered several perfectly preserved — and reportedly still pungent — pieces of genuine Russian leather. This remarkable tale formed a large part of my recent interview with Valerie and Remi Pulvérail of Les Indemodables, in which they explained how they literally extracted a scent material from a piece of leather, which they then used in their new, limited edition flanker of…

- Regular readers will know that I’m not what you’d call the world’s biggest fan of Bleu. I remain an admirer of Chanel. I believe they continue to give us interesting and worthwhile olfactory creations. I am filled with gratitude for the fact that they maintain the quality of No. 5, No. 19, Cuir De Russie, …

Osmanthus 19 4:10Eucalyptus 20 15:20 One of the few enjoyable things about summer ending is that it means I get to resume my YouTube broadcasts and my interactions with all of you. I’ve presented several new episodes over the course of the last few weeks, featuring reviews of releases from Le Labo, Diptyque, Jil Sander, Acqua Di Parma and Parfum D’Empire.

- How do you mark the 100th anniversary of the release of one of the most important perfumes of all time? If you’re at Guerlain, then the answer would appear to be the somewhat predictable: put out a limited edition flanker. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that. Goodness know, countless other brands have marked key occasions in a similar way. What matters is how you do the flanking.

- In recent months, I’ve found myself thinking what a shame it is that Cartier L’Envol seems to have vanished for good. Released as an eau de parfum in 2016 (has it really been nine years??) with a follow-up eau de toilette coming a year later, it was an attempt on the part of in-house perfumer Mathilde Laurent to bring something genuinely new to the realm of masculine perfumery — a landscape that was and remains almost entirely populated by timid, generic clones.

- For reasons that are probably related to various twists and turns of history, several perfume brands with British roots seem to have gone through extended periods of experiencing an identity crisis. Penhaligon’s is, of course, the first one that comes to mind. Even though it seems to be enjoying a relatively stable phase at the moment — perhaps the strategies employed by current owners, Puig, are finally yielding results — I’m not sure it’s quite worked out who or what it wants to be.

- A few years ago, the main trend in the perfume industry was the creation of high-end, exclusive (read: expensively-priced) ranges from established brands: Chanel’s Exclusifs, Dior’s Collection Privee, Hermes’ Hermessence et al. Now we seem to be going through a phase of perfumers and creative directors setting up their own ranges. Pierre Bourdon has done it (although his brand appears to have vanished) as have Sylvaine Delacourte, Sonia Constant and, most recently, Dominique Ropion.

- I first became aware of Quentin Bisch not by smelling one of his works but by seeing him on my TV screen. In the second episode of Ian Denyer’s Perfume documentary series for the BBC, even though the spotlight was mostly on the likes of Jean-Claude Ellena, Jean Guichard and Christopher Brosius, it was Bisch who stayed in viewers’ minds.

- This is almost pointless. A fact that’s slightly ironic given that, on paper, the idea looks as though it shouldn’t be the least bit tricky to pull off. Step one: think of a perfumer. Step two: find their first and their most recent compositions. And step three: compare them with each other. Try to work out how the creator’s style has developed.

I suspect Guerlain didn't think that a vetiver composition would turn out to be polarising, but this is exactly what seems to be happening with Vetiver Fauve, their latest addition to L'Art & La Matiere. I featured it in a recent episode of Love At First Scent, together with a video in which I presented my list of the Top 10 best 'modern retro' perfumes: scents that nod to the past in a knowing, ironic way.

It's pleasing to see that Nicolai are enjoying increasing success and acclaim in the UK at the moment. Goodness knows, we could certainly do with a few more perfumers possessed of the skills and elegance of Patricia De Nicolai. Following on from my recent review of the brand's new Harrods exclusive, Patchouli Spirit (click here to read and watch it…

The power of a good recommendation. A little while ago, a long-time viewer suggested that I need to get my nose on Zara Leather Jardin, so I duly obliged and featured it in a recent set of Love At First Scent episodes, in which I also covered Voyages Imaginaires (the brand founded by Camille Goutal and Isabel Doyen) as well as the new edt versions of Bulgari…

Frederic Malle may have left Estee Lauder, but his name is all over the brand's publicity material for one of the most unexpected flankers in recent years: an oud version of the classic White Linen from 1978. Not exactly the first candidate that comes to mind for the agarwood treatment. I reviewed it in a recent set of Love At First Scent…

- Those who bemoan the current state of the publishing world often say that in the past, things were better because authors were given time to grow. If their first novel wasn’t a great success, they didn’t have to worry unduly. Their agent and editor gave them the encouragement they needed to keep going, refine their voice and, hopefully, thrive and develop as creators.