The hunt for the perfect signature scent – you know the type that turns heads whenever your wear it – can be all-consuming. With a dizzying plethora of fragrances launching each season, it’s not easy deciding which scent – or scents, if you’re that way inclined – to splurge on.
And if you’ve ever spent some serious time spritzing scent after scent at your favourite beauty counter, you’ll be all too familiar with the feeling of said fragrances starting to smell suspiciously similar. To make things a little easier, we’ve rounded up a selection of out-of-the-ordinary fragrances that you’re guaranteed to love after just one spritz.
Clive Christian Jump Up and Kiss Me Ecstatic
If you’re unacquainted with Clive Christian, the first question on your lips is most likely why would anyone fork out an eye-watering $849 for a fragrance? For those hunting high and low for a scent you’re unlikely to find anyone else wearing, this is a splurge you won’t regret. Inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Jump Up and Kiss Me Ecstatic is a bewitching fragrance. While the seductive tuberose is the star of this show, this impressive scent features a whopping 203 ingredients, including favourites such as tonka bean, rose, and bright mandarin. Give this one a spritz after the sun goes down.
$849 for 50ml EDP.
Byredo De Los Santos
Cult fragrance house Byredo knows a thing or two about creating extraordinary scents. The latest to join the line-up, De Los Santos, offers fragrance obsessives another unique olfactory experience, this time via the fragrant celebration of remembrance rituals such as Día de los Muertos and All Saints’ Day. It’s rich and earthy– there’s clary sage, musk and powdery oris to thank for that – while feeling buoyant and cheerful too. A hint of mirabelle gives De Los Santos a juicy gourmand sweetness.
$267 for 50ml EDP from MECCA.
Creed Wind Flowers
With the likes of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn as fans — they’ve created fragrances for them too — Creed is the master of crafting imaginative, unforgettable scents. Inspired by movement and as the name suggests, this is a scent that invokes the lighter, more youthful side of floral notes such as jasmine and Tunisian orange blossom. There’s a sparkling hint of peach, and heady tuberose and sandalwood give this captivating fragrance serious staying power.
$469 for 100ml EDP.
Maison Crivelli Hibiscus Mahajád
If you’re feeling spoiled for choice and are having trouble deciding whether to opt for a floral, oriental or gourmand fragrance, you can forget about having to choose between the three. Hibiscus Mahajád by Maison Crivelli magically contrasts an ultra-feminine floral duo of hibiscus and rose with dramatic leather, crushed pomegranate, delicate vanilla beans, and warm cinnamon. It’s a must-try fragrance for those who enjoy unexpected note pairings.
$429 for 100ml extrait de parfum.
Santa Maria Novella Tobacco Toscano
With centuries of history behind the famous apothecary, it comes as no surprise that Santa Maria Novella is renowned for its storied scents. This particular fragrance is inspired by 800 years of tradition and the famous Tuscan tobacco leaves praised by Catherine de’ Medici, Queen of France, for their healing properties. It’s heady, it’s alluring and Tabacco Toscano’s rather enigmatic bouquet of woody, smokey and oriental notes is sure to enchant at very first spritz.
$269 for 100ml eau de cologne.
Vyrao Free oo
If you like your fragrances clean – aka preservative and paraben free – and want a scent that does a little more than just smell divine, Vyrao is the fragrance house you need on your radar. Recently launched at MECCA, Vyrao places wellbeing at the heart of what it does which means each scent is designed to uplift the mood. As well as citrusy notes of lemon, mandarin, orange flower, jasmine, vanilla and sandalwood, Free 00 – like all Vyrao scents – features a supercharged diamond crystal that promises to boost energy.
$269 for 100ml EDP.
