This month we’re all about reaching for fragrances that make us feel better – an do more than simply smell good, but connect with us on a deeper, more spiritually-uplifting way that really connects with our souls. Given the LONGING for spring, and newness and oh goodness, simply some whole days without rain and cold and grey… it’s about time, don’t you think?
Here’s our edit of three fragrance houses your nose needs to know…
Is your fragrant future in the cards…?
Joy Isaacs is the founder and CEO of ARgENTUM, a luxury skincare brand which recently launched a range of stunning fragrances based on soul-searching, tarot-inspired ‘Archetypes’. Although she’s been fascinated by tarot and its symbolism since 2010, Joy insists: ‘I don’t think it’s some magical oracle in the sky.’ Instead, she believes ‘…we all hold our truth buried in our subconscious and are willing to project it onto many things – for example, people, life circumstances, poetry, music and of course, imagery (art). It allows us to tap into what is just below the surface and access what is really going on – with our own personal truth.’ Thus, explains Joy, ‘Our Archetype cards invite you to uncover symbolic imagery that reflect inherent energies – patterns that are common to us all.’
Using beautiful black-and-white illustrations by artist Sam Gray, ARgENTUM’s twelve cards are shuffled and used as part of a ‘fragrance reading’, whereby – rather than randomly picking a perfume – the fragrance finds you. This initial scent-matching isn’t set in stone; it’s used merely as a starting point, a way of editing down your possible fragrance choices to a more manageable number, while also making you think more deeply about them. (For those who can’t make it in person to ARgENTUM’s Notting Hill boutique – which is honestly worthy of a pilgrimage – the experience has been skilfully recreated on their website.
What we’re wearing: ARgENTUM Discovery Kit – Air Collection £28 for 4 x 2ml eaux de parfums
‘As an element, air encapsulates a masculine energy of thought and communication. Born at sunrise in the crisp breath of Spring ~ air is imaginative and intelligent, but without flow can become stifled and cruel. Moist and warm, air symbolises a nurturing energy that celebrates your knowledge and ideas, the beginning of something intangible and without permanent form. This brisk and exhilarating element stimulates the mind and cuts to the heart of your quest for connection.
- Become: All encompassing, balancing, beginnings
- Creator: Creative energy, trust, manifestation
- Sage: Wisdom, knowledge, awareness
- Ruler: Balance, adaptability, vulnerability
Wearable feel-good vibes…
For Vyrao, it’s all about wearable good vibes, and anyone who’s had a sluggish day or simply felt dull, blah and down in the dumps can attest – spritzing a scent can be an instantaneous remedy and our sense of smell is a potent way to make us feel brighter, more confident, and ready to face the world. With such potential power at our pulse points, Founder Yasmin Sewell sought a way to harness this energy so it could be at our fingertips whenever we need it. Having been ‘a lifelong advocate for personal self-care, wellbeing and energetic connection,’ Yasmin’s also trained in Integrative Quantum Medicine™ and Reiki, and so was well placed to reach out to Louise Mita, President and CEO of The Art Of Energy, Inc., and creator of Integrative Quantum Medicine™, who’s studied metaphysical alchemy, healing, and martial arts since 1968.
Together, they took a deep dive into researching specific ingredients they could use in the fragrances to help the wearer feel better. Explains Yasmin: ‘Science has shown that positive emotions and feelings can contribute to better health. I believe that in the future more of us will come to understand and accept the influence of energy as part of our overall well-being. We’ll know how to channel it, clear it, raise and work with it, and Vyrao is at the heart of that purpose. Vyrao helps us connect to ourselves.’
What we’re wearing: Vyrao High Five Collection, £79 for 5 x 7.5ml eau de parfum
If you’re new to this more soulful way of wearing scent, the High Five collection really is the best way to dip in and gain a better understanding – both of what you like, but also (more importantly) what your soul is crying out for. It may surprise you… Included in the first five fragrances from the brand, you will get to experience:
- Free 00: To feel alive and uninhibited is Free 00.
- I am Verdant: A fragrance sprouting fresh green growth.
- Witchy Woo: Wake up the powerful alliance of your courage and creativity.
- Magnetic 70: For attraction and protection.
- Georgette: For self-love.
Finding fragrant harmony…
When her PR and communications job took her to Hong Kong, little did Elementals founder Deana Wyland-Fries know, it would change the direction of her life forever. There she discovered feng shui – and soon learned that it is not merely a belief or superstition in China, but a science and a way of life. As she explains: ‘For centuries, the Chinese have believed that, everything in our universe can be allocated to one of five elements – water, wood, fire, earth and metal. Not only are these elements found in our environment, but also within ourselves. What’s more, we are born with an element that dominates our lives, dictating character, relationships, career and health. If our element is out of balance, we experience a sense of discomfort within…’
Ultimately, Elementals combine the simplicity and harmony of feng shui with the classical beauty of fine French perfumery. The result is a collection of surprising, innovative creations that seek to nurture mind, body and soul – while smelling, of course, utterly divine. Deana explains: ‘Because I am working with energy, I do not apply the classical olfactory pyramid in my creations… there are three main energies in the Universe: Heaven’s Chi, Human Chi and Earth Chi. In Chinese culture, these represent the three energies that, when working in harmony with one another, create perfect balance.’
What we’re wearing: Elementals Wood £148.50 for 100ml eau de parfum
Here we find ‘Heaven notes’ of bergamot, cedar and grapefruit to enhance concentration, with ‘Human notes’ of orris, tagetes and geranium, and a base, or ‘Earth notes’ of patchouli, Palo Santo (a sacred wood often used in meditation) and guaiacum (also known as guaiac wood). Wood represents the rising of energy, and the season of Spring, when blossoms are beginning to bloom again and signs new life are in abundance…
Written by Suzy Nightingale