Dior Dress
Ferragamo ShoeThe first Shalimar bottle design; complete with mercury laden lid. Eek!

Not being madly a perfume person, I was kind of sceptical about being taken on a guided tour of Harrods fragrance exhibition, running from now until 2nd October. Like, how interesting can old bottles be? Roja Dove (yes, he of the already notorious and yet to be released Sun-scent, Buzz) conducted the tour for a group of bloggers. I have to hand it to him – he was fascinating; in fact, the entire collection is fascinating but Roja brought it to life superbly. His knowledge is just exemplary. Immaculate. However, even without a guided tour, the collection is amazing. Cleverly, they’ve illustrated the exhibition with some non-perfume items, including a Halston dress from the ’80s, a vintage Dior dress and the giant Ferragamo shoe.

I’m not going to go through a great long post detailing exactly what you’ll see because it will only spoil things if you are visiting, but I can say for fragrance lovers, it is truly a treat.

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A couple of things really stood out to me that ably illustrate the turmoils, passions and massive egos that embody the fragrance world..the first, when Van Cleef & Arpels launched their fragrance it was the first jewellery house to do so. Naturally, and to stamp their claim to fame for ever, they called it First. Cartier quickly followed suit with a fragrance and while they couldn’t ever be first, they named it Must. In essence, two fingers to Van Cleef and Arpels because while their’s might have been first, Cartier’s was the one that you Must have.

Secondly, Worth’s hidden poem; so simple, but incredibly moving. Launched over a period of years, the translation of their names becomes: In the night (Dans La Nuit, 1924), Just before dawn (Vers La jour, 1925), Because I can’t bear to say goodbye (Sans adieu, 1929), I will return (Je Reviens 1932), To you (Vers Toi 1934).

You’ve probably heard all about The Perfume Diaries event at Harrods by now. It’s a one-off fragrance exhibition that for fragrance addicts will be a sensorial spectacle. Along with Estee Lauder solid fragrances dating way back – and some of the rarest and most highly collectable pieces – the exhibition chronicles the history of fragrance from the 1800’s. It’s really a must-see. Along with the (free) static exhibition on the 4th floor, there are fragrance events taking place throughout September. While scent coinnoisseurs will flock to hear some of the most influential fragrancers speak, the one I’m most interested in is Jade Jagger’s personal appearance. She’s redesigned one of Guerlain’s most iconic bottles – Shalimar, giving it a re-interpretation using her well regarded jewellery design skills that includes a navy leather tie-round. She’s going to be signing but that’s not the draw for me..it’s more interesting that Guerlain, one of the oldest fragrance houses, have thought to break a mould and revisit an icon – it’s a tricky thing to do as die-hard fans probably won’t be interested and liked it fine the way it was, and Shalimar is very much a scent of it’s time, created in 1925, so it may not attract new interest as the fragrance is unchanged. The collector’s bottle, hand decorated by Jade with a sapphire is in very limited edition (I believe 182 units) and it’s release coincides with Vogue’s Fashion Night Out costing £1000. The more purse friendly version, not limited edition, is £38.50.

Anyway, if you are interested too, Jade is appearing between 12.30 and 2.00pm on 8th September.

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Escentual Perfume Discovery Set - With A Twist!

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