fragrance

It is worth remembering, of course, that this collection was created by the perfumer who brought the iconic Lime, Basil & Mandarin and Earl Grey & Cucumber scents by Jo Malone London into the world, so it’s really only to be expected that the scents are as good as they are. But now, there’s a new collection on the block. The Zara Olfactive collection comprises of eight perfumes, each inspired by a different city, and they are equally as exquisite as the Emotions fragrances. Housed in beautiful boxes that you’ll want to keep out on display, the perfumes are stunning blends that smell almost impossibly expensive. In fact, a couple of the perfumes in the new Zara Olfactive collection just might knock some of my existing Emotions fragranc...

However, fragrance is no doubt a personal thing, which makes buying perfumes as a gift a particularly tricky thing to navigate. The good news is here at Who What Wear, we get to try hundreds of perfumes every year, meaning we get a pretty good sense of which ones make the best fail-safe gifts. While there are plenty of fragrances that would make lovely gifts, we think it’s most responsible for us to share only the crème de la crème of winter scents—because no one wants to get it wrong. The biggest benefit of getting to try every perfume out there is that come gifting season, we have a whole stash of beautiful scents to give to loved ones as festive treats. But the truth is the real teller of the best winter fragrances around are the ones that we end up keeping for ourselves. We’re tal...

Has anything about your approach to beauty changed over the last year and are there any particular makeup looks that you’re looking forward to trying once we’re out of lockdown? Honestly. anything [makeup artist] Jo Baker throws at me! In the last year my approach prioritised health over decoration—obviously—so I’m ready to get creative again. You must spend a fair amount of time on set with makeup artists and hair stylists, are there any insider beauty secrets that you’ve picked up from the experts? Hydrated skin seems to be the key to everything… oh, and also that Kevyn Aucoin mascara (£22) never smudges.  Wellness and beauty are so intertwined—do you have any wellness practices or supplements that help to give you a boost both mentally and physically? Wate...

Nothing gets me excited for winter quite like a really great candle. Whether I’m throwing open the curtains first thing or snuggling down on a cold, dark evening, you better believe I’ve got a candle burning. The thing I love the most about candles is, unlike perfumes, you can chop and change them depending on your mood. While I might like to burn a fresh, up-and-at-’em sort of candle to get me ready for the day, come evening, I want to be enveloped by warm, cosy scents. It is because I use candles in such a way that I am always on the hunt for the best ones around and burn through them at an alarming rate. Rather embarrassingly, I have been known to get through more than five candles in one month. As a result, you’d be hard-pressed to find a candle I haven’t tried. You Deserve to Ma...

Nothing gets me excited for winter quite like a really great candle. Whether I’m throwing open the curtains first thing or snuggling down on a cold, dark evening, you better believe I’ve got a candle burning. The thing I love the most about candles is, unlike perfumes, you can chop and change them depending on your mood. While I might like to burn a fresh, up-and-at-em sort of candle to get me ready for the day, come evening I want to be enveloped by warm, cosy scents. It is because I use candles in such a way that I am always on the hunt for the best ones around and burn through them at an alarming rate. Rather embarrassingly, I have been known to get through more than more than five candles in one month. As a result, you’d be hard-pressed to find a candle I haven’t tried. You Deserve to ...

But for years, designer perfumes were all we knew, so we were prepared to pay the inflated prices. However, when niche perfume brands hit the big time and some of our favourite celebrities started waxing lyrical about them, we were presented with an array of masterfully crafted, lesser-known scents that didn’t leave us smelling like everyone else.  And while specialist perfume brands such as Jo Malone London, Diptyque and Le Labo climbed the beauty ranks, our go-to designer perfumes started garnering a bit of a rep. What were once luxury treasures had become mainstream basics. More recently, however, our trustworthy designer brands have seriously upped their game. In fact, as some of our niche cult favourites become more and more popular, the fashion and beauty pac...

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m a perfume obsessive. However, when I call myself a perfume snob, it’s less about the price that I’m willing to pay for a decent perfume—I’ve got expensive scents and affordable ones in my collection, designer and high-street—and more about the artistry and expert noses that have gone into creating a fragrance. One thing that I’ve learned from amassing such a considerable perfume collection is that you can really tell when a genuine expert has had a hand in creating a scent. For instance, & Other Stories and Zara both stock an array of innovative yet purse-friendly fragrances that smell decidedly expensive. Their secret? The high-street shops teamed up with...

Here at Who What Wear, we’d consider ourselves to be something akin to candle connoisseurs. Whether it’s sourcing the very best candles on the market, declaring our allegiance to designer candles in all their expensive glory or sniffing out the best under-£20 candles that hold their own against their pricier counterparts, we have truly left no stone unturned in our quest to find the perfect candle for every occasion. However, when I was perusing my personal candle stash a few weeks back (yes, I have an entire wicker basket dedicated to my flickering favourites), I noticed that my collection varied quite wildly in price point, but they all stopped at the under-£100 mark. Sure, there are, undoubtedly, candles that you can purchase that exceed th...

The brand, which was founded by Aerin Lauder (yes, she is the granddaughter of the Estée Lauder), is all about effortlessly beautiful living. Think classic scents but with an air of modern ease and luxury that make them the ultimate reach-for. Despite my 70-strong perfume collection, it’s Aerin scents that I find myself reaching for day in, day out. They are the epitome of laid-back luxury. The fragrances themselves are easy-to-wear, powerful without being heady and become one with the skin in a way that has people thinking you just smell that good. In fact, I like to think of my Aerin collection much like I do my wardrobe. There’s the sort of free-flowing chiffon dress that oozes carefree nostalgia, the business suit that screams authority and the cosy cashmere jumper that radiates w...

I used to be the kind of person who could get ready at the speed of light, but soon discovered the joys of picking out your makeup with an outfit to match and a scent to take you through the day. I’ve recently found that the actual purchase of the perfume is the hard part. I have 30+ different scents to choose from and while yes it is a bit excessive, the perfumes I own belong to me for a reason, so I know whatever I pick from my ever-growing stash will always be a perfect choice! The same can’t always be said when it comes to purchasing in-store or online, but having a price point and notes in mind definitely makes the process easier. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a ...

However, while we Brits have a wonderful way of complaining about short days and cold climes, there is something to be said for the comforting cosiness of autumn evenings, and there are ways to unwind your mind so that you can make the most out of your autumn evening. My go-to method? Lighting a good ol’ relaxing candle. While lighting candles en masse in the autumn might be deemed a total stereotype, as someone whose entire home is filled with candles (and who seriously struggles to unwind), I have come to accept that their power is most definitely best utilised for relaxation. After coming to terms with the notion that this makes me an autumn stereotype, I have dedicated a substantial amount of time to finding the most relaxing candles out there so that I can spend my col...

Anticipating the turn of the season always sparks a bit of fragrance restlessness for us beauty editors. Perhaps it’s because we’re constantly taking mental notes of the scents our favourite fashion girls are wearing, or perhaps it’s just that our gigantic fragrance collections have us on an endless rotation through the chic tonics on our vanities. Whatever the case may be, long-lasting perfumes that can keep up with our busy schedules are of the utmost importance. With days that sometimes start with breakfast meetings, get punctuated with Zoom calls, and end with happy hour, we need fragrances that will still be going strong for our that second glass of pinot grigio. Luckily, long-lasting fragrances abound! From pretty florals to enveloping musks and earthy scents t...