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Daily Record
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
'I worked at Boots and this little known perfume may be the scent of summer'
For the perfume fans among us, summer always presents an opportunity to find a new scent. With so many bottles on the market, many of us go for ones that are well known. However, amongst the Marc Jacobs and Hugo Boss offerings that tend to be bestsellers at this time of year, there are a few alternative options amongst them that are worth giving a go. One of them is the newly launched Zadig, by Parisian fragrance house, Zadig & Voltaire, a 'floriental woody fragrance for women' that, despite being a new addition to the market, has already earned glowing praise from one perfume fanatic. Bethan Shufflebotham of the Manchester Evening News, who used to work on the health and beauty chain's perfume counter, spotted this light, creamy coloured perfume on a recent store visit and said she "didn't know whether to shout about it from the rooftops, or keep it a closely guarded secret." After she couldn't resist spritzing the perfume, which boasts a unique wing-inspired bottle, the former Boots employee shared her full thoughts which can be found just below. "The result is a warm, smoky and incredibly moreish scent you can't help but keep going back to. It's feminine but powerful and a little edgy, like those cool girls that pull off a leather jacket thrown over a silk slip dress. "When I look at my perfume collection, it is pretty vanilla heavy, which is perhaps why I was so drawn to Zadig. According to perfume experts on TikTok, fragrances with similar profiles will tend to be housed in a bottle of a similar colour, which is a hack that comes in super handy when shopping fragrances online, or if you don't want to smell every bottle in store to find something you like. "With that theory in mind, some alternatives may include the likes of YSL Libre, which also contains orange blossom and vanilla. Zadig also says their wing-inspired bottle is symbolic of freedom, with Libre translating to 'free' in French. " Burberry Goddess would be another great choice, boasting key notes of vanilla and lavender. And coincidentally, Amandine Clerc-Marie was involved in crafting this popular 2023 scent, too. Despite being new to the market, Zadig is already holding its own, and has gained popularity with fans of Alien, Flowerbomb and Fame. One said: 'I'm usually quite pernickety about sweet fragrances but this was not overpowering at all. In fact I was regularly complimented when wearing it. It's a bit more tart than YSL Black Opium but I quite like that.' 'This is one of the best perfumes I've smelt in a while,' said another. 'It has a gorgeous fragrance and lasts all day. Quite a few people have commented when I wear it, I absolutely love it.' A third penned: 'Absolutely loved this. Gorgeous bold smell and really did last all day from one squirt. Usually wear Flowerbomb and this is a good rival for similar scent, but this is the longest lasting I've ever found.' The fragrance is also vegan and made from 89% natural-origin ingredients, plus the bottle is refillable, making it more sustainable than some other bottles available. However, some shoppers weren't so keen on the wing design. 'I absolutely love the scent of this fragrance. At first it smells quite strong but becomes subtle quite quickly, however I could still smell it on me 5+ hours later. I'm not a big fan of the statement bottle, which is why it's lost a star from me.' While the scent profile has earned much praise, some wearers (as above) report it lasting five plus hours, others note that it fades more quickly. Beauty deal of the week Looking for last minute gift inspiration for dad ahead of Sunday, June 15. Then don't fret, as we have you covered, as no-one can go wrong with a new bottle of cologne, and we have spotted Versace's The Dreamer for him Eau de Toilette for 67 percent less at Superdrug. Hailed for being "underrated" and "truly unique", a large 100ml bottle of this fragrance has been dropped from £74 to £24, allowing you to make a huge saving of £50 and get in a thoughtful gift. Described as "warm" and "fresh", Versace's Dreamer is an aromatic fragrance that, while belonging to the cologne family, is said to boast a variety of notes that make it suitable for both men and women. The scent opens on vibrant notes of juniper, tarragon, and artemisia, before blending into heart notes of iris, lily and flax flowers to add a touch of softness. It then ends on a comforting base of tobacco blossom and amber, offering a smoky, luxurious finish. The transparent, clear fragrance itself is housed in an opulent glass bottle that has been embossed with the iconic medusa logo, representing the luxury aesthetic of the iconic fashion house. Versace's Dreamer EDT has managed to earn glowing reviews and a 4.6 rating from shoppers, with one saying: "Truly unique and dreamy fragrance. It's a great fragrance but it's underrated. Guys you have to try this one, it's great for all year round." And someone else wrote: "Not to be overlooked. This is a lesser known Versace men's fragrance but oh my it is gorgeous ! Hubby loved it and amazing value for money." Versace's The Dreamer For Him Eau de Toilette (100ml) can be bought for 67 percent less at Superdrug now. One shopper who usually wears Fame or Alien said: 'Upon spraying a bit onto a sample stick I was not expecting to be wowed at all. How wrong I was. It smelled amazing. "Very reminiscent of my beloved long time signature scent of Alien. So I doused myself in the stuff before leaving the store. Went home and straight onto Boots online. "Decided to order myself the biggest bottle as best value for money. It's also refillable which also scores big brownie points with me. I've worn it once since it arrived and received many compliments on my scent and I've told everyone about 'Zadig''. Finishing her own review, Bethan added: "I will be honest I'd never heard of the brand or the perfume itself until I happened by it accidentally. I am saving mine for special occasions so as not to overwear it. "My only niggle is that I don't think the scent lasts all day as I couldn't smell it after a few hours unlike Alien and Fame. So even though it was a perfume as opposed to an EDT I feel they need to work on the longevity of the wear somehow." Perfume fans looking to try out the little known Zadig & Voltaire - ZADIG Eau de Parfum (90ml) can buy it for £110 from Boots now.
Elle
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
Unique Fragrances Are In—And One Cult Scent Is Now Available in the U.S.
Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. Your name may not be Taylor Alison Swift, but you've gone through some eras, especially when it comes to scents. Let's recall your personal Fragrance Eras Tour: Your teenage years, puzzling over whether you wanted to smell 'clean' or 'fresh.' Then the 'School Dance Scents' era. Maybe you had a 'Sure, I'll Sample the Perfume in This Club Bathroom' era. Perhaps a CK One, Flowerbomb, Baccarat Rouge, or all-of-the-above era. And now? You have a chance to be in your most powerful scented era of all. It's never been easier, more exciting, or more thrilling to smell like nothing you've ever experienced before—and exactly what you've always wanted. 'Remember this time,' Inter Parfums, Inc. chairman, CEO, and cofounder Jean Madar boomed at me when I met him. As head of one of the biggest manufacturers and distributors of fragrances and cosmetics in the world, he was boisterous: Fragrance sales for the third quarter were at an all-time record. 'There's never been a moment like this,' he says he tells his employees, citing the past four years of growth. #Perfumetok confirms the huge surge of interest in scent, with the hashtag drawing billions of views. Funmi Monet, a fragrance and beauty content creator, describes its appeal: 'You don't have to be a certain size; you don't have to be Kendall Jenner, or even super-rich,' to put on a fragrance and feel more seen (or smelled). It's a particularly exciting time for indie brands, rare perfumes, or what I'm calling niche-niche perfumes. Franco Wright, cofounder of one of the biggest online retailers for this subcategory, describes it as 'true niche': 'artistic, independent-driven brands that are often less distributed and usually very creative and unique in their composition.' Think Byredo before it became a household name. Think of eclectic scents like the unapologetically lewd Sadonaso by Nasomatto, which smells like…well, accounts vary, but just look it up. Think of a perfume from a big house that you can only buy in certain parts of Europe and Asia that has Fragrantica in a tizzy (like Yves Saint Laurent Beauty's Babycat, which only just became available in the United States) or a specific vintage edition of a Jean Paul Gaultier scent that goes for hundreds on eBay. Think of small perfume brands that don't have to do any market testing and have to please no one but their creators—people like the visual artist Andrea Maack of Iceland, and Marissa Zappas of New York City. Zappas started her career as a receptionist at Givaudan, and now, with her legions of fans (including Kacey Musgraves), she could be the perfume laureate of downtown New York (as Tynan Sinks, a beauty writer and co-host of perfume podcast Smell Ya Later, put it, "How did we all start fucking talking about Marissa Zappas who we love?'). Her fragrances are often created for friends, like the astrologer Annabel Gat, the muse behind Annabel's Birthday Cake. Not quite Funfetti, the scent has notes of balloon, tuberose frosting, fresh-out-of-the-oven cake, and lemon sugar (with just a hint of Cabbage Patch Kids doll, according to one reviewer). Rooted in nostalgia, with inspirations like Swan Lake and Elizabeth Taylor, Zappas's creations touch on the current bow-bedecked nerve of girlhood. Zappas wants perfume to be different. She doesn't do any advertising, and not much social media, yet customers do 'tend to find me,' she says. 'There's so much potential in storytelling with perfume, because it's so abstract. I wanted to explore the possibilities and create perfumes that weren't necessarily just reiterations. I really love old Guerlain perfumes, and my goal is to reach people who might originally have reached for [it]. I certainly have worn commercial perfumes, and found comfort in the fact that my best friend was also wearing it. This is part of why we wear perfume—to share in these moments. But at the same time, I think we live in an increasingly individualist society, and everybody wants to have the most unique, the most special, the most different smell.' Wanting to smell different is becoming an increasingly ardent form of self-expression, the ultimate invisible and rare accessory. 'Consumers have gone from one signature fragrance, to a collection,' says Linda Levy, President of the Fragrance Foundation. Tom Bloom, marketing and relationships manager for Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, which has collaborated on perfumes with Neil Gaiman, makes a parallel to the search for vintage. 'It's comparable with the rise of thrifting in terms of looking for special items that are perfect and have a story.' With non-mainstream perfumes, the inspiration behind them can often be more complex and unusual, combining smell with fiction as a point of difference. Jane Dashley, the blogger known as Sea of Shoes, is a fragrance collector and enthusiast who started a niche perfume site, Fragraphilia, with her husband Jeff, followed later by a companion podcast. She tells me about Stora Skuggan, a Swedish company whose perfume Thumbsucker spins the tale of a king becoming pregnant after mistakenly drinking a potion made by sages for the queen. Its notes include honey, cherry, and Himalayan Cedar Bitter Almond—a redolent take on a hangover. The bottles, with their exaggerated orb caps, look like they could eat Harry Styles's Pleasing. Non-mainstream perfumes can also give perfumers the chance to try more unusual notes. 'If you have a client who's willing to go all the way out there, you can really explore uncharted territory, and that's quite exciting,' says perfumer Frank Voelkl, the nose behind Le Labo's Santal 33 and many other once-niche scents. His creation, Mood Ring by Phlur, captured something new for me—the feeling of going into a Japanese grocery after school and ripping open a sleeve of Hi-Chew candies. Sometimes, all the experimenting can result in more unusual perfumes that take some time to appreciate and go beyond the general desire to smell good. Jeff Dashley tells me about a perfume called Ambilux by Marlou. 'I wouldn't wear it to go visit my mother. It's such an [initial] straight urinous blast. Sometimes there are things that challenge you. But you start to look past those type of things and see the elevated artistry behind it.' (It's still not a luncheon perfume, however, he confirms.) Even as everyone wants to smell different, there can be community in bonding over your favorites. When you become fluent in ambroxan and ethyl maltol and follow the creations of your favorite perfumers, you want to meet others who speak the same language. 'Among young women, niche perfume is becoming more and more an important type of social currency, a status symbol, and a great way to relate to other girls. People are genuinely making friends from this hobby,' Jane Dashley tells me. Because fragrance is so subjective, there aren't really any wrong answers, which helps safeguard against internet toxicity. Ultimately, niche-niche perfume isn't about anyone but you, the main character of your own story. 'Fragrance used to be about who you wanted to be,' says Tynan Sinks, cohost of the scent podcast Smell Ya Later. 'But now it's about who you are today, which might not be the same tomorrow.' A version of this story appears in the March 2024 issue of ELLE.
