Fragrance Themes Summer 2016

I’ve been pondering on changing over the fragrances that I have on display in my bedroom. It feels as though it’s time to put away the heavy fragrances and bring out the light and floral. I kept putting it off – although one or two had migrated from the cupboard that I force them to hibernate in over winter and made it into the light.

The Show and Themes

Then last week it was the KGA Summer Show and all the spring and summer scents were gathered together in one place. There is an overwhelming amount of choice each scent just as exquisite as the next but then it came to me that the rose theme that I’ve seen throughout the beauty industry these past few months from skincare to lip and shadow colours was reflected here. The other strong theme, that I think started to emerge last summer is tea. How very English – tea and roses.

 

Rose

In the rose theme I discovered:

• Rose Pompon from Annick Goutal  available now in selected department stores nationwide
• Rose Couture from Elie Saab   available now nationwide
• Rose Musc Intense from Narciso Rodriguez available exclusively from Harrods from 4 April 2016 and nationwide from 4 July 2016.
• Les Absolus Rose Oud from Annick Goutal exclusive to Harrods from 1 May 2016

Tea

And in the tea theme:

• Thé Bleu from Bulgari  (also blanc, vert & rouge) available nationwide.
• Thé Glace from Terry de Gunzburg available exclusively in Selfridges now and nationwide from 4 April 2016.

My experience

And so today I’ve freed the summer scents from the cupboard this evening and I’ve added to them the  Elie Saab Rose Couture and the Bulgari Au The Bleu. Absolute heaven. I’ve managed to divide them into pink and blue (the pantone shades of the year!)

I’ve been a fan of Elie Saab for a while (her Resort Collection was my go to scent last summer) so it was a fair bet that I’d like this one. Rose Couture is “celebrates a modern radiant femininity”. It’s a light and feminine fragrance with top notes of peony, rose nectar and vanilla and base noted of sandalwood and patchouli. I think that this is good value from £34 here.

The Bulgari Eau Parfumée Luxury Collection is for both men and women. I chose the Au The Bleu Version because of it’s fascinating complex and layered array of scents. It’s supposed to be like a walk in a chinese garden with the scent of lavender, violet and grapefruit. But for now you’ll need to just imagine how the notes entwine. The head note is lavender with noted of shiso leaves. The violet is the heart note, verging on woody. The base note is “delicious yet profound” with a “humid, watery, salty aspect of certain teas”. The finale is iris and musk.

I have to say that if I’d been asked to guess the ingredients I’m not sure that I would have guessed any of them but I have to say that it’s not overpowering but intriguing. I’m loving this addition to my scent “library”. It’s available here from £43.70.

So what do you think? Have you noticed the trend for rose or tea? Are you tempted to try any new scents or do you already have some favourites. Do share your thoughts.

Hazel

This post contains PR samples and affiliate links.