THE SOUL-HITTING SCENTS TO LIFT YOUR MOOD

Tapping into the growing link between fragrance and the wider wellness space comes new fragrance brand, Vyrao. Inspired by her training in Reiki and energetic medicine, founder Yasmin Sewell explains: “I wanted to create a multi-dimensional wellbeing brand that looked at not just what we eat and drink, but how we feel. The connection between our emotions and physical body is a subject I feel deeply passionate about.”

Using plant and flower remedies believed to have emotional benefits, each Vyrao fragrance evokes a specific feeling – from iris and bergamot to clear and cleanse, to orris absolute for creativity and courage. Look a little closer and you’ll see glistening Herkimer diamond (an energetically charged quartz) for a little bit of magic inside each bottle.

So, which scent should you try first? It depends on your mood, explains Yasmin, “Free 00 makes me feel like I’ve jumped off a boat into the ocean and Magnetic 70 makes me feel like there’s a golden orb of protection around me. If I need an energetic boost in the morning, I go for I am Verdant – an uplifting mossy citrus – and then Witchy Woo in the evenings, for when I want to channel creativity. As the name suggests, this one casts a bit of a spell…”

“We’re in the business of bottling up emotions,” says founder of Byredo, Ben Gorham. It’s a sentiment that is perfectly encapsulated in the brand’s most recent launch, Mixed Emotions. Designed to reflect the tumultuous nature of our times, it’s a bold, polarising scent that perfectly distils a feeling of flux – “it’s a mix of notes that belong and somehow conflict at the same time”, says Gorham. Comprised of contrasting highs and lows – think notes of comforting maté and black tea against sharp sweet blackcurrant and violet leaves, all sat within a framework of rich birch wood – the sticky, smoky concoction leaves you wanting more.

Instead of starting with a specific ingredient or fragrance ‘family’, Gorham sees fragrance as a translation of a memory or mood. “Inspiration can come from anywhere,” Gorham explains, “my kids, memories of my childhood, reading my Dad’s travel diaries, the smell of a tree halfway up a mountain, standing in the middle of a city and soaking it all up.”

Inspired by a luscious botanical garden meets apothecary, Loewe’s new Home Scents collection is the brainchild of Creative Director, Jonathan Anderson, and in-house perfumer, Nuria Cruelles. Tapping into our renewed appreciation of the great outdoors (something we’re exploring with our Good Nature theme this year), the collection is made up of room sprays, diffusers and candles (all of which are handmade in Spain using 100% vegetable wax housed in glazed terracotta pots that look like pieces of art).

“Smell is the sense where we best remember moments, places and people,” explains Cruelles, “just a brief sniff can transport you to different places and moments. For this, we wanted the act of lighting a candle to transport you to a botanical garden bursting with aromas.” In preparation, Cruelles visited gardens and greenhouses, as well as drawing on her own memories of nature, while experimenting with oils and extracts in the lab in order to recreate the scent of the original plant as closely as possible.

As you would expect from a greenhouse, you can find all sorts of botanical-inspired scents from Luscious Pea, Honeysuckle and Oregano, as well as a few surprises with the likes of Liquorice and Marihuana. “I was quite shocked when Jonathan proposed some of the scents, but I loved the challenge. Beetroot and Tomato Leaves are my personal favourites – they are sweet yet soft, elegant yet unexpected.”