Spring does not know her own mind. Chilly and rainy? Sure. Hot and blowy? Also possible. Both extremes are epitomized, above, by Christy Turlington, all bundled up on top, but with bare legs. If Christy were shopping for a blazer in Canada, surely she would get it from Smythe, known for beautifully made toppers and impeccable tailoring, season after season.
And they now have their own eponymous fragrance created by niche perfume house Fueguia 1883 (eau de parfum, $275, shopSmythe.ca) that is genderless and deeply, deeply sexy (I try never to use that word, but it applies here.) It’s loaded with sandalwood and cedar, like a fire roaring in the fireplace at the Gramercy Park hotel (going forward, all my references will be hotel-based because I yearn to travel) and is smokily earthy with patchouli. But then it’s shot through with sharp, sunny, almost astringent bergamot. I predict it will become the scent you smell on striking women as you attempt to dissect what makes their outfits so cool.
Feuguia 1883 also created the signature fragrance for Stockholm’s luxury Ett Hem boutique hotel, that was briefly available at Toronto’s Holt Renfrew for an eye-watering $514 CAN (photo, right.) I couldn’t spend that much on something ephemeral, no matter how much I wanted the cozy, black pepper, cedar and sandalwood scent. But I did take this picture, because I knew I’d never believe a perfume could be so expensive.
No-one does discreetly elegant and achingly expensive-smelling floral perfumes like Valmont. Just spray on their newest Collezione Privata, Just Bloom (eau de parfum $380, Holt Renfrew) and I swear a Chanel tweed jacket will magically appear draped over your shoulders, and instantly you will be ready for tea at the Paris Ritz. Just Bloom, which layers optimistic white flowers (lily of the valley and gardenia) over an enigmatic ‘damp forest floor’ scent of ambergris, has that transformative power.
Aerin Cedar Violet eau de parfum ($155, esteelauder.ca) may have came out last fall, but it quite accurately bottles the sensation of being out on a rainy spring day. Cedar Violet opens all fresh and positively herbal with bright violet leaf and lily of the valley before warming into creamily soft gardenia and cedar. It’s protectively cozy like wearing a paper thin, soft merino wool T-shirt under your rain gear when the skies open up.