Getting fragrance profiled at Penhaligon’s

I recently had the pleasure of meeting a fragrance expert: Craig Inglis from Penhaligon’s, who came to Manila to train Adora’s Fragrance Bar staff on fragrance profiling.

Fragrance profiling is an exciting service in which they help you find your perfect scent. Instead of smelling everything in the store, which can be exhausting for your nose, they ask a number of questions that help them create your own personal perfume bio. Then, based on your preferences, they select scents for you to try until you experience “love at first sniff.”

“We draw out as much information as possible, and then by process of elimination go through our fragrances and match you up to your perfect scent,” Inglis says.

He asks me what my relationship is with fragrance (partners for life), if I like fragrance to make a statement or prefer it more subtle or intimate (make a statement, usually), and if it’s for a special occasion like a wedding or just something to wear for dinner (I’d love something new to wear to dinner).

“Being in the center of London we get a lot of West End actors, and I have actresses come in and want fragrances they can specifically wear onstage,” says Inglis, who manages Penhaligon’s Covent Garden store. “It’s not until they put that fragrance on that they become that character.”

My tastes in fragrance are a little less specific. Like Inglis, I collect perfume, though I have maybe a third of his 600 bottles. I tell him I used to be a gourmand lover with a penchant for vanilla, but my tastes have since broadened to accommodate powdery scents and white musk accords.

He immediately responds by spraying Violetta, a pale blue elixir onto a blotter, and letting me sniff it. “If you like powdery stuff, this has a beautiful sweetness to it,” he says. “As that sweetness fades, it become quite dark, quite green, quite mysterious. And this is a violet fragrance.”

Though I’m not your typical floral girl, I am instantly transported — not to an English garden but to a wood, where violets grow in wild profusion on a forest floor. It’s stunningly beautiful, but I’m eager to try a few more in my search for “the one.”

Inglis proceeds to select Eau Sans Pareil from Penhaligon’s Anthology Collection — previously discontinued heritage fragrances that they’ve tweaked, brought into the 21st century and reintroduced. “This is less powdery. It has a beautiful softness, though. Imagine a bottle of Champagne being opened, and being poured a glass, and as you hold it up to take a sip, those bubbles coming up and popping on your nose.”

I instantly get what he’s talking about: a joyous fizziness that immediately captures my imagination… and my heart.

“I find this incredibly romantic and sexy but not in a cheap way; in the most elegant possible way,” he continues. “Imagine driving through Monte Carlo in an open-topped car in the 1920s, 1930s, scarf on your head, and a beautiful man sitting next to you. It’s that kind of elegant sexiness.”

Swept away by Inglis’s enthusiastic counter-side manner, as well as this festive juice, which seems tailor-made for celebratory occasions, I know in my heart I’ve found “the one.”

To find yours, head to the Penhaligon’s counter at Adora and get fragrance profiled, though in the meantime, here’s a primer to Penhaligon’s latest scent, Iris Prima, as well as some of the brand’s other noteworthy fragrances.

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Penhaligon’s is available only at Adora, 2/F and 3/F Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati City, tel. no. 217-4030. E-mail info@adora.ph.

A scent inspired by the ballet: Iris Prima

Inspiration: The English National Ballet

Master perfumer: Iris Prima is the last work and swan song of Alberto Morillas, the late nose who created such scents as CK One and Daisy.

The story: “We worked with the English National Ballet for a year, had access to backstage areas, rehearsals, choreographers, dancers, and sponsored two dances,” Inglis says. “I remember showing Alberto our fragrances when he was first hired. He was so taken aback by Hammam Bouquet, our original fragrance that dates back to 1872. Because he was so taken with the iris in Hammam, he decided to use it at the heart of this fragrance. This is about the blood, sweat and tears that go into creating a performance — the energy and hard work behind the ballet.”

What it smells like: Soft, powdery (like backstage makeup) and airy (like a dancer’s leap).

“Imagine the dust on the stage, lifting the dust cover off and finding the most beautiful theater underneath,” Inglis says. “You have lots and lots of leather from the ballet shoe, to represent the ballerina en pointe. We have pink pepper in the head, which sparkles, and leads up to the iris taking center stage, almost like the chorus line coming up before the prima ballerina, and lots of musks and woods in the base to give it that depth and earthiness.”

Fresh and intoxicating: Juniper Sling

Inspiration: The iconic, atmospheric spirit London Dry GIN

Master perfumer: Olivier Cresp, famous for such scents as Angel and D&G Light Blue

The story: A beloved British tipple has been transformed into a complex and compulsive scent. Juniper Sling is a playful, chilled and mysterious homage to the Bright Young Things of London’s Roaring Twenties.

What it smells like: Crisp yet intoxicating, like a cocktail shot of gin with the freshness of juniper, cool measures of angelica and brandy over a beating, libertine heart of black pepper, cardamom, soft leather and orris. A gourmand base of brown sugar, black cherry and amber add sensuality to this skin scent, which is meant to be applied liberally.

Sugar, spice & everything nice: Malabah

Inspiration: An imaginary journey along the East Indian spice route

The story: This sensual bestseller is alluring to men and therefore supremely giftable — also available in bath oil, hand and body cream and candle form.

What it smells like: Sugar, spice and everything nice. Opening notes of citrus, green coriander and smoky Earl Grey tea give way to a heart of sublime rose, ginger and aromatic spices. The soft base introduces orris,sweet musks and amber to create a luscious and sensual experience.

Arresting, uncommon beauty: Night scented stock

Inspiration: A heritage fragrance for discerning gentlemen dating back to 1927.

Master perfumer: Walter Penhaligon, William Penhaligon’s son

The story: The Anthology Collection features modernized versions of Penhaligon’s gents’ scents, which Walter created based on an archive of formulations his father made. Night Scented Stock was a soliflore originally created in 1976.

What it smells like: Heady and arresting, Night Scented Stock is an edgy unfolding of floral enchantment, made deep with heliotrope, violet, vanilla, musk, clove and tonka bean.

A walk into sunshine: Orange Blossom

Inspiration: A heritage scent originally created in the ’70s

Master perfumer: Bertrand Duchaufour, whom Inglis calls the “rock-’n’-roll nose” responsible for creating fragrances like Comme des Garcons’ Avignon and The Different Company’s Oud for Love.

The story: Originally created in 1976, Orange Blossom has been transformed into a luminous honeyed floral.

What it smells like: Lush with Calabrian orange and bergamot, tempered with Virginian cedar, rose and peach flower, wearing Orange Blossom is akin to walking from shade into warm sunshine.

Exquisite portrayal of an english garden: Peoneve

Inspiration: An English garden in summer, bursting with lush green foliage and heady with the scent of blossoming flowers.

Master perfumer: Olivier Cresp

The story: Cresp, who loves the peony flower for its abundant petals and velvety scent, captured the dominant peony note using Nature Print technology, which captures the fragrant molecules emitted by a plant, allowing it to be replicated in the lab.

What it smells like: Peoneve opens with a burst of greenness from violet leaf absolute, which gives way to a heart of luscious peony, peppery Bulgarian rose and a poweful white floral note. Sensual base notes add a sense of summer abandon, grounded by earthy vetiver, mischievous musk and warm cashmere wood.

A songbird’s christmas: Penhaligon’s christmas gift sets

Penhaligon’s has become known as a gift destination thanks to their beribboned bottles and exquisite packaging. This Christmas, the gifts sets have been inspired by traditional Victorian music boxes. Featuring stunning illustrations of singing mechanical birds, each of the ornamented tin boxes will contain an array of scented treasures sure to thrill the most jaded perfumista.

• The Gentleman’s Fragrance Collection – A classic assortment of scents for gents in 5ml bottles of top sellers Blenheim Bouquet, Endymion, Quercus, Sartorial and Opus 1870.

• Ladies Fragrance Collection – This classic gift set showcases feminine bestsellers Lily of the Valley, Malabah, Ellenisia, Artemisia and Gardenia in 5ml bottles.

• Quercus Fragrance Collection – Zesty and fresh, this set contains one 50ml EDT, one 100ml shower gel and one 100ml hand and body lotion of Adora’s top-selling Penhaligon’s scent.

• Blenheim Fragrance Collection – Fresh and discreet, Blenheim Bouquet, Penhaligon’s bestselling men’s fragrance named after Blenheim Palace, is available in a set that includes one 100ml Blenheim EDT and one 300ml shower gel.