Aurelien Guichard

MadlyKENZO is the new sparkling fruity floral fragrance by KENZO, created by perfumer Aurélien Guichard. The sensual oriental eau de parfum and the juicy eau de toilette are more youthful and coquettish than clean classic FlowerByKenzo and the seductive Kenzo FlowerTAG.

MadlyKENZO was designed to cause ‘love at first scent’ and was inspired by Aurélian Guichard’s admiration of freedom in women around him. Guichard has already created three fragrances for KENZO and is also the nose behind Gucci Guilty, Comme des Garcons Play, Diane von Furstenberg Diane, new fragrances for Robert Piguet and this year’s Issey Miyake Pleats Please.

The face of MadlyKENZO is up-and-coming British actress Amber Anderson and the vibrant campaign was shot in Argentina by director Patrick Guedj.

The eau de parfum is warm and spicy with top notes of orange blossom, a heart of heliotrope flower and rose and a base of cedar, incense and vanilla. The eau de toilette is a lighter, summery affair, created in collaboration with Francois Demanchy. It opening with pear and litchi, leading to heliotrope flower and jasmine and a dry down of cedar and musks.

Designed by Ron Arad, the sculptural, ergonomic glass bottle was inspired by a butterfly wing in motion and features a flash of colour – magenta pink for the eau de toilette and violet purple for the eau de parfum.

I found the eau de toilette to be a romantic, warm, luscious and sweet fragrance. It evokes memories of Mediterranean summer holidays and walking through tumbling cherry blossom.

MadlyKENZO is available exclusively at Debenhams now and nationwide from 1 August. For more information, visit: www.madlykenzo.com

eau de parfum is priced £39 (30ml), £54.50 (50ml).
eau de toilette is priced £32.50 (30ml), £49 (50ml), £60 (100ml).

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Black Afgano by Nasomatto is the holy grail of perfumes and its allure is so intoxicating that it sells out pretty quick among those in the know. So coveted is this scent, that Selfridges only have a massive display bottle and if you’re lucky, they’ll give you a spritz from a tester under the counter.

After scanning the Nasomatto fragrance collection and continually finding Black Afgano to be missing, imagine my delight to find that Harvey Nichols is now stocking the illusive scent!

Not to be confused with hemp, Black Afgano encapsulates the mysterious scent of hashish – smoky and spicy with hints of cedar wood, vanilla, amber and patchouli. It’s very strong and full-bodied, so you can expect it to last for hours and hours.

The liquid itself is a deep, inky black and apparently it is said to arouse the effects of temporarily bliss – as a perfume addict, I can wholly believe that!

At £98 for 30ml, it’s something of an investment buy, but then again you probably wouldn’t spritz on Black Afgano to go and do your laundry, so it will last.

If you need to wait to put Black Afgano on your Christmas wishlist, there some slightly more affordable niche scents that have that intoxicating, midnight aroma.

Comme Des Garçons Red Series

Comme Des Garçons Red Series are made up of five fragrances with red elements (obviously), all centred around peppery florals and spicy woods. My absolute favourite is Palisander – a woody, aromatic scent with a hint of raspberry jelly and sherbet (although the official sweetening note is actually myrrh).

Series 2 Red Comme Des Garçons Palisander, edt 100ml, Harvey Nichols

Visa Robert Piguet, edp 100ml, Harvey Nichols

Juliette Has A Gun Midnight Oud, edp 100ml, Harvey Nichols

Robert Piguet Visa

Another favourite is Robert Piguet Visa – a dark, smoky vanilla-infused scent that is a million times more appealing and modern than its iconic sister fragrance, Fracas. Visa was created in 1945 by Germaine Cellier, but was brought bang up-to-date by Givaudan’s Aurelien Guichard, who gave the perfume a revival while staying true to the original fragrance.

Dior and Daphne

Also worth a mention are Dior Midnight Poison, a mixture of black rose, bergamot and patchouli with a slightly menthol scent, and Comme Des Garçons Daphne, created by the formidable Daphne Guinness with notes of Tunisian jasmine, amber, bitter orange, oud and saffron. It evokes the heavy incense aroma of a mysterious old Moorish church and is an intense, seductive evening fragrance.

Have you tried Nasomatto’s Black Afgano perfume? What are your favourite fragrances?

KENZO Launches New Fragrance MadlyKENZO

Black Afgano Perfume by Nasomatto

Comme Des Garçons Red Series

Robert Piguet Visa

Dior and Daphne