Goodwood - Notes from a small island (2024)

When most people think of fine scents they instinctively feelthe French have the upper hand. There are of course all thosewonderful old classic houses that flourished in the early 20thcentury – Coty, Patou, Poiret, Guerlain (ah, Shalimar, Mitsouko,L’Heure Bleue swoon the fans) – as well as stellar perfumers likeErnest Daltroff at Caron and Ernest Beaux, whose partnershipwith Coco Chanel led to the creation of the world’s best-sellingperfume, Chanel No 5. Nobody can deny that between themthese great pioneers came up with some of the finest, mostelegant, most desirable scents the world has ever known.

But speak to experts such as James Craven, perfumearchivist at niche fragrance boutique Les Senteurs, or MichaelDonovan, who runs Roullier White, another purveyor of nicheperfumes, and they both feel that much of the innovation inthe world of scent is coming out of Britain these days.

Not that this has happened overnight. Way back in the 18thcentury Juan Famenias Floris, a barber and perfumer based inSt James’s, came up with the notion of scented talcum powderand after him came those classic English names, Yardley,Cussons, Pears, Atkinsons and Grossmith. In recent timesJo Malone, Miller Harris, Clive Christian and Roja Dove have allmade waves and collected fans.

Today, though, a new generation of younger perfumers isbreaking new ground. What makes them special is the fact thatthey bring to their craft a willingness to do things differently.Because many of them are not classically trained they approachthe matter of creating artful eaux in an entirely original way.

Michael Donovan has long been a champion of Britishperfume and sells several from his Roullier White base. Hethinks that “we have something unique to offer the olfactoryworld. Firstly we are rule breakers and are quite anarchicin our approach, for example, [British brand] Union’s use ofpeat – clearly inspired by the whisky tradition – in their scentCeltic Fire is a first in perfumery.” They are also more willingto take risks and move the industry forward. Donovan’s ownSt Giles range has five fragrances that are designed to makethe potential customer understand immediately how each ofhis perfumes should make them feel: The Tycoon, The Actress,The Mechanic, The Stylist and The Writer, each original, strongand unlike anything else on the market.

As with the contemporary food scene, there is also anemphasis on the local, and the provenance of ingredients.Donovan believes that “we hail from a rather bucolic culturethat loves animals and plants and our landscapes, which inturn provide a wide range of inspiration”. Anastasia Brozler,the “nose” behind Union, for instance, turned to the moorlandsof Yorkshire, the mountains of Snowdonia, the damp fens ofCounty Derry and the windswept heathlands of Scotland togather her bog myrtle, blue ground ivy, watermint, quince,pine, peat and birch. She only uses ingredients grown in theBritish Isles and one of her fragrances, the aforementionedCeltic Fire, even has a dash of Marmite complementing thepeat. Most sought-after of all is her Gothic Bluebell, said to bethe only fragrance in the world to use real English bluebells.

Caldey Island, a tiny but much-loved perfumery off the coastof Pembrokeshire in Wales, produces the highly acclaimedIsland Lavender Water, described by Luca Turin in his bookPerfumes: The Guide as “the best lavender soliflore on Earth”. Itis made by monks, who combine local herbs with an excellentlavender oil, resulting in something pure and exceptional.

Up at Castle Forbes in Scotland, meanwhile, Lady Forbesruns the smallest haute parfumerie in the world, and its scents,created together with Andrew French, are often inspired byScottish pine and oakmoss, precious woods and green herbs.

British Master Perfumer Ruth Mastenbroek launched herfirst fragrance in 2010 but she has already established herselfas one to watch. With her Oxford Eau de Parfum – based roundbasil, rosemary and vetivert – she has attempted to capturethe essence of golden stone buildings, grassy quads and theexcitement of undergraduates taking their first steps intoadulthood. Her latest, Dagian (the Old English word for dawn)uses lime, lemon and mint to capture English exuberance buthas a seductive heart of jasmine and sandalwood.

Down in Dorset, Julia and David Bridger have plantedsome 50 acres of land around the River Stour with more than athousand different plants – lavender, bergamot, vetiver, mint,wild flowers, herbs and shrubs – all of which are used to createa small range of limited-edition fine and intense scents thatmake up what they call Parterre Fragrances. Jacques Chabert,the “nose” behind Guerlain’s Samsara and Chanel’s Cristalle,helped them create this exquisite little collection. Their firsteau, Run of the River, was inspired by Keyneston Mill, whichis on their estate, and is a sparkling citrus with fresh notes ofbergamot mint, clary sage and lemon thyme – all home-grown.The idea is to show that British soil can provide essential oilsand essences as fine as any from Grasse.

Meanwhile, at Mitchell and Peach in Kent, another Frenchtrainednose, Jeanne-Marie Faugier, has helped the Mitchellscome up with a small range of clean and fresh Englishfragrances, making beautiful use of the special lavender grownon their farm (famous for its sweet, peachy scent – hence the“peach” in the name). English Leaf is probably its most soughtafterfragrance but it also produces a range of body and beautyproducts, one of which, Flora No 1 Fine Radiance Face Oil, useshome-grown Kent cobnuts to create this cult beauty oil.

Haeckels is another of the new breed of British companiesinspired by the immediate world around it and a desire tosomehow encapsulate something very British and very natural.Based in Margate, with the sea on its doorstep, and movedby a desire to create products that are pure and effective, ithas gradually developed a range of skincare products alongwith some fine fragrances. The names alone – Botany Bay,Pegwell Bay, Dreamland, Blean Woods – speak of a certainsort of Englishness. Take Blean Woods – it’s inspired by anundisturbed ancient forest, the sound of a stream, ferns andpurple orchids, silver birch, hornbeam and crab apple trees, aswell as the smell of charred wood and ashes. Other fragrancesfeature local seaweed, which gives some idea of how deeplyimmersed in the world of the sea and forests around Margate

Haeckels is. It has a very special place in the world of fragrances.British perfumery, it seems, is gaining a newfoundconfidence and developing a path of its own – more locallyfocused, quirkier, more oriented towards the natural and thehome-grown but every bit as fascinating as that of its peersacross the Channel. It’s a story that still has a long way to go.

This article was taken from the Winter 2019/2020 edition of the Goodwood Magazine.

• Goodwood Estate

• goodwood newsletter

• Goodwood news

• Goodwood Magazine