[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] Last week I nipped up to Selfridges to see the Diptyque take-over of the Selfridges corner shop concept. Given that space is limited, it’s really rather lovely and you can spend some time looking at the countries that have inspired the fragrance house Grand Tour. It starts in Paris, with a candle inspired by Parisian cobblestones and Saint-Germain booksellers so the notes are woods, polish and spice sweetened with a dash of vanilla. I mean, I am holding back my literal self because I’ve never even noticed a Parisian cobblestone (perhaps none near Galleries Lafayette ;-)) but if you enjoy a full bodied, maybe even church-ish scent with a dash of spice, lavender and mystery, you have it in Paris.
It comes with a wooden rest that can also be used as a lid and costs £75 HERE. Your next ‘stopover’ is Venice so the notes are an exchange between water and nature – think peppers, tomatoes and citrus with a breeze accent. I loved the Greek wall representing Milies although it wasn’t my favourite fragrance … fig and cypress predominantly… but there are the most lovely ceramic ovals – not cheap at £62 HERE but oh to open your wardrobe every morning to a waft of it.
Before we get to Kyoto, the stopover that had the candle fragrance I liked best is Byblos in the Lebanon. It’s so full of coffee and cardamom that it instantly hits your recognition button even if you’ve never been anywhere near Byblos. It’s souks, carpets and spices caught inside an espresso. Again, premium pricing on this – £115 HERE.
A little snapshot above including the homewares which are just beautiful.
One of the loveliest things about Kyoto is that it comes wrapped in a Furoshiki, perfectly knotted and pretty. The Kyoto fragrance is dedicated to Ikebana – the art form of arranging flowers in a particular way according to ancient principles with branches and flowers placed at specific representative angles. Diptyque founders Desmond Knox-Leet, Christiane Gautrot and Yves Coueslant never visited Kyoto but always wanted to so I suppose there is something of an unfulfilled wish in the composition. Notes are incense, rose and vetiver that makes it floral with a backdrop of – um, cathedral. That’s the only way I can describe it. For me, rose predominates. Kyoto is £115 HERE. The 60th birthday Grand Tour is definitely worth a drop in – it won’t take long – there are aspects not covered here such as the specially commissioned artist editions that will catch your attention.
Non-affiliate link is HERE.
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