Ah, the frenzy of a beauty product waiting list. How to deal with all that excitement, anticipation… adrenaline even? Well, if it was the online queue for the big new Charlotte Tilbury launch you’d joined, then the chances are that she has a fragrance to help with that – because that’s exactly what the new range is intended for.
“It’s all about capturing feeling, so that you can spray on your emotions and be the architect of your day,” explained Tilbury a few weeks ago at a presentation held at her London HQ for an early reveal of the new fragrance collection which is finally available to buy. “Each fragrance in the collection is an olfactory celebration transporting you through different emotions, so however you want to feel you can choose the energy and the vibration that you want to emit to the world – so it’s not just for ourselves, but radiating those feelings out to everyone in our orbit.” As is her want, there were more than a few ‘Darlings!’ peppered throughout her chat so please feel free to sprinkle them as liberally as you like to any of her quotes.
You can also officially bid hello to her new Fragrance Collection of Emotions which consists of ‘Love Frequency’ (a floral wood intended for all love, not just the romantic kind), ‘More Sex’ (a musky leather for seduction), ‘Joyphoria’ (a warm floral for happiness), ‘Magic Energy’ (a woody citrus for energy), ‘Calm Bliss’ (an aquatic floral for exactly what is says on the bottle – or call it serenity, if you like), and ‘Cosmic Power ‘(an amber-y spice for empowerment). Tilbury sees them all as perfume portals and they have been created in partnership with IFF and their findings from 40 years of neuroscience research and with the expertise of some of the leading noses in the business: Dominique Ropion worked on ‘Cosmic Power’, Juliette Karagueuzoglou was behind ‘Magic Energy’, and Anne Flipo is responsible for the rest.
The collection is part of a growing trend in fragrance that’s dedicated to using (and creating) it to make the wearer feel good – or however they want or need to feel – rather than in a more traditional way of outward presentation or attraction. It’s inward-facing fragrance first, channelling the part of you that you need to engage at any given time – that will also help you step powerfully into whatever situation you’re in. It’s a fragrant movement that can already be seen in niche brands such as Edeniste, Vyrao (founded by fashion maven Yasmin Sewell), and even with Tilbury’s own healer, Estelle Bingham, and her ‘I Am Sacred Space’ holistic fragrance range.
Tilbury, of course, has taken it into the mainstream – and gone bigger and bolder with it too. She has incorporated colour therapy into all six of her perfumes with a differently coloured bottle for each one, as well as deploying numerology and symbolism – so each bottle also has a dedicated number and emblem emblazoned on it to further enhance the desired emotion. The packaging also includes a mantra – or you could think of it a a magic spell – that you can tear off and keep to help with any visualisation goals.
It would be easy to be cynical about all this but anyone who knows Tilbury knows that she’s always been very into the vibrational side of life – hence having a healer in the first place. And besides, there is scientific data behind it. After testing thousands of ingredients to monitor their effect on the brain, IFF has identified the fragrance accords that work to boost certain emotions and the master perfumers on the project have incorporated those into each concoction. It’s all perfect stuff for Tilbury’s mission.
Tilbury herself admitted she sometimes spray them on all at once. But the effect I most wanted was …. calm (sorry if that’s a tad disappointing). And since Tilbury declared at the preview that she puts this “on my pillow at night and have the sweetest dreams, it’s like a tranquil oasis in a bottle”, I decided to put this one to the test. I have to admit that despite all that I’ve said I was a tad sceptical. ‘Calm Bliss’ was a bit too strong to be a pillow mist for my liking, so I spritzed it towards the bottom of my duvet cover and also as a bit of a room spray and changed nothing else in my routine. Incredibly, I did indeed have the sleep of the innocent that night, it truly was one of best zonks that I can remember – and it has remained this way any other night that I’ve used it. Not exactly the same level of rigour as several decades-worth of scientific endeavour, I grant you – but it has me convinced!
Shop here. Photography courtesy of Charlotte Tilbury.
