#british perfumer

[letstalkbeautyuk]

A Few More Skincare Empties Feb 2025

Caudalie Beauty Elixir What an iconic product, I have been using it for over 15 years and have been through so many bottles.  The scent is beautiful, botanical and reminds me of Summer holidays, as I always take a mini bottle away with me for refreshing my skin on flights and after a day in the sun, I also really like to use it to freshen up my makeup. Caudalie always use the best natural…

[fyeahtimwalker]

Do Son campaign by Tim Walker for Diptyque, 2022

[rococo-revisited]

Perfume vase (one of a pair)

Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory 

British, ca. 1761

[europesummervibes]

[fagrackham]

doing a project on the mid-2010s witchcraft revival.....you quite literally had to be there

[pocketvenuslux]

Since I've been doing some throwback lingerie reviews, here's a review of Ex Idolo's Thirty Three, a typical Western-style oud that was released in 2013, right at the peak of the rose-oud craze in niche fragrance. It was the first fragrance released by this UK house, helmed by a self-taught Canadian, Matthew Zhuk.

Thirty Three was one of the first rose-ouds I tried. Even though I kind of imprinted on it in this way, I eventually came to find it to be a largely unremarkable take on the rose-oud trend. At the time, there were so many rose-forward fragrances shaded in with a defanged oud darkness absent any suggestion of the barnyard, of the ripe blue cheese, the creamy skank and more difficult notes that came with more challenging ouds like Dusita's discontinued Oudh Infini. To Thirty Three's credit, it did have a curious and unusual, almost piercing note in its opening and it definitely lacked the scratchy, raspy texture that was so common in many of the cheaper ouds being released at the time. Overall, I found it to be on par with the smooth, velvety and imminently wearable Kilian ouds, although Thirty Three was more affordable - now much more so given that a Kilian oud currently retails for $565/50 ml.

Recently, I saw Thirty Three on sale at Etiket and a pang of nostalgia came over me. 2013 was a different time for niche perfume, a brief window in perfume history when unusual scents and creativity were returning to the market and becoming more readily available, but multinational conglomerates had not yet gobbled up the landscape. It was also a moment when erudite perfume criticism could be easily found on personal blogs and vlogging influencers were still years away.

Alas, that time is over, but now I have Thirty Three to remind me of those heady, exciting years. What does that time smell like to me?

Thirty Three opens with a giant whoosh of plush, jammy roses and tangy mandarin. The latter becomes more astringent and candied until it is sharpened into a high pitched wood polish that, if you read the fragrance copy, is what I think is meant to be "Damascus steel." There is also a hint of that familiar, slightly plasticky smoky darkness that is coded "oud." Thirty Three is described as using "a significant amount of wild-harvested Chinese oud oil" including a "vintage oud" aged 33 years. Honestly, if this is the case, I'm not smelling it. Given that Thirty Three continues to be widely distributed over a decade and two bottle re-designs later, I would imagine suppliers for Thirty Three's ouds as well as the formula have changed over the years while the back story remains the same.

Up close, the scent feels a little discordant. There's velvety rose petals, the bracing varnish, sweet patchouli and "oud". Yet from afar, say twelve inches away, it all somehow works, particularly as the scent develops and softens up.

Overall, a scent very much of its time and sort of a personal collector's item for me. I don't see myself wearing this regularly but I'm glad to own this one for the memories alone.

[oldcameranewmusic]

Tigercub / Manchester, UK, 05/11/23 / The Perfume Of Decay Tour

I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to see Tigercub live. I got into them back in 2021 with the release of As Blue As Indigo (which I still regard as one of my favourite albums of all time), and didn't think to see them on tour back then. However, with the release of The Perfume of Decay, and new dates being released, I just knew I had to snag tickets. And fuck am I glad I did. It was one of the best gigs I've been to in so long.

// Gig review under the cut & photos! //

I was at 'barrier' (there wasn't one) the whole gig, right infront of their bassist Jimi. The energy in the room was estatic, from both the crowd and the band themselves. Jamie Hall gave it his all (hehe), with a stunning vocal performance and guitar playing that could've been ripped off of the album (and some BEAUTIFUL harmonics while playing TPOD that I wish were on the actual recording!), Jallix jammed his heart out the whole night while baring his most infectious smile as always (mostly at me and my gig buddy, as we were having the night of our lives aha), and Jimi swaggered across the stage with as much groove as his basslines, leaving me awestruck most of the night just watching. I channeled all my excitement into this gig and gave it my all, and I enjoyed each last bit of the setlist. They played a majority of their new album- including Shadowgraph which I really didn't expect!- and threw in a few from their first album too such as Memory Boy and Control, and topped it off with the bangers from ABAI (however I would've loved to hear ABAI itself on there!) They didn't play any singles apart from I.W.G.F.U., but with such a stacked setlist it would've been a shame to sacrifice any of it for the older singles. In my mind, I will definitely be seeing these guys again next time they're in the area, so I have more time to hear those songs I'd like creep their way back onto future setlists. For an album tour, it was a perfect opening to the era. My only downside to this whole night was the venue itself, as the EQ isn't the greatest when you're so close (I could hear Jimi's monitor more than the general speakers), and the past 2 times I've been in there the lights have nearly given me a migraine due to just how vibrant they are. Yet, I could overlook both of those for just how fucking great of a night it was. Once the gig ended, my neck was in agony, my cheeks hurt from smiling and singing, and my legs were about to fail on me. While the guys were walking offstage, I asked Jimi for his pick which he handed to me (I later found out it was one of his last- sorry dude) and Jallix came up to me and handed me his sticks, which was incredible!! I couldn't have been happier.

The lads themselves stay around after the gigs at their merch desks to talk to people, which is always incredible to see from a band, and I had an hour til my train, so stayed as long as I could to talk. The guys were so eager to talk to everyone they could, and by the end several of us were being slowly ushered out by security, as the venue was about to close haha! I got Jimi's pick signed by him, and the drumsticks signed by all 3. Me and my friend got photos with them all, and we got the opportunity to talk to them about how much their music meant to us both over these last 3 years. It was so nice to have a heart-to-heart with them all, and I can confirm they're the nicest guys around. If you have the chance to go and see Tigercub near you, PLEASE do it, whether you know them or not. You may walk out with a new band on your roster to support. These guys deserve it all.

[bedforddanes75]

WHEN I GO FOR THE KISS EVERYBODY AGREES SOMETHINGS ADDED TO THE MOOD BUT YOU CANT REALLY SEE SOMETHING SO SEDUCTIVE BUT YOU CANT REALLY TELL ALL THE BOYS AND THE GIRLS ASK ME WHAT IS THAT SMELL THATS MY PERFUME

[kolkaslove]

Got told I have the strongest case of autism accent someone's ever heard today. Good god

Might be misremembering or paraphrasing slightly because it's late,,,,,,

[sonofshermy]

[letstalkbeautyuk]

Miller Harris Perfume

[aisphotostuff]

Ormonde Jayne London W1 by Adam Swaine Via Flickr: A niche London based fragrance brand, founded by Cheshire born Linda Pilkington, who’s fascination with perfume making began at a very young age the glorious golden age of perfumery, an elegant era when fragrance creation was a fine art, where absolutes were infused for months before filtration, then left to mature before bottling to give a deeper, more complex formulation.”

[havithreatendub4]

[shinoko-oshi]

Simon Riley Nsfw Headcannons

- Simon loves cockwarming, especially after long, exhausting days filled with paperwork and meetings. He’ll call you into his office, have you straddle his lap, and sink down onto him, keeping you nice and full while he occasionally presses kisses to your temple.

- His British accent always gets thicker when he’s fucking you or when you’ve got him in your mouth. The longer it goes on, the harder it is for him to string words together. When your lips are wrapped around him, and he’s gripping your hair, he sounds even filthier, deep, rough, and almost impossible to understand.

- When he’s away on missions, he sneaks a pair of your underwear or a tiny lace thong into his duffel bag. Late at night, when he finally gets a moment alone, he’ll wrap it around his fist while he strokes himself, holding onto the Polaroid photo of you he always keeps tucked inside his vest.

- Turn on’s: High heels. You in heels is enough to have his cock straining against his pants. And they stay on during sex. No negotiations. Your laugh. Not just the soft ones but the full, unrestrained laughter especially when it’s at one of his god-awful dad jokes. He’s getting a boner on the spot. The way you smell. Not just your perfume, but you. Fresh out of the shower, skin still damp and warm, he’s burying his face in your neck, inhaling deeply before kissing down your spine.

- At first, during sex he starts out with a mix of praise and filthy words, his deep voice spilling the filthiest things into your ear. But once he loses himself in the pleasure of you, his words start to slur together, coming out in broken mumbles that barely make sense. Until he’s just grunting your name, completely wrecked.

- Size Kink? Absolutely. No matter your height or body type, you always look small compared to him, and he loves it. The way his hands completely engulf yours when he pins them down? The contrast of his broad frame over your smaller one? It drives him wild. He’ll groan at the sight of your fingers twitching beneath his as he holds them down, whispering, “So fuckin’ small under me, love— mine to ruin.”

- Loves when you’re vocal, Simon needs to hear you. The little gasps, the way you whimper his name. He craves it. When you two rented a secluded cabin one summer, he took full advantage. Had you screaming his name while he had his face buried between your thighs, eating you out like a man starved. He made sure to fuck you against the cabin wall later that night, just to hear it again.

- You in his clothes, there’s something about seeing you in his clothes that awakens something possessive inside him. Doesn’t matter if it’s his hoodie drowning your frame or one of his shirts hanging off your shoulders. His brain short-circuits every time. He’s even gone as far as hiding your clothes just so you’ll be forced to wear his. And if he catches you walking around in nothing but his t-shirt? Yeah, you’re not making it out of bed for the next hour.

- Loves shower sex, calls the water ‘free lube’, though after one particularly enthusiastic round ended with him slipping and nearly taking you down with him, you had to get grips for the shower floor. He grumbled about it at first, but you caught him checking them out approvingly the next time he pressed you up against the tiles.

[suroskie]

Best British Rose Body Butter by Suroskie

Indulge in luxury with our British Rose Body Butter. This hydrating formula, enriched with macadamia nut oil, coconut oil, and shea body butter, provides 96 hours of moisture, leaving your skin silky-smooth and delicately scented with litchi fragrance. Dermatologically tested and suitable for all skin types. Pamper yourself today with Korean skincare products! Visit suroskie.com

Website: https://suroskie.com/products/british-rose-body-butter

[pocketvenuslux]

Papillon Artisan Perfumes is one of my favourite niche houses. It has a very cohesive and distinctive voice, one that draws heavily on vintage perfumes. Although the prices have gone up a fair bit (when I bought Salome in 2016, it was US$160 and it's now retailing at US$205), it has managed to maintain its singular vision and integrity over the years. I feel like when niche houses reach a certain point of success, there is a lot of pressure for them to grow by increasing the frequency of releases and then the quality/creativity suffers. Thankfully, Papillon has resisted that pressure.

I recently tried the house's two latest: Spell 125 and Hera and I enjoyed them both.

Spell 125 seems like a bit of a departure for the house. It has a powerfully resinous, coniferous opening that leans toward the photorealistic end of things. This was surprizing to me as it felt very contemporary, more Slumberhouse than Guerlain. But as the scent develops, Moore's familiar touch begins to emerge - even though Spell is in no way a vintage throwback. But the complexity of the dry down, its development, turns the scent's initial piney blast into something far more beguiling and it is here the scent really begins to distinguish itself. In particular, contrasting with the scent's coolness is a soft, animalic blur of "white ambergris" and fragrant, slightly sour frankincense that imparts an aliveness and a gentle heat that is very much in line with the more overtly fleshy Salome and Bengale Rouge even though Spell is completely different genre of scent. It evokes a spaciousness, stillness and serene vitality that makes it another winner for me.

Hera is more in line with Papillon's traditional vibe and is the more complex scent of the two. To be honest, I personally did not like it as much as Spell (which is just as well as it's retailing at a much higher price point than the others at US$310). It is beautiful, but this scent, originally designed for Moore's daughter's wedding, is perhaps one that speaks so much to someone else that it had less to say to me. It's still an excellent perfume, a vintage style aldehydic floral - but not in a diva-esque, attention seeking way. Quite the opposite, it feels incredibly well measured. Hera opens with a lovely veil of aldehydes that give its florals just the right amount of lift. As the scent develops, the flowers are abstracted but not stereotyped and certainly not the innocently fresh bouquet we associate with brides. Rather they are lushly dense with subtle, interchanging degrees of powder, butter and sweetness, all grounded in a gentle but hefty base of musk, labdanum and sandalwood. One has the impression of light, but it's not sunny in any Pollyanna sense, nor is it one of Dryad's sun dappled fields. It's more of a radiant, soft focus effulgence. There is too much of a sense of corporeality for Hera to evoke simple summertime sunshine. Allusions to the body in perfume are almost always a reference to sexuality, sweat and what goes unwashed but here, it is really about presence. What I like most about Hera is that it paints a portrait of a woman that feels very real, one that you can feel is authored by a woman's perspective. There are no fantasies here about blushing brides, no virgins or whores, no maidens, mothers or crones. I almost feel like I know something about Moore's daughter through Hera.