Perfume is one of my favourite things. I’ve been fascinated in fragrance since I discovered Givenchy’s Tartine et Chocolat (or Eau de Chocolat) when I was a child. I like to think I have ‘The Nose’ as one of my party tricks is being able to identify perfumes while blindfolded! This obsession with perfume has led to quite a collection and although some scents come and go I’ve got some lovely favourites that have remained constant, like old friends.

In fact, before I started this blog, I toyed with the idea of creating a blog solely on perfume. But I was deterred by the sad fact that no matter how much colouring in I do, it’s sometimes difficult to describe the nuances of fragrance through the online medium; and whacking out words on scent and scent alone might send some spinning on the web. So as a compromise, I’m just going to sporadically feature fragrance a touche more.

I’m going to begin with the wonderful Dior J’adore perfume. I love the warmth of floral notes: a deep, sultry Ylang-Ylang base with a sweet Damascus Rose middle to make to you smile as Jasmine dances along the top. It’s a very sensuous perfume but (unusually) wholly appropriate for the daytime, so it’s an ideal scent to see you through from a day in the office to the clink of evening cocktails.

The J’adore fragrance family has a vast scope: while I personally prefer the Eau de Parfum (which is a slightly more concentrated version) you can also buy the lighter, fresher Eau de Toilette in a slightly bigger bottle for the money, or you can go all the way with the intense J’adore L’or Eau de Parfum (at £240 per 100ml). There are also various body creams, hair mists and soaps in the fragrance. I like to layer the J’adore Beautifying Body Milk with the Eau de Parfum in the Winter to make my J’adore experience unique.

I always find perfume bottles so nice to look at, like iridescent glass architecture to atop my dressing table.

It is such a beautiful perfume. J’adore! You have to try it.

Dior J’adore Eau de Toilette 50ml £55
Dior J’adore Eau de Parfum 50ml £69