Angela Flanders X Anouska Tamony- Perfect Pairings with Kate Evans
Scent is the sense most closely associated with memory and emotion and I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s thought of its influence as an invisible but determining dimension in a room. Indeed the Financial Times wrote an interesting article on the topic a few weeks ago.
Of course scent like all sensory experiences is hugely subjective but like food and wine there are combinations that just seem to work and those that don’t. It’s not as simple as individual ingredients being individually pleasing therefore working together, there must be harmony between the elements.
Imagine for instance entering a panelled study lined with books and a big armchair in front of an open hearth and smelling cocooning woody scents. You’d feel beckoned closer and an urge to be enveloped in the cosiness of the space. To enter the same room and smell a perfectly pleasant but disjointed smell like washing powder or cut grass would somehow feel all wrong for scent and setting work in hand in hand.
Occasionally a homeowner I’m working with will ask me to choose a candle or diffuser to complement the scheme I’ve created and it’s this power to enhance (or detract from) the visual and tactile elements within a home that made me think how interesting it would be to speak with my favourite boutique perfumery Angela Flanders about how to expertly marry a scent with the design of a room so you can create perfect pairings in your home.
Read on to discover how Kate who runs the artisan perfumer started by her mother Angela would couple 6 different room schemes from our portfolio with home scents from their own collection of divine perfumed candles and diffusers...
THE SITTING ROOM
I’d make a couple of seasonal suggestions for this rather more minimal scheme. In a large room I’d ground this space with Zanzibar in winter months. The room has a rather exotic mood to it with the expanse of shutters and the artwork. Zanzibar is an exotic concoction of cedarwood and spice with an intriguing touch of citrus, rose and ylang ylang. It’s warm and comforting in colder months.
In summer though I immediately imagine the exotic and slightly heady notes of Tuberose floating through this space. Tuberose flowers give of their distinctive scent at night and in India are known as Rat ki Rani or Queen of the Night. Gently diffusing their distinctive fragrance in the warmth of a perfumed candle is evocative of sitting in an exotic garden at night.
As this is a larger space, I’d consider layering both a diffuser and a candle in the same fragrance to build on the scent.
THE FILM DEN
In this chic and modern snug I’d suggest lighting a Parisienne candle. This soft musky vanilla with a touch of rose and citrus in the top notes, is an all-time favourite of ours. It has a lovely warmth to the scent which I imagine enfolding the viewers in this film den and was recently selected as a cast gift for Mrs Harris goes to Paris, forever connecting it to the glamour of the silver screen in my mind.
THE KITCHEN
Selecting a fragrance for a kitchen area, where cooking smells are also present, can be more challenging but the soft green tones of this scheme immediately suggest Mandarin & Mint to me. A complex blend of fresh citrus, bergamot and green mandarin carefully balanced with mint and a whole bouquet of other herbal notes including thyme, clary sage, marjoram and clove, makes this a perfect scent to use in kitchens and dining areas.
I’d probably suggest a diffuser for a constant and gentle background aroma and lighting a candle on the central kitchen island to shift the atmosphere to a more relaxed dining vibe.
THE BEDROOM
In this relaxing bedroom with its soft green tones I’d suggest Precious One. I always recommend softer or more delicate scents in a bedroom environment. Our award winning Precious One fragrance also comes as a wonderful candle, with its grounding base of vetiver layered with oak moss on a soft musky base and just a hint of tuberose and jasmine in the heart, it’s a soft and elegant gently green chypre scent, would be the perfect partner to this scheme.
THE BATHROOM
I’d suggest Rose Sauvage for this bathing area, which has a rather intriguing mix of spa like zen and Moroccan romanticism to it. Rose Sauvage has a fresh, bright berry top note layered on the softer and romantic rose heart with a delicately warm amber base. I’d be tempted to add the matching bath silk to this divine tub to enjoy a truly sensual and fragrant bathing experience.
THE ADULT’S SNUG
This sophisticated scheme calls for our new Oudh Bakhoor, a luxurious and soft almost vanillic oudh candle in which a delicate slightly sweet top note is combined with the depth and smokiness of oudh, and agarwood with sweet resin, cedarwood and a hint of leather. The perfect fragrance for a relaxed living area with a warm woody aroma. I can see the candle gently flickering in the room gently adding its luxurious fragrance to this grown up space.
Lighting a candle adds an atmospheric dimension to a room, particularly for a room used in the evening, do allow your candle at least 3-4 hours burning time to really benefit from the fragrance and ensure even burning, even more important in a larger space.