No one asked, but here’s a fun fact about me: I’m low-key fragrance-obsessed. Spritzing scents has been a steadfast component of my beauty routine since then-iconic body sprays from Victoria’s Secret (two words: Love Spell) entered my world in the early 2000s. My goal back then? To smell as cool as Britney, Christina, and the members of Destiny’s Child. My taste has changed a lot over the last couple of decades, but to this day, I’m still dedicated to cloaking myself in any of the dozens of perfumes in my collection. My fragrance end game now? To smell expensive and sophisticated at all times. Let me explain.
As a deeply imaginative person who regularly visualises future versions of myself, I often use moments of stillness to let my mind conjure images of every aspect of me down the line. What will I be wearing? Where will I be holidaying? What will my body language be like? (A rotation of Balmain blazers in the Greek Islands and relaxed, confident shoulders, in case you were wondering.) In summary, future me is rich as hell. Someone who suns herself on lido decks and spends her Saturday mornings toiling about in her expansive orchard. (Now do you understand the Oprah reference?) The fragrance that teleports me to that rich, unbothered version of myself in mere seconds? Frédéric Malle’s Portrait of a Lady (£188).
To be clear, Oprah has said that she doesn’t even wear perfume, so those rumours about her smelling like a bed of roses on a warm spring day must be in response to her natural pheromones. A goddess! But for us mere mortals who don’t naturally smell like a bouquet and still want to capture that enviable vibe, this is a fragrance you need to know about.