Nose candy: the guide to this season's best fragrances
From exotic fruits to patisserie pleasures, this season's perfumes evoke blue skies and sunshine. Emma Reinhold finds a fragrance to suit everyone
Blooming marvellous
Florals are a perennial favourite when the sun comes out, and this year, they pack a perfumed punch. Cartier's latest offering, La Panthère blends the heady scent of gardenia with musk and chypre notes (HK$890/50ml, available at Sogo, Causeway Bay).
Karl Lagerfeld's eponymous women's fragrance features floral notes of rose, magnolia and plumeria, freshened with lemon and peach. (HK$800/85ml, available at Harvey Nichols, Pacific Place), while Italian fashion duo Dolce & Gabbana's new feminine fragrance, Dolce, features a feminine blend of white flowers including the never-before-used white amaryllis flower (HK$795/50ml, available at Harvey Nichols, The Landmark).
White florals also underpin Annick Goutal's new eau de parfum, Un Matin d'Orage. Translated literally as "stormy morning", this floral bouquet blends delicate magnolia, creamy tuberose and vanilla with woody undertones (HK$1,980/100ml, available at Joyce Beauty).
Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian recommends trying fragrances on the upper part of the forearm to ensure you get the purest interpretation of the scent. "Never put the fragrance on the back of the hand nor the palm," he says. "The back is rather dry, and the palm always sweats a little. Also avoid the wrist if you wear jewellery or a watch as this can change the fragrance.