With perfume prices soaring, we’re finding new ways to wear great scents. Here’s our pick of some of the best body sprays making a comeback …
Body spray was especially big in the 1980s, with brands like Impulse and Lynx clouding the air – they were pretty pungent, often all too reminiscent of furniture polish. But now a wide range of brands (even the highest-priced luxury ones) are diffusing their scents into lighter iterations such as body and hair sprays. For anyone who wants to wear a lovely scent without breaking the bank, a sophisticated spray version could be the answer.
Clearly, a body spray or hair perfume is a very different way to wear scent: it’s far lighter than an eau de perfume, or even eau de toilette, and certainly won’t last long. If you love a statement-making hit of scent with a lingering trail, these may not be for you. Sprays are all about the moment – the joy of a quick spritz that gives you a fast-forward experience of the original.
Brands aimed at younger consumers, such as Sol de Janeiro (whose perfume mists are currently reduced to €19.20 at Boots, usually €24) and Fenty, have helped to popularise the spray can approach to scent-wearing. Lidl’s cheeky Doop (“dupe” crossed with “Goop”) range included a take on the Sol scents for a few euros. Rare Beauty has just launched a jasmine and lemon-scented Body & Hair Fragrance Mist (€30), a fine scented spray with added skincare benefits.
But established fine fragrance brands are joining the spray gang, too, from Guerlain to Dior and Frederic Malle (a hair perfume is a great way to wear the sublime Portrait of a Lady for less). Even Tom Ford, where a 50ml eau de parfum now costs north of €250, distils bestsellers in body sprays (for example, Neroli Portofino body spray is €61.45 at www.lookfantastic.ie). Jo Malone London’s English Pear & Freesia body mist is €38 (usually €56) at the airport (compared with the cologne at €113).
Body sprays and mists are a good way to experiment with a scent before investing in a full bottle.
Five new hair perfumes by Matiere Premiere capture a fleeting sense of the beauty of the French brand’s exquisite eaux de parfums. Vanilla Powder, for example, is €65, while the eau de parfum is €165 for 50ml. It’s not replacing the eau de parfum, but it’s a lighter way to wear it, ideal for summer, or perhaps for the office when you don’t want anything too striking – I love to notice when someone’s wearing a perfume as lovely as this, but not everyone does.
Hip brand Phlur’s body sprays, such as new Vanilla Smoke (€25 at SpaceNK) and Heavy Cream, are leaders in the new wave of fashionable fragrance sprays.
Rituals has a range of hair and body mists, including the lovely, soft limited-edition Morning Dew with jasmine and musk (€26), from their Dream Collection.
Byredo has several hair perfumes (€65), including bestselling Gypsy Water, and Diptyque has several elegant hair mists, including Eau de Papier and Eau Rose (€60).
Floral Street’s perfume mists are currently €24.65, down from €29, at Boots; try the Sweet Almond Blossom for spring, made with rosewater and with a metal-free, recyclable mist pump; one of the first on the market.
Handy to carry around, lighter to wear and more accessible, sprays look set to be a big thing into summer.
