Stepping inside the Princess of Wales Conservatory during Kew Gardens’ annual orchid festival—it usually runs from February to March—is a chance to discover how beautiful the fragrance of these opulent tropical flowers can be. While the most popular orchids sold by florists are unscented, there are also many perfumed varieties, with their aromas spanning the full olfactory spectrum from effervescent lemon to dark chocolate.

One such scented orchid is vanilla planifolia. Perhaps it’s not surprising, since this plant produces one of the world’s most fragrant spices. The flowers have a delicious aroma reminiscent of creamy jasmine and green grape. Although more subtle than the scent of vanilla pods, it has inspired perfumers to create fragrances around vanilla flowers relying on the recent studies of orchids and their aromas.

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I started this morning with a stroll through a bluebell forest, continued to a Japanese peony orchard, and got lost in an Italian garden before falling asleep in a cypress grove somewhere in Greece. I never left my room. I only changed home fragrances.  Perfumes uplift our mood, satisfy wanderlust and inspire daydreams, and selecting the right scents for the interior achieves the same effect.

Floris’s Hyacinth & Bluebell Room Fragrance is inspired by its iconic Bluebell fragrance, with a stronger emphasis on green, earthy notes.  It lingers gently and makes the space feel brighter and fresher. If I close my eyes, I can envision the vivid blue of wild hyacinths and the rustle of trees in their springtime verdancy.

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‘A paean to hope and home, written with such gentleness and deep adherence to emotional truth that to me its words become a fierceness to cast against harm, hardship and hurt. I loved it and it will haunt me for a long time.’ Helen Macdonald, the author of H is for Hawk

‘[A] poignant, gently unfolding . . . elegant family narrative of myriad characters traumatized by the deep-seated Russia-Ukrainian struggle. . . Throughout this powerful text, readers will encounter numerous satisfying layers.’ Kirkus Review

‘The familiar village symbol of a rooster on the roof hides a dark secret in Victora Belim’s marvellously vivid and often heartbreaking account of a personal quest, one that leads us deep into the complexities that lie behind news headlines while introducing us to an unforgettable group of characters. I read it in a single enthralled sitting.’ Miranda Seymour, author of I Used to Live Here Once: The Haunted Life of Jean Rhys

‘Wild Swans for Ukraine … rich and magnificent.’ Bookseller

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I am a recent convert to the pleasure of a scented body cream. I used to think that a plain lotion was sufficient, and as for fragrance, I could always spritz on a perfume. Yet, when a friend gave me a jar of Chanel No 5 Body Cream, I discovered how enjoyable such a luxurious product can be. Not only does applying it entail a special pampering ritual, it leaves one’s skin fragrant and moisturized.

To ensure a lasting scent, selecting a cream with a high proportion of aromatic oils is essential. I recommend testing a cream the way one would try a fragrance—applying it on clean skin and taking an inhale throughout the day to observe how the scent evolves. For instance, Chanel No 5 Body Cream has a brighter floral fragrance than the matching perfume, but its musky drydown lingers for the whole day. It creates an intimate sillage, which makes Body Cream ideal as a daytime scent choice. While it can certainly be layered with No 5 Eau de Toilette or Eau de Parfum, Body Cream pairs perfectly with an iris composition like 28 La Pausa or a violet bonbon like Misia, both from Chanel’s Les Exclusifs collection.

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