Today, her first book, The Philosophy of Perfume, goes on sale, so Alice sat down with Madeleine Spencer for a scented tour of her life…
Alice Du Parcq and I are aboard a British Pullman train when she tells me her big news: she’s writing a book about perfume for the British Library, tracing its history, offering guidance, and breaking down ingredients and their sourcing. As we meander through the countryside, the air scented with the sweetly nostalgic scents Laura Ashley are launching (they are the reason for us being on said fancy train), Alice and I start talking about scent and, inevitably, I fall into the hazy state of bliss that accompanies most of my conversations with her. She is my version of ASMR, a woman who’s highly intelligent, highly schooled, and highly passionate, sharing her knowledge and excitement over the extraordinary alchemy that is perfume.
Fast forward a few months, and launch week for the book is shimmering ever closer, her schedule densely packed. There were many people vying for her time, and, happily for me – and by extension you, reading this – she carved some out to talk about her book, The Philosophy of Perfume, and to offer some tidbits on the best scented products on the market today.
Let’s start with candles. I am a huge advocate of lighting a candle as the nights draw in, signifying downtime, and cosiness. Alice feels similarly: ‘Every night at 6pm, I light a candle. There’s something that feels very safe about that. I always say to the kids “I want you to be happy, but I also want you to be sad and annoyed and frustrated and confused and all the things you need to be in the house, and know that this space is yours to be completely yourself – and sometimes the ritual of it, the fact there’s something flickering away in the corner that smells lovely is almost a silent way to say they don’t need to tell me if they have a bad day, just know that your home is safe and you are safe here.”’
Her top choices are varied. She is a champion of affordable, well-made candles, highlighting M&S’s Winter Wonder Yuletide Pine & Spice (‘it smells like sticking your face in a Christmas wreath’), and emphatic about the brand Meadow Farm Lifestyle (‘it is my top top top, and my favourite is Smoked Honey & Orange – it smells of roasty toasty slightly charred suncream – while her autumn one, Inglenook, is a really warm soft slightly squidgy slightly vanilla-laced amber with toasty cedarwood’).
She always has time for three brands and two hotel candles that she thinks always perform well: Acqua di Parma (‘some of the best money can buy, but the projection on the wax is unbelievable’); Diptyque (‘so snapshot perfect for the ingredient they’re chasing – the moss Mousses one makes me feel like I want to go mushroom picking in deep dark British forests, and the amber one is excellent’); Matière Première (‘the ultimate sexy church candle is the Encens Oman – it is unbelievable, so strong, so sexy, silky Bible papers, incense being smothered all over you, confession booth deliciousness, it’s so strong and dark and delicious and Catholic guilt everywhere’), and candles by the Connaught and Claridge’s (‘they’re expensive but the levels of oils are massive in them – light those candles, close your eyes, and you’re in a five-star hotel’).
I ask if her attention to detail around the house extends to day-to-day products like a cleaning spray or laundry pods: ‘I really love the smell of a traditional fabric softener – I love the classic my-life-feels-and-smells like I’ve got my shit together Comfort Pure. I do like a Purdy & Figg spritz surface cleaner because they always have some essential oils you can mix in, but then I’m also into the gin and tonic hit of a Dettol spray, that bite at the back of your nose. I absolutely love the Jo Malone London Lavender & Moonflower Pillow Mist. The smell was created by the perfumer Marie Salamagne, who wanted to achieve the smell of flinging open an armoire in the South of France that’s full of white linen and cotton sheets that have just been laundered and beautifully folded, maybe with a sprig of lavender on it – but it’s the cold side of the pillow lavender, cool and fresh with a soft muskiness rather than being an oily, heavy, sedative lavender.’
Onto perfume proper: which autumn launches have most excited her? ‘Max Mara Le Parfum is a slightly almondly scent, with sweet luscious florals and woods at the base. It’s elegant and much more feminine than I thought it would be, and it’s really affordable; Ghost fragrances’ Sunday Dream is sophisticated with a slightly milk powder smell that’s so comforting, blended with a rice steam warmth that’s cocooning and comforting alongside the tonka and sandalwood; Bottega Veneta’s collection of seven new perfumes is great, and Bare Morning is particularly beautiful, like a posh talc powder, with excellent longevity; and Chloé have a new version of their classic Eau de Parfum called Le Nectar, which has a golden drizzly bit of almond in there, it’s so delectable and yummy and addictive, and if you’re going to go gourmand, this is a great way to do it.’
Alice is often asked about picking a wedding perfume, having matched people to wedding fragrances since her time at Brides magazine, and her advice is typically practical and poetic. ‘Take a step back and look at the concept of your wedding, then match the scent mood to the type of day you want. If you’re having a huge wintry glitzy glamorous candlelit opulent wedding in a ballroom, you’re not going to wear Jo Malone’s English Pear & Freesia, it’s not the right fit. If, however, you’re having an English countryside orchard outdoor marquee with maybe some bare feet and a braid in your hair, then, yes, that would be the perfect wedding fragrance.’ There are two she always tells brides to smell. For ‘ultra-special, pure whiteness, utter perfection in terms of the most beautiful white floral that just glows’: Les Exclusifs de Chanel Gardénia. If you like ‘rich rich florals and want to stay with that whiteness, Matière Première French Flower is probably the most exceptional tuberose fragrance I’ve ever smelled, the only one that doesn’t give me a migraine, very special, very bridal – and they do 6ml tiny bottles you can pop in your pocket or wedding purse.’
At this stage, Alice’s descriptions have, as expected, switched on my senses and quietened my stresses – and all that talk of drizzly toasty blends has made me terribly hungry. Before going to make breakfast, I ask her to name a favourite perfume. She refuses. ‘I’m quite fickle.’ I push her. ‘Alright, if it were my funeral and you had to spray me with one thing before the lid was slammed shut and I was sent into the flames, Chanel’s Coromandel would be it. It is what I want to project out – it’s warm, golden, opulent, glamorous without screaming, bejewelled, amber. I want that feeling around me wherever I walk.’ With that, Alice returns to her perfumed world and I’m left with a rumbling stomach and a towering shopping list.
You can purchase The Philosophy of Perfume at the links below…
