Top picks from the Perfume shop

From the smell of new trainers to the ingredients needed to create your own fragrance. Perfume co-curator Claire Catterall selects her favourite items from our Perfume exhibition shop. 

Perfumes

Sneakerhead by Killian Wells for Xyrena
Literally, the smell that hits you when you first open a box of new sneakers – kind of plasticy and a bit glue-ey, but also rather beautiful. Wearing it somehow makes you feel ‘brand-new’. I love the way that the smell of contemporary life is replacing the smell of the natural world. Delve into the world of Killian Wells with the film below.

Rain Cloud by Lyn Harris for Perfumer H
A beautiful floral, perfect for a wet and humid British summer. It’s become my new obsession.

The Decay of an Angel by Timothy Han
The latest perfume from the hugely talented young British perfumer Timothy Han, named after the Yukio Mishima novel.  A burnt floral fragrance with the subtle headiness of flowers on the wane. A great follow on from his perfumes On The Road (named after Jack Kerouac) and She Came to Stay (named after Simone de Beauvoir). It’s an incredibly decadent perfume - I’m saving this for winter.

Books

Perfume Legends by Michael Edwards
One of the great perfume books, by one of the greatest writers on Perfume. Now out of print – so grab it at our shop while you can.

The Emperor of Scent by Chandler Burr
I think it was this book that made me fully appreciate how fascinating perfume and the perfume industry is. I love the very candid no-nonsense approach.
 
Perfume: A Century of Scents by Lizzie Ostrom
An incredibly well-researched but thoroughly entertaining journey through some of the best known perfumes of the 20th and 21st century. Lizzie tells the stories of each perfume in a way that brings each alive.