Fragrances are widely acknowledged as one of the most difficult subjects to write about for beauty journalists. It requires beyond the skill of a writer. It demands a deep understanding of the art of perfumery and experience with as many fragrances as possible, which in this case can also be expensive. Every new perfume in the writer’s arsenal adds to that experience. Every bottle is a new word, a new sentence, a new paragraph in an expanding fragrance horizon. Every niche brand discovered widens knowledge like immersing in a book. Essentially, the more you acquire, the better you get in writing and understanding the nuances of perfumery. Writers who collect perfumes will always have an advantage. Collectors who can write, meanwhile, are a gem. The Beauty Edit is lucky to have perfume collector, book author, and expert from the U.K. Ines Witherspoon take us into the inexplicable joys of collecting perfumes and into her fragrance closet. Her massive collection is as impressive as the way she puts her thoughts into words. In her own words, she tells us her story.
“I’ve been fascinated with fragrance from as young as I can remember. Basically, I can’t remember my life without fragrance being a big part of it. As soon as I was old enough to know what I liked, I started a small collection at around 16 years old.”
I, Ines…
“I vividly recall the first time I went to Harrods’ perfume hall in London in my 20s and realized the world of fragrances was so much bigger than I could have imagined. It was like a world of possibilities, all these beautiful smells to discover and explore and I knew then that that’s exactly what I wanted to do. I started collecting shortly after then but it only began in a major way not long before I started Instagram.
A Scent for Every Mood
“I started Instagram seven years ago just for fun and quickly realized how much I loved the creative aspect of it. It allowed me to share and talk about my life and my enthusiasm for fragrance in such an aesthetic way.
“What I love most about collecting fragrances is how each fragrance has a unique personality, its own story to tell, which forms a comprehensive wardrobe of scents to cover every possible mood, scenario, and season. Each new fragrance I add is like a new character joining my fragrance family and I love getting to know them and finding out how they fit into my life.”
A Visual Diary
“I was struggling to keep track of all the perfumes on my wish list or that I was interested in trying. I had Internet browser windows open on my devices, notes on paper and on my phone, and I wanted to be able to amalgamate all these disjointed elements into one place.
“I used to do scrapbooking as a hobby, so the idea of a visual wish list that I could decorate really appealed to me. I bought an attractive A4-sized blank journal and used Fragrantica to copy and paste images of the perfumes from my wish list into a document that I could then print, cut out, and stick into the blank journal, just like a scrapbook.
“I have a craft room full of supplies so I can easily embellish the pages of my journal to make them even more interesting visually. I try to update my journal with my latest wish list every few months or so and I love how it’s a visual record of all the perfumes I’ve been interested in over the years.”
Things of Beauty
“My two biggest hobbies, apart from perfume, are art (especially adult coloring) and nature. I love to take photographs of beautiful things, whether that’s a beautiful view while I’m out in the fields or the woods, a beautiful perfume bottle, a pretty vignette on my vanity, or our two gorgeous cats. I’ve had cats since I was a girl and I can’t imagine my life without at least one cat in it. I also love wildlife and animals in general so I’m always delighted when I spot some sheep, cows, birds, or even just dragonflies on my walks.
“I would say I’m at my happiest when I’m out walking in beautiful surroundings. That’s when I feel most alive, free, and at peace with the world around me. No matter what’s going on in the world or in my life, I can go outside, submerge myself in the stunning surroundings of the fields or the woodland and just process my thoughts, my day, and I always come home feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. It’s honestly like therapy for me and it never fails to lift my mood and keep me healthy, mentally and physically.
“A close second is art and I get so much joy from it. There’s something so fulfilling and satisfying about taking a blank page or some line art and bringing it to life with color and making a beautiful world within that page. In fact, I started writing little stories to go with some of the pages I color and I’ve enjoyed that so much, too. I love writing, too, for the same reasons as I love art, so combining the two is lovely.
“I also really enjoy movies and go to the cinema quite regularly. We have family movie night every week at home, too, where we get together on the sofa and enjoy some food while watching a film of our choice.”
Great fragrance collections will always show an appreciation for the art of perfumery with selections from various noses, brands, and categories. Ines Witherspoon is a name known to fragheads. Her Instagram account, while every bit aesthetique, is more than that—it’s a welcoming wonderland for every fragrance enthusiast, whether a niche perfume collector or a designer scent lover.
Magic & Memories
How do fragrances or collecting them make you feel?
It would take a whole book to try and explain how fragrance makes me feel and why it means so much to me, but in a nutshell, it’s a relatively accessible and easy way to express yourself in a very personal and creative way that can also completely elevate your mood, enhance your life, and help to cement beautiful memories. Scent is inextricably connected to the part of our brain that stores memories, and what a gift that is—to be able to instantly and vividly recall a moment in time just by smelling a fragrance. It’s almost like magic.
What’s a big misconception in perfumery you’d like to address?
One of the biggest misconceptions about perfumery in my opinion is that perfumes “go off” in just a few years so you have to use them up quickly or waste them.
If stored correctly, away from direct light, extreme temperatures, and humidity, then fragrances can last for years, decades even. Fragrances in opaque bottles with well-sealed spray nozzles and well-fitting caps that minimize oxidation will last even longer, but even transparent bottles will protect the fragrance inside for much longer than you might think, especially if kept in a cool and dark place.
When it comes to blind buying, my top tip, although somewhat obvious, would be to try and get hold of a sample first, unless it’s a very affordable fragrance and therefore low risk. I’d also recommend reading as many reviews as possible on sites like Fragrantica. Even though perfume is such a subjective thing, it will still give you a rough idea of what to expect.
Your top 5 safe blind buys?
I really don’t think there’s such a thing as a safe blind buy, only lower risk options.
Fragrance is such a personal thing that I always hate recommending perfumes for people unless they give me lots of information about themselves and what they’re looking for in a fragrance first–and even then I’m still nervous. But if I’m really going to make some suggestions, I’d say that from experience, most people seem to like the following, which are also very easy to wear: Prada La Femme; Chanel Paris-Deauville; Roja Elixir Pour Femme Essence de Parfum; Parfums de Marly Delina Exclusif; and Dior Eden Roc.
Niche brands in your list that you wish more people discovered?
There are so many underrated niche brands out there that I wish more people knew about. Zoologist, whilst very conceptual and definitely not blind buy safe, make some truly astonishing fragrances that are definitely worth exploring, especially Snowy Owl and Cow, in my opinion.
I also recently discovered A.N.Other fragrances which are exceptional quality for the price and I never see anyone talking about them.
Moresque is slightly better known but I still don’t see many people mention them. Their fragrances are so well composed and the bottles are absolutely spectacular.
Finally, Aqualis fragrances by Steyn are phenomenal and definitely under the radar of much of the fragrance community. Kalahari, Orion, and Canvas are all exquisite and very evocative.
What are your thoughts on dupes?
I’m afraid I have quite a negative view on dupes and clone brands. Personally, I would rather spend more on a handful of high quality fragrances created by a perfumer that’s put their time, effort, experience, expertise, and quality ingredients into a perfume than own 50 sub-par ones that will always be a facsimile of the real thing. As well as quality, I also value originality and, while almost everything in the world of art and creativity is derivative or “inspired,” there’s a world of difference between taking inspiration from something and blatantly copying it.
The Favorites
It’s almost a trick question to ask fragrance collectors of their favorites. Ines knows that. “I always feel daunted when I’m asked about my favorite perfumes because, as most collectors know, they can change so often as we discover new fragrances,” she says. “As a more overarching favorite, I would say that floral fragrances are my favorite genre, followed by chypre. The more realistic-smelling a perfume is (regardless of genre,) the more it appeals to me. I do have longtime favorites, however, for certain seasons or moods and one perfume that is probably the most precious to me so let’s start with that one.”
Roja Parfums A Goodnight Kiss
This was a fragrance that I had a tiny sample of initially, and, the moment I smelled it, I felt a visceral connection to it, as though it was the perfume that I’d been searching for my entire life.
One of my earliest scent memories is of a tiny bar of soap that I got in a doll’s kit from the toy shop when I was very young, maybe five or so, and I loved the caustic, clean, floral smell of it so much that I treasured it as if it were a piece of jewelry. Ever since then I’d been somewhat subconsciously looking for the perfect soapy but elegant and complex fragrance and, when I smelled A Goodnight Kiss, I fell head over heels with it. I think of it as my most treasured perfume and I doubt any other will ever be as special to me.
Acqua Di Parma Magnolia Nobile
This is another favorite, especially for summer months. This creamy, white floral, and citrus perfume was my signature scent for a while and is still one of my most used perfumes ever (along with Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine). I find it incredibly elegant but easy to wear and because I first discovered it in Orlando, Florida, it has wonderful memories for me, too.
La Belle Helene by MDCI
A newer favorite but one that I’m equally crazy about is La Belle Helene by MDCI, a stunning fragrance that features an ultra realistic, dry but sweet pear note layered over a lipstick-y, powdery accord. I don’t usually like overly sweet perfumes but La Belle Helene has a dry, chypre character that stops it from smelling cloying, and it’s so smooth and well rounded.
Tell us about your longest-kept perfume bottle.
The perfume bottle I’ve kept the longest is a bottle of Chanel No5 pure perfume that my now husband bought me when we were just best friends back in the mid-’90s. It’s still half-full and though the liquid has oxidized, it still smells lovely and means so much to me that I could never get rid of it. Nowadays, I prefer the EDT version of No5; it’s such an iconic fragrance and deserves its classic status.
What’s your most recent perfume purchase?
My most recent purchase was Vittoria Apuana by Profumi Del Forte, a feel good beachy scent with a prominent banana note. It smells like sun cream in the best possible way; and I adore the smell of sun cream.
