Olivier Creed, the nose behind the House of Creed’s latest fragrance for women, Wind Flowers, explained that for this particular scent, he drew inspiration from the strength of a woman ‘flying through the air’ in some form of dance movement. This image, of a female dancer switching rapidly between different movements – perhaps, sometimes slow, sometimes fast with different twists and turns all coming together to form a graceful, fluid choreography – is the perfect metaphor for the Creed Wind Flowers perfume.

Female perfumes always almost evoke memories of flowers and powdery fragrances; of soft scents that are intimate yet safe and elusive; of aromas that tease and lightly draw you close as though their wearer were so delicate that a more powerful movement would crush them.

Creed Wind Flowers turns this myth on its head.

When the fragrance initially hits your nose, your first thought would probably be, ‘no, this is just another flowery, citrusy scent.’ And this reaction would not be altogether wrong, because the top notes of jasmine, orange blossom and peach are well, flowery aromas. And the heart notes of jasmine sambac, tuberose petals and rose extract only reinforce the smell of flowers.

But, at the base of all of these fragrant layers is where the real change starts to occur.

The sweet yet sharp scent of praline is mixed with the equally sharp citrusy but sour orange blossom, the woody and rich sandalwood as well as the powdery, buttery iris fragrances that are all then diluted with the clean, unique musk scent to create an overall aroma that starts out familiar and unsurprising, but gradually segues into an unexpectedly different experience that can either delight or shock.

The situation (that is ideal for Creed Wind Flowers)

As this is a generally citrusy, flowery fragrance, it is perfect for spring and summer. Yet, because this Creed scent is also a soft and long-lasting perfume that makes an impression without overpowering all who experience it, you can confidently wear it all day knowing that it will stay with you like a loyal, dependable friend.

The stores (where you can buy a bottle. Or two)

Creed Wind Flowers is available online on the house’s website.

But, if you’re in Nigeria, the perfume can be gotten at any of the Montaigne Place stores, across the country. Montaigne Place in collaboration with the House of Creed launched the scent at an uber-chic yet dreamy private launch in Lagos, at the visually stunning Art Hotel that was the perfect backdrop for the event. The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly a graceful yet energetic performance by young ballet dancers, further enlivened by decor reflecting the perfume’s notes; effortlessly conveying the scent’s unique narrative to tell a beautiful story.

You can also choose to call/Whatsapp Montaigne Place Concierge on 0700 MONTAIGNE, or follow their Instagram, @montaigneplace, to make a purchase.

The post Creed Wind Flowers: The Latest Luxury Scent that Should Be on Your Radar first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post Creed Wind Flowers: The Latest Luxury Scent that Should Be on Your Radar appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

Well, I have, and it would not be an exaggeration to anyone who owns a Roja and already knows about the wonderful fantasy that is a Roja scent. For its latest launch, Apex by Roja, the maxim ‘experience is the best teacher’ is the only fitting description.

On September 8, 2022, in Lagos, 31 specially-curated guests united by the love for great scents and comprising fragrance collectors, luxury aficionados and the media were hosted by Montaigne place at the Z kitchen to a multi-sensory experience involving fine dining, delightful scents, deep conversation and a budding camaraderie. Underpinning it all and at the centre of the evening was the ‘scent of the hour’, Apex by Roja Parfums.

On arrival at the dinner after pre-dinner drinks, one was immediately drawn in by a large, leafy wreath, with the words APEX at its centre providing a green shade for the perfume.

Dotting this wreath were all the fruits and fruity notes that make up the new fragrance. From the introductory flavours of lemon, bergamot, mandarin and orange, to the slightly stronger scent of pineapple in the middle and a definitely powerful base note of juniper berries.

The bottle itself is square-shaped, with a black into green ombre effect from top to bottom. Inside this dark and mysterious bottle is Roja Apex, a fragrance that begins with a citrus-based top consisting of zesty lemon, bergamot, mandarin and refreshing orange.

Connecting us to our primal energies, the animal-like effects of leather, ambergris and musk lay in the shadows, bringing their sensual impulse to this highly-addictive new fragrance. Roja Apex celebrates the natural wonders of the world, honing in on those who roam it.

The result is a fruity, floral and chypre fragrance that is at once fresh as it is strong, not in the least overbearing, but incredibly sexy and unapologetically bold.

The brand might have created this as a masculine scent, but all the ladies at the event including yours truly, unanimously agreed that we had no reservations whatsoever in getting our hands on a bottle for ourselves!

The launch event delicately and with the utmost attention to detail delivered on the Apex ethos. From the delicious green signature cocktails at the pre-dinner reception to the entire decor and menu. It was an evening that was most befitting of the powerful fragrance that is Apex by Roja.

Roja Dove, the perfumer behind this new fragrance, said Apex was inspired by ‘primal instincts.’

“I have always said that we must not forget that we are animals. We’ve been using scent for millions of years to catch food, escape danger, and to find a mate. it is these primal instincts that inspired me to create Apex. [It] connects man and nature. The citrus opening represents the beginning of reaching your Apex with a bright blend of bergamot, lemon, mandarin and pineapple. Base notes of patchouli and fir balsam evoke the feeling of being surrounded by nature, while notes of leather add warmth and sensuality. We have also used sandalwood and frankincense to give it a spiritual feel,” explains Dove.

If you’re on the lookout for a scent that is as smokey as it is woodsy, but one that is also fresh and invokes the feeling of the great outdoors while still somehow conferring upon its wearer a hint of prestige and success, then you should try Apex by Roja. As we’ve said, it is a fragrance that is better experienced than described.

Apex by Roja is available at The Montaigne Place, Nigeria’s largest luxury Skincare, Cosmetic, and Fragrance retail company. For more information and enquiries follow @montaigneplace on Instagram and Facebook.

The post Apex by Roja Parfums is Poetry in Motion, Speaking to the Heart first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post Apex by Roja Parfums is Poetry in Motion, Speaking to the Heart appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

An underwater proposal? A decadent holiday with all its trappings? A large bouquet of roses shipped from all over the world and arranged all over a rooftop restaurant for a private dinner? A champagne party with friends in a yacht that takes you all over the city all night long? The possibilities of a memorable and extravagant Valentine’s or Galentine’s are truly endless, but unless there’s a special reason for one or you want to spoil yourself and others just because, chances are that you’re like some of us, and your planned activities for that day are far more simple.

But nowhere in the world does simple mean less memorable, which is why we’ve teamed up with the good people of Montaigne Place to offer you curated gift ideas that are sure to delight even the pickiest person and leave them with long-lasting, cherished memories. Even if you have something planned out already, these self-care offerings from Nigeria’s foremost luxury fragrance, skincare, cosmetics & well-being company would help to make your day – and the months to come – even more special and significant.

Express your emotions with Roja Parfums

Roja Parfums offer more than just luxurious fragrances: each bottle holds a truly magical ‘potion’ that unlocks your true personality if you choose the right scent for you or yours.

Looking to get yourself a gift this Valentine’s? Choose from the perfume’s range of solo scents. Celebrating Galentine’s? Roja has limited-edition gift sets perfect for everyone in your ‘gal’ group. Want to infuse more romance in your gift? You can trust that Roja has the perfect set for you and that special person in your life.

Make it more luxurious with Creed’s Leather Explorer collection

What is better than getting a bottle of your favourite perfume?

Having it stored safely in beautifully hand-crafted Italian leather.

Get the limited-edition Creed Leather Explorer collection that defines luxury in more ways than one for someone extra-special this season. Items include perfumes for him and her, scented candles, and perfume sets in beautiful leather trunks.

Say it better with Yves Rocher’s skincare sets

If there’s one gift you can never go wrong with, it is skin care products formulated to give your body’s largest organ the best results possible.

Explore Yves Rocher’s body and shower packages at Montaigne Place this month and get the perfect gift set that is sure to delight and deliver.

Complete it with Murad’s face regimens and kits

Love is helping the best person in your life overcome some of their greatest challenges, and if this happens to be a struggle in the facial department, then you should get one – or all! – of Murad’s facial kits.

The kits have been carefully curated to address a range of beauty concerns, including wrinkles, dry skin and acne-prone skin. With more than 20 years of delivering luxury skincare products that have proven effective, you can rest assured that any of the sets you choose to go with will give you, or your loved one, the results you seek.

To purchase any of these items – and more – this season and enjoy exciting discounts, visit any one of the Montaigne Place stores today, or send them a DM on their social media pages.

The post ASPIRE Pick of the Week: Valentine’s Day Gifts by Montaigne Place first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post ASPIRE Pick of the Week: Valentine’s Day Gifts by Montaigne Place appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The Opulence of Oud

Oud itself is derived from agarwood, a type of fungus-ridden wood in an otherwise healthy tree that, when left to sit for numerous, sometimes hundreds, of years, creates a dark resinous substance that may be converted into an oil for perfume. The rarity and difficulty of harvesting agarwood are what makes it one of the most expensive natural raw materials in the world and, consequently, one of the rarest to find in perfumery in non-synthetic form.

This is why Pur Oud is Louis Vuitton’s most exclusive perfume yet, limited to only 2000 bottles worldwide, and its most expensive at €1,200.

Pur Oud by Louis Vuitton

Oud is known for being an intensely potent fragrance,  smelling very much like something that has come from the depths of the earth. Those familiar with it will know that it is a scent both fiery and slightly damp, punchy yet velvety rich.

To have such a fragrance concentrated at 10% of the formula – an amount even Louis Vuitton terms ‘immoderate’ – means that wearing it feels almost like putting on a physical substance rather than a vaporous scent. It is opulent in the extreme, the olfactory equivalent of a weighty diamond necklace.

“I wanted to offer enthusiasts the chance to smell true oud, which is rare, without altering the scent with additional notes and instead letting it express itself on its own,” explains Cavallier Belletrud, master perfumer for Louis Vuitton. To this end, the master perfumer added only a touch of two additional musks to the perfume. “Three ingredients, that’s all. Richness doesn’t preclude simplicity, quite the contrary.”

It is important to note that the agar trees used to create oud have been declared a potentially threatened species by CITES, making the harvesting of oud for fragrances potentially environmentally damaging. To ensure they are maintaining the least harmful production practices possible, Vuitton is working with a family-run team of producers in Bangladesh, who have cultivated oud for the past 200 years.

“In perfumery, the most beautiful ingredients are the ones where you can feel the human story,” says Cavallier Belletrud. “They can’t be obtained by mechanical means. That’s where true luxury is: these are living products.”

Source: Wallpaper

The post Louis Vuitton has Produced its Most Expensive Luxury Scent Yet first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post Louis Vuitton has Produced its Most Expensive Luxury Scent Yet appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

If you were to buy a bottle of fragrance, where would you go? Chances are, you will probably head to a mall or a store where you will be spoilt for choice. From fragrances with floral scents to woody undernotes, there’s bound to be one that will appeal to you.

But that poses a problem as well. We are bombarded with too many different perfumes and that can confuse our sense of smell, thus, inhibiting us from picking up a scent.

“The scent is like the soul, it’s ethereal and an important component of what makes a person whole,” Johanna shares as she explains why she has named her new start-up Maison 21G, a process that took a year long. “When we die we lose exactly 21 grams, and that represents the weight of the soul that has presumably left the body.”

Johanna wanted “21G” in the brand name to represent the idea of encapsulating the scent of our souls. Furthermore, it also equates to the percentage of perfume concentrate used in creating a bottle of perfume.

Stepping into the Maison is like entering a cosy space, a home almost, where you will be put at ease to embark on a journey of discovering different scent combinations. At the start of your scented adventure, an artificial intelligence-powered personality quiz will guide you towards learning what your favourite perfume ingredients are. Then, different scent combinations will be suggested which you can further explore with the staff present at the boutique.

Also guiding you is the brand’s La Source technology, a patented machine designed by Johanna. The proprietary machine works just like a Nespresso coffee maker: pop a perfume capsule in and it will distil the concentrate into the perfume bottles in just 30 seconds. Otherwise, you could have it hand-mixed by the boutique staff.

But the customisation process does not stop here. You can request to have your own images or designs UV printed on the bottle. Personalisation is really the key differentiating factor for Maison 21G and Johanna thoroughly understands this point. “A lot of brands have realised they cannot push their scent to just anyone,” explains Johanna. The old marketing tactics no longer work as consumers now are more astute and have different expectations compared to the past.

Johanna and her team are constantly developing new scents so you can expect to see more than the 35 standard, pairable, perfume essences that are currently available when you decide to pop by. Beyond creating bespoke perfume, Maison 21G has recently launched their new Home Scent Collection. Each scent contains a minimum of 80% of alcohol, effectively killing germs while offering sanitation and protection in the home. Johanna even jested that we should spray more perfume so we can stay safe and smell nice.

“As we are spending more time at home, it is important that we are surrounded by a scent that makes us feel good,” she says. The new collection also comes as a scented candle, either as a set of two or a half-moon—both of which fit elegantly as decor for your room.

As the luxury sector reimagines itself post-pandemic, shifts in consumer behaviour have already begun to surface, revealing a newfound focus on creating a memorable experience. And what better way to commemorate this journey than to have a bottle of personalised perfume?

Source: Luxuo

The post Maison 21G will Allow You Choose the Notes of Your Perfume first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post Maison 21G will Allow You Choose the Notes of Your Perfume appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

What do you do after you have pampered your body and mind, and are feeling all refreshed and relaxed on Valentine’s day?

Of course, you dress up for an exciting outing with your significant other, whether it be an individual, a group of friends or just yourself. But – and we know that this is beginning to sound as old as the words ‘new normal’ that seemed to almost always colour everything we did and said last year. We are still in strange, precarious times, and going just about anywhere on a day that will most likely be busy might be a bit too adventurous for the average human.

So, your outing may be a romantic evening dinner at home. Or a romantic staycation at a hotel or local short-let apartment. Or a noisy affair with friends plopped in front of a large screen watching a movie or competing in some virtual game. Whatever activity you would be indulging in, it is certain you would not only want to look your best, but you would also want to smell your best and basically put your best foot forward. Segue in our next gift idea for Valentine’s Day.

Montaigne Place

Montaigne Place is Nigeria’s foremost luxury fragrance, skincare, cosmetics & well-being company. A market-leader driven by innovation, exceptional customer service and cutting edge products, Montaigne Place strives to meet and exceed expectations at all levels.

Boasting of exclusive partnerships with top global brands such as Creed, Roja Parfums, Parfums de Marly, Atelier des Ors, Alexandre J, The Spirit of Dubai, The Merchant of Venice, Yves Rocher and Murad, the company is poised to continue wowing the public.

For Valentine’s day, Montaigne Place is offering an extensive range of exclusive perfumes that hold within their watery worlds scents created to transport you to a different place and time while expressing your personality in delightful, sensual and exciting ways.

Creed, Sublime Vanille

The House of Creed is one of the most luxurious and exclusive brands in existence. Founded by James Henry Creed, it has created fine fragrances for the discerning perfume connoisseur and all admirers of quality, style and elegance for over 260 years.

Sublime Vanille is the first fragrance in the Creed Royal Exclusives line. It is an oriental vanilla fragrance for women and men, and sparkles with notes of lemon and bergamot. Soft and shimmering with a heady decadence, this scent captures its wearers in a heady aura that that is bound to render anyone who smells it powerless to its hypnotic spell.

Roja Parfums, Elysium Parfum Cologne

Roja Parfums was established by British perfumer, Roja Dove, and is widely recognised as the world’s most luxurious fragrance house. Roja Dove is renowned for working with only the finest quality materials, from handmade silk-lined boxes to bespoke crystal-encrusted 24-carat gold caps, all costing considerably more than pure gold.

Elysium Parfum Cologne is an aromatic fougère fragrance for men. Crafted for the heroic and virtuous man destined to achieve the life he desires, this perfume gently draws you in with its top notes of lemon, bergamot, grapefruit, lime, lavender, thyme and musk, before holding you down in its heart notes of lily of the valley, rose de Mai, jasmine, apple and blackcurrant and locking you forever with base notes of pink pepper, galbanum, vetiver, cedarwood, juniper berry, benzoin, vanilla, leather, ambergris, and more musk.

Atelier des Ors, Rouge Sarây

Atelier Des Ors was born of the desire to create and express a personal vision of French Haute Perfumery and the dream of creating sophisticated, alluring and sensual scents.

Rouge Sarây, launched in 2020, is an oriental fragrance for women and men that travels back to ancient times to capture the adventures and tales of the historic trade routes that traversed the Middle East, kept alive today through the vitality of alluring spices and scents. Long considered a potent symbol of abundance and hospitality, Rouge Sarây sublimates the date and its fruity and fleshy aromas in top notes of plum, cinnamon and jasmine; middle notes of dates, patchouli and heliotrope, and, base notes of vanilla, guaiac wood, Peru balsam and sandalwood.

Parfums de Marly, Kalan

Parfums de Marly draws its inspiration from the century that is celebrated as the pinnacle of French elegance: the 18th century. Founded in 2009 by Julien Sprecher whose love of perfumes was passed down from his father, Parfums de Marly is a high-end perfumery brand which conjures up a dreamlike state with its “signature” fragrances, a strong position and concepts that are short, striking and direct.

Kalan by Parfums de Marly is an Oriental Spicy fragrance for the man or woman who is comfortable and confident in their own skin. Feel its irresistible force the second you splash it on from its top notes of blood orange and black pepper; middle notes of lavender and orange blossom and base notes of moss, Tonka bean, white sandalwood and amber.

Merchant of Venice, Red Potion

Merchant of Venice is a brand that has its conceptual origins in the ancient Venetian art of perfumery and its centuries-old maritime trade with the Orient.

Red Potion by The Merchant of Venice is an oriental floral fragrance for women and men. A noble and refined scent, its top notes are immortelle, tagetes and orange; middle notes are rosemary, orange blossom and honeysuckle, while its base notes are Tonka bean, sandalwood and moss.

Spirit of Dubai, Dubai Majalis

Spirit of Dubai represents the defining aspects of Dubai and her culture. From the sea, the desert, the heritage, the skyline, the Arabian horses, the natural fragrances, the Arabian hospitality and luxury, their products are inspired by the elements that make up Dubai. The Spirit of Dubai is quite simply a personification of the city.

Dubai Majalis mingles fragrances of heady qahwa (Arabic coffee) and dates mixed with heavenly royal pure rose Taif, cardamom and musk. Rich like the feel of Persian rugs and intricate patterns, Dubai Majalis is the flying carpet to take you on a sensory journey of Arabian hospitality. A truly unique and breakthrough fragrance.

To shop these fragrances, visit any of the Montaigne Place and Yves Rocher boutiques all across the country here. You can also shop online or through the dedicated Montaigne Place Concierge & Order service, where specialists consult & offer advice on skincare, fragrance & cosmetics, as well as gift selection. The specialist can also arrange delivery to any part of Nigeria. Contact Montaigne Place Concierge & Order Service on 0700 MONTAIGNE.

The post ASPIRE Valentine Edit (Day 2): Perfumes by Montaigne Place first appeared on Aspire Luxury Magazine.

The post ASPIRE Valentine Edit (Day 2): Perfumes by Montaigne Place appeared first on Aspire Luxury Magazine.