The Fragrance House French Girls Are Obsessed With Has Just Launched In The UK
And when it comes to fragrance, you can bet French girls do it best there too. The masses go wild for their scents - they are renowned for being stop-you-in-your-tracks level good. Take Zadig & Voltaire's wing-emblazoned bottle, which oozes musky cool, or Sisley's cult hair fragrance, which had me running to its Paris boutique to grab a bottle there and then. I almost missed the last Eurostar in the process. But you can bet I smelled gorgeous.
So, imagine my delight during a recent PR meeting with Kenneth Green (who represent a wealth of beautiful fragrance brands) when I came across something totally brand new. Amidst the glitter and gleam of Christmas launches (more on that in the coming weeks), one golden bottle stood out. Its box, adorned with delicate line drawings of the Eiffel Tower, chic Parisian buildings and side streets lined with wicker chairs - the kind you pull up to for a glass of red and a baguette with a heap of salty, French butter- immediately caught my eye.
'Ooh, what is this one?' I asked, instantly drawn to it.
'Oh, this is very exciting,' the PR said. 'It's by a new Parisian haute perfume house called Solférino. They've recently launched in Selfridges.'
This is a big deal. Firstly, because Selfridges hasn't taken on a new fragrance brand in years- their buying team is famously discerning where space in their precious marbled beauty hall is concerned. Secondly, Solférino is brand new, with just ten scents in its launch collection. For someone such as Selfridges to back them so confidently? It's rare - and this says a lot about the brand.
The scent on the table that day was Un Samedi à Paris. It's a fragrance that captures the indulgence and luxury of a Saturday afternoon spent lolling around the capital. Think wandering the cobbled streets, people-watching over a glass (or two) of wine, strolling past the Eiffel Tower… It's exciting yet comforting, and seems to embody that mix of familiarity and thrill I always seem to feel when I'm in Paris.
Created by perfumer Tanguy Guesnet, I'd describe this as a heady, enveloping scent. While it's not for the wallflower, it's far from brash either. Top notes of pepper and cardamom muddle into a heart of vetiver, cedarwood and sandalwood. It's a blend that sings, but doesn't shout. The base brings in tonka, vanilla bean and amber, creating a cosseting, calming finish that invites you to 'pause at a café with views of the Eiffel Tower.'
While Un Samedi à Paris is the hero, the brand's wider offering is a refined nod to the classics. If you love the warm, musky notes found in classic Chanel fragrances, there's something for you here. If Tom Ford's Neroli speaks to you, then the orange blossom and clary sage notes of Reverie Sur Seine N1 Eau Reverie de Parfum, £140 may pique your interest.
'Solférino has spotted a gap,' the PR tells me. 'Think beautiful, wearable scents crafted by a niche perfume house. They're familiar, but unique, and people who have been using them have described them as their best kept beauty secret.'
It's a very good secret. For now... 1.
Solférino Un Samedi A Paris N5 Eau de Parfum
Rachael Martin beauty director says: Created by perfumer Tanguy Guesnet, I'd describe this as a heady, enveloping scent. While it's not for the wallflower, it's far from brash either. Top notes of pepper and cardamom muddle into a heart of vetiver, cedarwood and sandalwood. It's a blend that sings, but doesn't shout. The base brings in tonka, vanilla bean and amber, creating a cosseting, calming finish that invites you to 'pause at a café with views of the Eiffel Tower.' Pros Long lasting
A unique scent with familiar notes Cons Will likely become more popular swiftly
Rachael Martin is Grazia's Beauty Director. Originally from Northern Ireland, she studied English Literature at Queen's University Belfast, before moving to London to pursue a career in magazine journalism
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Where you've seen Hostage's Ashley Thomas before - from rap career to huge BBC role
Political thriller Hostage has just landed on Netflix with Suranne Jones starring as prime minister Abigail Dalton - but who is her on-screen husband Ashley Thomas? Netflix's new political thriller Hostage is set to be our next binge-watch, with Doctor Foster's Suranne Jones playing British prime minister Abigail Dalton. The series follows Abigail as she welcomes French president Vivienne Toussaint (Julie Delphy) into Downing Street to make a deal over medical supplies. However, the summit quickly goes awry when Abigail learns that her husband Alex has been kidnapped while working as a doctor in French Guiana. In need of Vivienne's help, Abigail must make a choice between her family and her country's best interests - while Vivienne soon finds herself in a similarly troubling predicament. Written by Oscar nominee Matt Charman, the series boasts a star-studded cast with Queen Charlotte's Corey Mylchreest, Game of Thrones' Lucian Msamati and Celebrity Big Brother's James Cosmo taking on roles. It comes after Netflix Hostage star Julie Delpy's 'heartbreaking' admission about role in new thriller. Ashley Thomas plays Abigail's husband Alex, who is kidnapped by anonymous criminals in French Guiana. However, some fans may know him better as Bashy - the 40-year-old's rap name. The actor started out as a key figure in the UK grime scene, with Bashy finding success with songs Black Boys, Kidulthood to Adulthood, Fantasy and These Are the Songs. He attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts as a theatre student and after getting the attention of Noel Clarke, he contributed to the soundtrack for Adulthood in 2008. He featured in Gorillaz's song White Flag in 2010 and while he stepped away from music to focus on his acting career in 2013, he released his first album in 15 years last year - Being Poor is Expensive. The record won the 2025 MOBO Award for Album of the Year. Outside of music, Ashley has worked steadily for over a decade as an actor, landing a roles in Black Mirror, The Good Fight and the film 4.3.2.1. He played Calvin Hart in BBC One hit drama The Night Of as well as Jermaine Newton in several series of Top Boy. More recently, Ashley played Jaggers in Great Expectations, Alessandro De Medici in The Serpent Queen and Dom in Channel 4's In Flight alongside Katherine Kelly - which is currently airing. Alongside starring in some of the biggest shows of the year, Ashley also took to the Glastonbury stage, playing the Lonely Hearts Club. Speaking to The Radio Times, Ashley said: "It feels good. I feel very fortunate and blessed that both my core disciplines are running at the same time."
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Brutal way King Richard III was slaughtered at Battle of Bosworth
As a new sculpture trail sheds light on the final hours of King Richard III, what really happened in one of the most pivotal moments of English history? His brutal death at the hands of Henry Tudor's forces was immortalised by William Shakespeare, with one line seared into our collective memory: 'A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!' And now a new sculpture trail is set to shine a light on this seismic moment in English royal history: King Richard III's downfall and the rise of the Tudor dynasty. In a quiet field 15 miles west of Leicester, Richard the Usurper, as his enemies branded him, was defeated in the final chapter of the War of the Roses, the civil war that raged between the houses of Lancaster and York in the second half of the 15th century. With those rumoured last words inked in history – or imagined – by Shakespeare, Richard was the last English monarch to fall on the battlefield, his head stoved in by a long-handled axe known as a halberd. His death on August 22, 1485, ended the Yorkist line – and the Middle Ages – and ushered in the new era of Tudor rule. And this month visitors can immerse themselves in the story on a 12-mile trail around rural Leicestershire, taking in ancient churches, sleepy villages, windswept fields, award-winning pubs and the historic town of Market Bosworth. Historian Philippa Langley, who led the archeological project that discovered Richard III's remains buried under a car park in Leicester in 2012, tells the Mirror: 'Bosworth is one of those moments where history turns on a sixpence. 'Arguably Bosworth was a paradigm shift, just as the Battle of Hastings had been in 1066. Which was the only other battle where a King of England was killed.' Prior to Bosworth, Plantagenet kings Edward IV and Richard III had operated within a system of limited monarchy, and had governed through the regular use of parliament, she says. 'In Richard III's reign he went even further and brought justice to the ordinary people through his laws. He brought in three of the key legal principles that we rely on today: the presumption of innocence, blind justice, and clear title to property. 'Richard was a progressive monarch who was levelling the playing field for everybody in society, he was putting England on a trajectory of everybody having access to justice. 'So when he dies at Bosworth, this is a huge moment because it is the victorious Henry Tudor who sweeps to power and is inspired by how the French king governs: with the monarch being the sole source of power.' By 1485, the bloody War of the Roses had been raging for 30 years between two branches of the Plantagenet family who were descended from Edward III. The House of Lancaster were descendants of John of Gaunt, the third surviving son of King Edward, while the House of York were descended from his fourth son, Edmund of Langley. By the time Yorkist King Edward IV died in 1483, the future of the monarchy was once again under threat from various factions. The late king's son, Edward V, was 12 when he came to the throne, prompting his uncle, Richard III, to be named Lord Protector to act on his behalf. But Richard declared his father's marriage to his mother Elizabeth Woodville illegal, meaning Edward and his younger brother Richard were illegitimate. Held in the Tower of London, they disappeared, likely killed to ensure they could never challenge the line of succession. Richard was crowned king but faced upheaval from forces loyal to Henry Tudor, who had been garnering support during his exile in France. 'At this point, Henry had pretty much no claim to the throne,' says Philippa. 'When he landed with his foreign invading force at Milford Haven in Wales, he is something like 30th in line. 'He was a very insecure, very paranoid but highly intelligent man. He knew he had to present himself as being a newer, better option than Richard.' Henry and his troops made their way to London, picking up more soldiers who rallied to the Lancastrian cause. 'Whoever holds the capital holds the kingdom, so Richard and his army ride out from Leicester to intercept them,' explains Philippa. 'And Bosworth battlefield is that fateful place they met.' One of four sculptures erected on the trail is in St James' Churchyard, Sutton Cheney, where it is believed Richard spent the evening before battle in prayer. 'It is reflective of who Richard III was,' says Philippa. 'We know he was incredibly devout, even for the age in which he lived.' On the day of battle, he led a cavalry charge against Henry's forces in an attempt to kill his challenger. Despite breaking through enemy ranks and unhorsing Henry's standard bearer, he was quickly surrounded and killed. Even Henry's official historian Polydore Vergil recorded 'King Richard, alone, was killed fighting manfully in the thickest press of his enemies'. His broken body, missing the back of its head, was stripped naked, thrown over a horse and paraded through Leicester as Tudor was crowned King Henry VII. 'This is the moment when the Tudor mythology starts – with Richard as the tyrant, the monster, the psychopath, and Henry VII as the person who saved England from this monster,' says Philippa. The bodies of the dead, on both sides, were brought to Dadlington and buried at St James the Greater church. This is also marked by a sculpture that promotes reconciliation. 'This is a special place for me because it is where men from Lancaster and York join together and rest at peace,' says Philippa. King Henry VIII later granted a licence for a chantry priest to pray for the souls of the men who lay at Dadlington, putting an end to the years of inter-family conflict. Richard's body, after being put on display for two days in a Leicester church, was dumped in a hastily dug grave. 'It was too short for his body, so his head and shoulders were lifted in the grave, and he was buried without a coffin,' says Philippa. 'Local friars did what they could for him. When we found him his arms had been crossed over his pelvis and he'd been placed in one of their robes – a great honour.' The Bosworth 1485 Trail opens officially on Friday – to coincide with the date of the battle – and looks to shine a light on the untold stories of the landscape that bore witness to history. The concept came after the 'huge amount of community spirit' shown when Richard's remains were reinterred in Leicester Cathedral, says project officer Gemma Tallis, of Leicestershire Promotions. 'We wanted to put the spotlight on those villages where some of the more intimate stories haven't yet been told,' she adds. 'The course of English history changed in this landscape and for locals, that is enormous.' Check out to discover more information.
Scottish Sun
7 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
My F&F dress looks like it walked straight out of Chanel but is £2k cheaper – I'm obsessed, it's perfect for autumn
Plus, how Olivia Attwood looked sensational in another Chanel dupe DESIGNER DUPE My F&F dress looks like it walked straight out of Chanel but is £2k cheaper – I'm obsessed, it's perfect for autumn Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SHOPPERS are rushing to Tesco to snap up a dress which is giving 'Chanel vibes' without the hefty price tag. Bargain hunters spotted their F&F brand is selling a black tweed dress for £27.50 which looks ideal for autumn. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 F&F at Tesco is selling a dress which people say is giving Chanel vibes Credit: tiktok/@ 4 The dress is £27.50 and looks ideal for autumn Credit: tiktok/@ With Chanel designer dresses going for over £2,000 for similar styles, it certainly is a huge saving. Shopper Gem, who posts under @ uploaded a video showing off the stylish yet affordable garment. She wrote: 'POV you just found another Chanel-worthy outfit in F&F. 'When F&F serve Chanel vibes without the Chanel cost.' The beautiful black dress has long sleeves with a white cuff, neckline and strip down the front. To add a pop of glamour, it also features embellished pearl-look buttons on the pockets. With chillier weather ahead, you could pair the dress with some knee-high boots or tights and flats for a stylish look. Many fashion lovers seemed keen to snap the dress up, with one saying: 'Very cute very demure.' Another added: 'Great.' However, one person had an issue with the length. I'm 5ft3 & a size 12-14 - my 7 Tesco dresses are an absolute bargain & perfect for a last-minute wedding guest outfit They wrote: 'luvd this but it looks pretty short for a 54 yr old, gutted.' LIV'S CHANEL DUPE We recently shared how TV star Olivia Attwood stunned in a Chanel dupe dress for £46. Sharing all on her social media stories, Olivia posted a comment from a fan admiring the dress which read: 'This dress, pls don't say it's Chanel xxxx'. 4 Olivia Attwood recently wore a Chanel dupe dress which fans raved about Credit: Getty 4 Her dress Blue Halter Neck Boucle Belted Mini Dress was actually from River Island and costs £46 Credit: River Island To this, Olivia wrote back and penned: 'The amount of DM's I have had.. you won't believe this….' Olivia then answered her fans' prayers and shared a link to the classy dress, which she wore to a recent BVLGARI event. While the frock has all the hallmarks of iconic Chanel - boucle fabric in a pretty powder blue and beautiful tailoring with a tie halter neck - it is actually from River Island.
