Sue

1988 and Kylie hits the number 1 spot with her debut single I Should be So Lucky. This was the year that the meteoric Cosmetics to Go was founded in Poole, Dorset by Mark Constantine (haircare whiz), his wife Mo (who went on to invent the bath 💣) and their pioneering band of cruelty free and sustainable beauty product creators. The team had previously made lovely stuff for Anita Roddick's Body Shop (remember Ice Blue Shampoo and Peppermint Foot Lotion?) The USP of CTG was that it was only available by (free) post, and not in shops. And their catalogue was brilliant, a colourful cross between a manga comic and a Sunday newspaper. Their parcels were covered in bright stickers, so exciting to receive. I vividly remember their Honey Buns bubble bath (with real honey and a twizzler to hold under the hot tap) and the rose vanilla luxury of Turkish Bath Body Polish. Naturally their perfumes (created by Jeff Brown) were equally inventive: Swelegant and Purrfume in their vintage inspired bottles, and Salarum, a bracing aquatic musk (which later was relaunched as Hay and was my partner's signature scent for years.) But the jewel in their perfumed crown was Ginger, a striking spicy floral with jasmine, rose and mimosa. This one definitely had presence so I'm guessing there was sandalwood or moss in there too. It came in its own stencilled wooden box, on a bed of pot pourri. Still the most memorable packaging I've ever come across. Sadly CTG only lasted until January 1994 when they went into receivership. But it wasn't the end for the team behind it... just a year later they would be back bigger and better. I highly recommend the book Danger Cosmetics to Go by Mira Manga if you want to read the full fascinating story behind the brand. #britishperfume

YEAR 2000 - 2 contrasting Designer releases. BRAND – GHOST Ghost was founded in 1983 by ex model, Londoner and 60s chick Tanya Sarne - it was famed for its ethereal vintage inspired fashion, and at the peak of its powers had 33 stores in the UK. PERFUME – GHOST THE FRAGRANCE The nose, Michel Almairac, had previously created for Burberry and Gucci (the bold fruitchouli Rush). In keeping with the label’s aesthetic, Ghost the Fragrance is a romantic and ethereal musky floral scent, with notes of ambrette, apricot, rose and vanilla. The frosted blue bottle is hourglass shaped, designed to mimic a female body. Despite the brand’s being bought out in 2008, the perfume is still widely available. To my nose it's a very soft peach vanilla that wears close to the skin, quite cocooning and comforting and still very wearable in 2026. BRAND – AGENT PROVOCATEUR A luxury lingerie line founded in 1994 by Joseph Corre (son of designer Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren), and his then wife Serena Rees. The label set out to push boundaries, selling daring, high-end underwear: Who can forget the TV ad with Kylie Minogue in her AP undies riding a mechanical bull: /watch?v=5Wlsd5YzrmM) PERFUME – AGENT PROVOCATEUR AP’s signature scent is inevitably a bold temptress – the reddest rose aflame with spicy saffron, indolic jasmine entwines with the smoky trail of vetiver and bitter green coriander. And for the base, a bouncing mattress of filthy growly animalic musk. Not for the faint hearted, but if you want old school glamour and an attention-grabbing scent trail, look no further. The nose behind the fragrance is Christian Provenzano, who went on to create Halfeti for Penhaligon's. The egg-shaped pink porcelain bottle is deliberately tactile and could also suggest a bomb(shell) or a ‘love egg’ sex toy, bound at the top with a slim leather ribbon. It’s designed by perfumer Azzi Glasser, who worked alongside Provenzano on the juice and who’s since gone on to found bespoke brand The Perfumers Story. Now reformulated, its a sanitised version of its former self, still indolic but with an air of pencil shavings and a starched musk. Wearable though.

My latest substack article (see link below) is all about the brilliantly entertaining story behind legendary British brand GOYA, specifically concentrating on their first perfume and their most famous. Founder Douglas Collins wrote a fascinating autobiography in 1963 called A Nose for Scent - How to Make A Million. He said, that the 1947 scent Aqua Manda was: ‘the most brilliant perfume I ever made. But nobody buys it.’ Hard to believe now. But how things were to change just 5 years later. #britishperfume /p/sprayed-in-britain-glorious-goya

Question of the day: which famous person was the inspiration for the first (British) celebrity scent? Clue: it's not who you think. In 1987 Elizabeth Taylor, the half British (born in Hampstead) legendary star of the silver screen released Passion, in collaboration with Elizabeth Arden. It was a glamorous, sophisticated, and intense powdery purple floral with incense as befits the violet eyed diva. This one is remarkably still in the shops and reasonably priced, though it’s been reformulated since the 80's, in the way of most scents of that era. But she wasn't the first celebrity to inspire a perfume. We have to time travel back 77 years for that one. The brand concerned was a British one called Morny, who were founded in 1905 by a chemist called Sidney F Goss. You might recall seeing Morny talc, bath salts and pomanders on your Mum’s or even Grandma’s bathroom shelves if you grew up in the 1950s and 60's. But back in the early 20th century they were known for a range of perfumes based on musical styles – such as La Valse, Serenade and Nocturne. However their first fragrance, in 1910 was called Chaminade (Song of the Road). It was made specifically for a classical music star of the day called Cecile Chaminade, a Frenchwoman who gave her endorsement to the scent - apparently a delicate, powdery, classic floral. Her signature was even emblazoned on the label. Born in Paris in 1857, at the age of 18 Cecile went on to make her debut as a concert pianist with dates in France and England, where Queen Victoria was an admirer. She published over 400 classical works in her lifetime. In the US she was a big hit with 'Chaminade clubs' celebrating her compositions. Cecile once said: "There is no sex in art. Genius is an independent quality. The woman of the future with her broader outlook, her greater opportunities, will go far, I believe, in creative work of every description.” Vintage bottles of the scent, some with stoppers crafted by Baccarat are still highly collectible today. See my substack for more on this story. /pub/suebennett295387/p/celebrity-scent-an-unexpected-history?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=9yoip

Sprayed in Britain 🇬🇧 DATE 1998 BRAND Vivienne Westwood FRAGRANCE Boudoir DATE 1998, the year of the Baby G watch, the big reveal of Gormley's epic Angel of the North sculpture and Britannia was cool again, riding the Britpop wave. Other new perfume releases included Dior Hypnotic Poison and Le Feu d'Issey. BRAND Inspired by Dame Vivienne Westwood, pioneer of fashion design who gave us bondage trousers, pirate boots and the mini crini. The very epitome of saucy English eccentricity and don't give a f**kness, she went knickerless to Buckingham Palace to collect her OBE in 1992. FRAGRANCE Boudoir was a polarising scent from the off. Conjuring up a down and dirtily intimate setting. All flushed post coital skin, dusted with musks on twisted pink satin sheets. Heavy blown roses in darkly pungent water. You get the seductively naughty gist. The nose, Martin Gras, set out to create a head turner of a fragrance. Mission accomplished. Whether you loved or hated it, you couldn't ignore it. It's a heady, spicy, powdery, floral, animalic mix with coriander, cinnamon and carnation. The orb topped bottle was designed by Fabrice Legros, the globe encircled by a ring symbolising the power of femininity. It was the first in a line of acclaimed perfumes for the brand, which included Libertine, Anglomania and Let It Rock. AVAILABLITY There was an outcry when Boudoir was discontinued in 2021 and for a while aficionados had to beat a path to online selling sites in search of a rare bottle. But in 2025 it made a hush hush surprise return to the VW boutiques. The reformulated fragrance by Christian Calabro seems to have kept most of its fans happy, though it's fresher and the 'sweaty peignoir' vibe has been dialled down, making it a less challenging wear. #britishperfume #vintageperfume

We're currently in an exciting boom time for UK perfume, with stats showing that it's riding high as the fastest growing area in the beauty world. In the past few years sales of niche and artisan British perfume brands have skyrocketed. And by 2034 the British perfume market is forecast to be worth close to a whopping £3 billion. With around 2,000 new perfume launches every month in the UK, the future is looking rosy. Not to mention jasminey (sorry 😁) But how did we get here? Which brands and perfumes are the giants on whose shoulders the current crop are standing? You may not have heard of Dubarry, but they ruled the British perfume roost back in the 30's, and were the first company to release a cosmetic line by the name of Shalimar. Their striking factory building still overlooks Hove Railway Station though the company moved out in the 60s. Morny and @yardleylondonuk were the affordable stalwarts available on the high street in the 60's, though Morny actually dates back to 1910 and Yardley even further, to 1873, and is still releasing joyous reasonably priced fragrances today. We are lucky to still have our brilliant heritage houses, @florislondon and @penhaligons going strong but there is so much more to the history of British and Brit inspired perfume, from @bootsuk to @thebodyshop and surprising celebrity scents. The deep ambery Sshh! by Jade Goody really isn't bad at all, and is still to found on the shelf at Beauty Base. #perfumehistory #vintageperfume #britishperfume