The perfume was handed out by men dressed in Regency era finery and I suspect is going to be a hit
Dearest gentle readers, this week saw the return of Bridgerton with Benedict’s foray into true love. With it comes an exciting new perfume release from fine fragrance house Floral Street in collaboration with the Shondaland team at Netflix.
Enchanted Masquerade, £78 for 50ml, opens up with green hazelnut, juicy pear, mandarin and enticing pink pepper before settling to a floral heart of gardenia, jasmine petals and rose absolute from Grasse, the perfume capital of the world. The base is a soothing trio of cedarwood, patchouli and skin musks.
I write about perfume almost every single day as a perfume expert and that means I tend to have a pretty solid idea of the perfumers behind the fragrances I love the most. So when I found out it was none other than Jérôme Epinette, I almost fell over in delight.
For those who don’t know, Epinette is a French born perfumer who lives in New York. He’s worked on hits like Byredo’s Bal d’Afrique (£150), Rare Beauty’s self named fragrance (£71) and Phlur’s fruitier concoctions like Tangerine Boy (£79.20) and Mrs Smith (£20).
More personally he’s the nose behind my favourite Sol de Janeiro scent, Cheirosa 71 (£28.50), as well as Noyz Unmute and Detour, which sadly are only available to buy in America at the minute. He also crafted Perle de Coco (£18) from & Other Stories, which is my go to fragrance for a sunny holiday – I actually shared this fragrance with some Love Islanders last summer in Ibiza. So it was safe to say I was excited to get my nose over the Enchanted Masquerade perfume.
Enchanted Masquerade Eau de Parfum for Bridgerton
£78 for 50ml
Floral Street
Buy Now on Floral Street
The new limited edition Enchanted Masquerade Eau de Parfum for Bridgerton from Floral Street is said to ‘capture the essence of a magical evening full of unexpected joy and allure’.
I don’t typically gravitate towards floral scents, I find they’re often powdery, which is something I don’t naturally feel inclined towards. That said jasmine is my favourite floral note and this perfume doesn’t suffer from any powdery touch so I found it very approachable.
The pear note at the top of this fragrance is juicy without being overpowering and makes space for the romantic florals that follow. This one just continued to get better and better. I love the hazelnut note, I find it adds a great warmth and depth to the fragrance.
When I spoke to Jérôme about the fragrance it was clear that this was intentional. The talented perfumer was given early access to the new season of Bridgerton to try and capture ‘this season’s storyline and the idea of unmasking your true self’.
He has said about the fragrance in the past: “With Enchanted Masquerade, I wanted to capture the essence of a magical evening full of unexpected joy and allure. This fragrance evokes a sense of playful elegance, where vibrant, fruity notes of pear and mandarin dance with the soft, romantic embrace of gardenia and rose. As it settles, the warm, cocooning base of vanilla and musks wraps you in a comforting, sensual, and elegant aura, like slipping into a beautiful outfit – creating an enchanting, unforgettable presence that lingers with you like a whisper long after the night ends.”
I have to agree, there is something warm, comforting and a little romantic to this perfume. I spritzed it on before heading to see some friends who insisted that I smelled ‘lovely’ and kept asking what I was wearing.
I think this is a safe blind buy, it’s very wearable and ticks a lot of boxes without swaying too deep into any. It’s not too floral, too sweet or too sensual, instead it’s a perfect middle ground that I can see myself reaching for this weekend while I settle down with Benedict’s season.
