The Queen’s Perfume

by | Apr 16, 2012

Floris Royal Arms Diamond Edition

Who better to create a special Royal Jubilee fragrance than Floris? Did you know that Floris are Her Majesty the Queen’s own appointed perfumers? I’m sure that I’ve mentioned this before – perhaps in my bespoke perfumery post – but Floris really are a brand with an amazing heritage, and a trip to their magical shop on Jermyn Street is always a joy.

The Diamond Edition Royal Arms fragrance is an adaptation of a 1926 recipe that was created to celebrate Elizabeth II’s birth. If you’re a perfume collector or a collector of royal ‘memorabilia’ then this could be quite a special acquisition – I’m not sure ‘memorabilia’ is quite the right word, actually, but I’m at a loss for something better!

I suppose if you were a (very rich) perfume fanatic then you’d go for the luxe version which has been hand poured into an antique crystal bottle and finished with a 50 point white diamond suspended on a delicate chain…

…yours for £15,000, but snap it up quickly because only six have been made.

You and I, the serfs, (speak for yourself, Crilly! I hear you shout), will have to be content with the 100ml Eau de Parfum in the classic Floris bottle. It still looks extremely posh, but there’s no diamond. (Pah! Get yourself down to Elizabeth Duke at Argos, pick up one of those ‘gemstones on a chain’ things for a fiver. Sling it round the bottle. Poor Man’s Edition.) Seriously, though, this is posh stuff – beautifully bottled, beautifully blended, and you won’t smell every Tom, Dick and Harry wearing it as you regally waft down your local high-street.

If you want some scent-guidance, I can tell you that Royal Arms Diamond Edition is seriously floral. Things don’t get much more floral. It’s not the lightest fragrance in the world, but it’s complex and ever-changing as all interesting perfumes are. There’s Rose, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang and Iris but then lighter, fresher, lemony notes and deeper, muskier notes. It’s described as having a ‘rose heart’, but don’t be fooled into thinking that this literally ‘smells like roses’. It doesn’t. It’s quite powdery, more powerful and absolutely what one would wear should one be invited to play croquet on the lawns.

Floris Royal Arms Diamond Edition is £99 for 100ml from Floris

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