Scents & Sensibility

Scents make the invisible, visible. They evoke an extra dimension to your mood or personality, and echo and amplify your room surroundings just as strongly as colours and textures impact on your visual sense of space. 

So let me tell you straightaway that my new range of scented candles and reed diffusers smell delicious! The theme for my 6 different fragrances*  is, naturellement, la belle France!

The French have style, n’est-ce pas? I love their fabrics, their brocantes, their bars and their plats de jour. (Did you know in 2011 UNESCO granted world heritage status to French food?)

My new fragrance Collection* has been inspired by the places in France that evoke for me a special atmosphere of their own. And, very neatly, they also linked in with colours in the Chalk Paint® range. 

This well-rounded collection takes you from the floral and feminine to the robust and refreshing, and I’m delighted with the results.

I hope they conjure up for you, as they do for me, the essence of France: from the rural idyll of the rolling French countryside, to the terracotta rooftops and hazy heat of the Côte d’Azur; the rain splashing on ancient cobbled streets, and clear moonlit nights over neon-lit cafés and bistros. . .

Aroma + ambience in the home

An aroma can be a potent memory stirrer: it’s amazing how a particular scent can trigger some reminiscence long-forgotten and take one back to a place – and a time – as if it was just yesterday.

Below is my ‘taster’ of the ambience and atmosphere that influenced each of my French-themed fragrances. . . I’ve added some of images that I feel evoke the essence of my collection.

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Antibes – At the end of a long, hot day, gentle, warm herb-scented breezes through the pine trees refresh the senses; a feeling of nostalgia is evoked by the scent of flora and freshly cut grass.

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Aubusson – Lost in France where delicate tapesties are woven with traditional deep, cool blue colours… hints of rich leather, thyme, and cedar wood, with a faint vanilla note.

   

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Burgundy – As deep and satisfying as a glass of full-bodied red wine, underscored with amber, vanilla and top notes of bergamot, mandarin and lemon.

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Paris – neon lights reflected on grey, rain-washed cobbles – a gentle, sophisticated scent reminiscent of the city’s casual elegance. . . a full floral bouquet of Damask rose with hints of iris and geranium.

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Provence – endless fields of soothing lavender with the added picante of geranium, ginger and amber undertones.

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Versailles – the sophistication and elegance of La Notre’s formal gardens. Fresh floral scents of honeysuckle and jasmine released after rainfall give balm to the senses as dusk draws in. 

 

‘Toile de jouy’ designs with a twist
The fragrances come in their own specially designed packaging, which gives a nod to traditional French ‘toile de Jouy’ fabric. Typically depicting quaint pastoral scenes, I've even got a few 'toile de Jouy' fabrics in my own Fabric Collection. 

For my Fragrance Collection, we've taken this centuries-old textile tradition and given it a modern twist – I absolutely love it.

Do go out and sample the scents – and don’t forget, an elegant or flowery fragrance says as much about your home-making as the colours and finishes of your Chalk Paint® furniture and walls.

*The Annie Sloan Fragrance Collection is available via my stockists across Europe now and coming to North America in the Spring.

Yours, Annie