Recently, I headed down to The Hempel hotel to check out Next’s current beauty offerings, including their perfumes. I viewed (and smelt) the existing ranges from the Next line, and also their new line, ‘A Tale of Four Cities’, which is what I’m going to write about today.
Next Perfumes: A Tale of Four Cities
I’ll confess – I’m a bit of a perfume snob. With many beauty products, you can buy a cheap version and not have any discernible difference between the budget offering and a higher end item, but I tended to believe that perfume was the exception. That isn’t to say that I judged perfumes purely on price alone, but as a general rule, my perfume wardrobe is more Chanel that Coty. Ultimately, though, I judge on the smell, and I sauntered over to the lavishly decorated table at the event and tested out the perfumes.
Next have created four distinct scents based on four of the premier fashion-inclined cities: Milan, London, New York and Paris. At the Next Christmas press day back in July, I’d been really quite taken with the Milan scented candle, a zesty green apple cloud of scent. I was keen to try out the accompanying perfume and also the rest of the range. I have to say, I was hugely impressed. I found them to be accomplished scents with a great deal of depth, and I also very much liked the rather elegant packaging.
Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know about each scent:
Milan: ‘Top notes of melon and green apple give way to a heart of magnolia and violet and a lingering woody base’
London: ‘Lychee and citrus top notes, a heart of rose and peony evolving to a powdery musk and cedarwood base’
Paris: ‘An exotic floral bouquet of orchid, ylang-ylang and orange blossom, with a base of musk and warm amber’
New York: ‘A radiant and captivating white floral, featuring tuberose and gardenia with elegant jasmine and sun-kissed orange blossom’
My main bias against cheap perfumes has been the tendency most have towards cloying, sickly sweetness. I’ve recoiled in horror with some of the cheaper offerings on the market, spluttering in a cloud of candyfloss and caramel scents (most of these tend to be the ‘celebrity’ perfumes on the market.) That’s what intrigued me about the Next range; they tend towards the fresh, citrussy, woody side of the scent spectrum, thankfully bypassing the ghastly saccharine bleachy smell of many cheap perfumes. The Milan diffuser has suffused through my bedroom with a gloriously green aroma, smelling constantly fresh and uplifting. It’s the first diffuser I’ve ever had, and I’m impressed.
My pick of the perfumes in their wearable form goes to Paris. Initially fresh and delicate, it eventually wears down to a gloriously warm amber base. It’s perfectly balanced between a wearable day perfume and something with a little more depth – unlike many competitors who swing wildly in opposite directions, scorching the senses. In short, I’ve found the Next range to be extremely (dare I say, surprisingly) palatable, and something that this perfume snob would definitely wear. In fact, I’ve been wearing Paris every day since the event. It’s perfect for day wear, not heavy or overpowering, ideal for keeping a bottle on your desk at work or in your handbag.
Each perfume in the City Collection is available as a 50-hour candle (£9), a 4 reed diffuser set (£18), an eau de parfum (from £8) and a body creme (£8). You can purchase them in Next stores or via their website.