Holy smokes – Zoologist are launching a T-REX scent?!

What on cretaceous earth does a Tyrannosaurus Rex smell like? Only a couple of months’ wait to find out. This Autumn, Zoologist are releasing a T-Rex fragrance and I am ridiculously over-excited. This boots Etat Libre D’Orange’s ‘I am Trash’ right off the top spot as my most hotly awaited scent of this Autumn.

Following their stunning recent releases Moth and Hyrax, I can only hope Zoologist stay on their roll for this one and I can’t wait to hear the notes. My guesses: got to be lots of thick, green jungly things. Ferns.  Probably some big shouty florals too (apparently the cretaceous era was when flowering plants stared to emerge, and – new fact alert –  Tyrannosaurus Rex had a surprisingly highly developed sense of smell). It’s got to be packed with animalics –  leather? Perhaps even a touch of something sulphurous and volcano-ey?

There’s got to be loads of resinous amber (for the dino DNA) and maybe a big dollop of Jeff Goldblum for smoothness. Maybe. Can’t wait.

 

 

A cuddle from a mandle – Seven Scents Cuban Tobacco and Oak review

I bloody love scented candles. They have a bit of an unfair rep as a cop-out gift, but not in my present pile. I’ve invested in a Muji fragrance diffuser, which is VMR (Very Much Recommended), but for creating atmos, there’s nothing like a flickering flame, throwing out fragrance willy-nilly.

So I was squealy-chuffed when my friend Verity sent me a whacking great Cuban Toboacco and Oak candle from her home-made and beautifully-packaged range – Seven Scents.

Pre-lighting, the scent is surprisingly clean, almost soapy. Set it on fire and it comes to life. It has a beautiful, sweet woodiness, almost musky. There’s some whisky-spiciness too. After half an hour or so the scent takes a little turn, becoming broader and slightly candied.

The throw is gentle, but pervasive. After an hour, it fills the room comfortably. And, as I’d hoped, it was still hanging around like a good smell the next morning.

Verity describes this with a cheeky portmanteau –  ‘mandle’ (man candle), but this is not a smoky power-scent that divides the room. This is a cuddle in a candle.

It’s not for Summer. But get one now and save it for September; for that first chilly day when you get the fluffy socks out of the drawer; light it and let it mingle with that cosy dusty smell you get from a newly-switched-on radiator. VMR.

Seven Scents candles are made in Market Harborough, hand-poured and made with soy wax. My limited edition 220g Cuban Tobacco and Oak candle is available here.