Upcycling is no new trend. From upcycled furniture to upcycled candle vessels, reusing and repurposing items and materials can be a wonderful way to extend the life span of something that has been rendered useless. As part of our commitment to the environment and the sustainable evolution of our brand, we have been exploring how we can use up-cycling when it comes to our ingredients. Working closely with our world-renowned perfumers at Robertet to maintain our finest 'naturals first' approach, along with a commitment to reduce waste materials, we have created a sustainably led first for our brand: using up-cycled perfume notes created with by-products from the extraction of freshly harvested plants. But what is up-cycling? Otherwise known as creative re-use, up-cycling is the process of transforming waste materials, by-products or no longer useful items into new materials or products that serve a new purpose or are of greater quality, such as artistic value or environmental value. Much more than a passing trend, it’s a vital way for all of us to make better use of the earth’s resources and reduce our impact on the environment. How does it work? There are a few ways in which ingredients can be up-cycled. In our newest Eau de Parfum, Myrica Muse, the rose oil is obtained by distillation of freshly harvested flowers. We re-assemble previously used Turkish rose to re-build a new profile of this flower which is 100% pure and natural. Sourced originally from Indonesia, the Patchouli is re-built from by-product and parts of the plant otherwise not used by other industries. Why is up-cycling important? When it comes to fragrance there are two ways in which notes can be created. One - chemically, where a combination of scents are brought together to imitate a a smell and two, naturally. Some natural notes in fragrance are incredibly resource consuming, meaning they need land, water and energy to be created. Take Rose for example; Roses are classified into two groups: Ornamental roses, grown for their beauty, represent the vast majority of existing or created varieties and Fragrant roses, used in perfumery, include two predominate varieties, May rose and the Damask rose. Their incredibly sophisticated scent is made up of more than 300 different compounds. This complexity has posed a real problem for chemical experts. In fact, despite their efforts, they have still not succeeded in faithfully imitating the smell, which is by far too intricately complex. Â
There aren’t enough superlatives to describe London, let alone London in the summer. It’s simply one of the most incredible cities in the world—from the history and culture, to the food and the people. When the temperature picks up, it transforms from elegant and understated to vibrant and energetic. Don’t get me wrong, London in winter is magical, but there’s just something about the summer that makes it the greatest city, arguably, in the world. London revitalises your senses unlike any other. From the smells and sounds of the food markets, the freshly-cut grass in the many picturesque parks, the traffic and buzz of the Piccadilly promenades to the sensory overload that is Soho. It ticks every box you’d ever want it to. It’s also absolutely massive as far as big cities go. I’ve lived in East London for close to ten years, and I reckon I’ve only covered 30% of it. It being East, that is; I’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to the city proper. Such is the cultural makeup of the place, it’s a melting pot of every nationality, tradition and custom. It’s the central point, and the gateway. If you’re flying across the world, chances are you’re going to try and stop over here, even if for a day.  I travel quite a lot, whether it’s abroad or just around the city. Being on-the-go, I often find I don’t have as much time in the mornings to always adhere to a time-consuming grooming routine — even less so now with a soon-to-be one-year-old! Therefore, I always carry a couple travel-sized fragrances to spritz myself before heading into meetings or going on long shoot days. The ones I have kept by my side as of late are ones that fit perfectly with my favourite parts of London, and remind me of them when I’m away from the city. In this case, my most recent destination was a hillside castle, thirty minutes outside of Florence, for a friend’s wedding. I like to split my scents between day and night. The day time calls for light, floral smells that I don’t apply much of—just enough to pick up without being overpowering. The 14ml Vetiver Insolent is the perfect choice for this being light, bright with a subtle smokey nature. Especially when you’re spending the day pool side. Peau Santal is an absolute must-have for the afternoon as far as I’m concerned. Sandalwood is by far one of my favourite smells, and I always associate it with temples in London. That general sense of calm and peace; it’s unmatched. They were the perfect day time scents for a beautifully warm day in Tuscany (or anywhere in the world, for that matter). The follow on into the evening which falls into my preferred palate is Le Cedre. With notes of, you guessed it, cedar, the fragrance is woody, peppery and incredibly elegant. So when the final event of the festivities is a Black Tie reception, Le Cedre is a no-brainer. As for the subsequent 3am afterparty in the pool, well, that’s entirely up to you.
Scent plays a seminal role in summer nostalgia. It’s the sensory aspects of a place, the emotional state it lulls you into, the local tastes and rhythms that imprint themselves indelibly upon your memory, but scent, for me has always been the most potent trigger. As a travel writer, I have longed for an array of carry-on sized perfumes, having used plane-friendly samples as undesirable alternatives to scents, that would pair beautifully with my location and itinerary. And therein lies the power of travel: a change in location and culture frees the mind of routine and rituals, of signature scents and consolidated character and identity. Travelling with a different scent frees you from the constraints of home while tying together the various sensations and emotions a place provokes, like a sensory album, for years to come. I love Miller Harris’ new travel scents for the variety and adventure they propose, from mint wafting over taverna tables on go-slow Greek islands to woody, leather notes clinging to the hot evening air in Carmona, they’re potions of nostalgia and persuasion – to revisit those scented summer memories or plan fresh ones. A Viennese Rose Whiffs of rose spin me back to Volksgarten park in Vienna, where summer splays out along the city’s vine-covered fringes or its strudel-lined rooftops with piano keys lifting silky evenings. The scent is the perfect expression of the Austrian city’s casual classicism and easy elegance, particularly the lasting impression of cashmere, that warms the shoulders of Champagne parties rolling on well into the night. Greek island mint As our countryside turns to claret and gold and the cooler nights set in, I usually make a break for the Greek islands, now sleepy and delightfully tourist-free. Miller Harris’ Dance scent bottles up those long, Soutzoukakia and Moussaka-filled evenings where a warm breeze carries herbs lining the tavernas. It evokes an ouzo-fuelled delirium – the joy of knowing Tomorrow’s wake up call is merely Greek yoghurt and honey breakfast. A sun-doused English garden What I’ve gleaned from my peripatetic career, is that there is simply nowhere more exquisite or more lovely than an English garden in summer. Lawns scattered with daisies, hydrangeas lining paths leading to quiet benches for reading, or convivial tables drenched in rosé and laughter – perhaps its the jolt of familiarity, but I’m convinced it’s just pure, objective beauty. Miller Harris’ Scherzo fragrance embodies the remedial, rapturous virtues of an English garden in summer. It captures the whiff of flowerbeds filled with roses, narcissus. Pittosporum and tables dressed in peonies, as well as the sweet rush of summer puddings – Eton Mess and trifle. Carmona courtyards Masculine traces of leather softened momentarily with floral notes then deepened once more with spice and incense. This is the scent of Carmona, of lazy afternoons over a backgammon board amid deep leather wafts of an equestrian history filling Moorish courtyards and corridors dressed in relics of Spanish conquest. Miller Harris’ Étui Noir perfectly echoes this Medieval Andalusian town’s allure – its warm alfresco evenings of red wine and tapas drenched in local olive oil.
