Anemone

Anemone is GROVE England's debut, and the fragrance that explains the whole house. Anemones are loved for their papery colour and for arriving late in the season, not for their smell, which is faint to the point of absent. The brief given to perfumer Richard Howard was to invent the scent the flower ought to have, using the garden around it as evidence. What that produces is a green-woody white floral. Chamomile opens it, soft and slightly herbal, more apple and dry hay than tea. Jasmine, linden and neroli follow and do the flowering, but they are kept deliberately unsweet, so the effect is petals in daylight rather than a bouquet. The base is where it earns its price: petitgrain keeps the greenness alive, labdanum adds a resinous warmth, and cedar dries the whole thing out into something soft and slightly powdery. Expect moderate longevity and modest projection. This is a scent that sits close and rewards the wearer more than the room, which suits its intended use as an everyday fine fragrance. It is offered as a 50ml bottle and a 7.5ml travel vial, and the same scent runs through GROVE's hand cream, bath oil, body wash and candle if you want it in a room as well as on skin.