I’m a Fragrance Obsessive: These Are MECCA’s Best Scents
April 10 | 4 minute read
Words by Kerri Gordon
Now, the cedar console in my room is essentially an out-of-lease-lines MECCA Perfumeria. I’m apprehensive to share the number of bottles in stock, because my parents – avid readers of the MECCA Memo – would have a heart attack. And I love them dearly.
Instead, I’ll do what MECCA does best and curate. The parfums, colognes, toilettes and mists I consider to be the world’s greatest. If you’re nosey, read on.
The musician to perfumer pipeline
Most days I’m a walking, wafting billboard for either Tsu Lange Yor or D.S. & Durga.
I’ve been fortunate to spend time with the founder-duos of both brands, and have since concluded that unorthodox, synaesthetic, music-originating self-trained perfumers are the unassuming leaders of the current day fragrance renaissance. They create with genre-bending irreverence at the intersection of harmony, culture and storytelling – and their scents resonate.
TLY’s Luca Eau de Parfum is a fizzy, minerally skin scent that oozes cool; clean, crisp denim and glossy magazine pages with bergamot, cedarwood and ambroxan as the stars of the show. It’s a compliment magnet. As is Sala Eau de Parfum, a quintessential summer juice of nectar, humidity and floral stems, and By Your Side Eau de Parfum, an enveloping, smoky, leathery number nosed by German perfumer Frank Voelkl (more on him later).
The head-turners
What could I possibly have in common with my dad, Justin Bieber, Sophie Turner and Jodie Comer – but a bottle of Le Labo’s Santal 33?
I first noticed the striking leather scent in a crowd at Dark Mofo in Hobart. It was enveloping and inescapable, and led me to believe a very attractive, well-read, craft beer connoisseur of a man was mere steps away. What I didn’t know is that the scent was about to redefine the concept of cult coveted, catapulting from indie secret to mainstream success. “Everyone’s signature scent,” as it’s been editorialised, Santal 33 is the definition of magnetic and intoxicating, and reigns supreme for wear power and sillage. It put Voelkl on the map!
The blind buys
The vanillas
Vanilla brings a sense of comfort and nostalgia, but can easily veer into cloying – I find that a warm, grounding base of woods and spices can elevate the gourmand note instantly.
Last but not least is a scent that flies so far under the radar, Eau D’Italie Morn to Dusk Eau de Parfum. It doesn’t bare the woods or spice, but sandwiches vanilla between lily of the valley and musk for a soft, lactonic dry down that feels like you’re being hugged by a marshmallow.
If you’re looking to build out your fragrance wardrobe, the best thing you can do is book a Fragrance Consultation at your local MECCA. A highly knowledgeable fragrance specialist will whisk you away for 45 minutes to understand your scent preferences, before taking you through a masterful selection of fragrance, curated just for you.
