What’s in your fragrance first aid kit?

_{A selection of travel sized indie perfume ideal for keeping in your fragrance first aid kit.}

With the world feeling increasingly unhinged, we need small joys and rituals more than ever. If spritzing a gorgeous indie perfume from your emotional first aid kit gives you a wee boost – even for a few minutes – it’ll help you reset and regain some precious equilibrium. And anything that helps me from feeling completely overwhelmed has to get my vote.

All the perfumes I’m writing about here are available in super handy travel sizes, ranging from 7.5ml to 15ml, so they’re perfect to fit into pockets and bags without adding much weight—fragrance first aid for when you’re on the go. Travel sizes are also a marvellous way to get to know a perfume better, perhaps before splurging on a full size bottle. You might have guessed by now that I love travel size perfumes.

What is a fragrance first aid kit?

Well, Google doesn’t give me a neat answer to that. But I know there are certain kinds of scents I reach for when I need a fragrant lift, when everything feels a bit (a lot?) too much. Often these are linked to plants I grow, so there’s a thread running through all the ones below; some with herbal or crushed leaf notes, others with spice, and a couple with citrus. Even if you’re an urban kind of person, you might find nature-adjacent perfumes calming and steadying when you’re feeling frayed.

As usual in my fragrance blog posts, I’ve written wee scent stories to give you the impression of a perfume. Wearing perfume is often about how it makes you feel, and what emotions and memories it might evoke. How do you want to feel today?

If you’re interested in the specific fragrance notes stated by a brand, feel free to click on the name of the perfume and that’ll take you to their website or a stockist’s website.

Fragrance notes are very subjective. So don’t worry if you smell things that a brand doesn’t mention—there are no right or wrong answers. And the same goes if you don’t smell what a brand lists as the notes. Your experience is as valid as anyone else’s.

Fancy some help with copywriting for your perfume brand?

Soul Notes by Soul Notes

_{Soul Notes by Soul Notes captures the tranquil feeling of relaxing in sun dappled woods.}

For when you need to feel like you’re in sunlit woods

Soul Notes is, to me, a perfume about softness and light. A perfectly balanced blend of airy coolness and warmer golden rays, all gently diffused through abundant trees. It’s a hammock made of woven branches you discover in the woods; supple birch, amber beech and furry pine.

Lying back in your bosky cradle, coins of sun dance over your closed eyes as caramel coloured leaves flutter around. A breath of vetiver, one tendril of lavender—a wisp of tea curls from your flask sitting on the mossy ground. Breathing steadily in…then slowly out.

On the Soul Notes website, founder Sarirah asks: when you wear Soul Notes, how did it make you feel about yourself?

And I would answer: calmed, reassured and optimistic.

Lunar Dust by Mabelle Orama

_{Lunar Dust by Mabelle Orama is an ethereally beautiful perfume, ideal for when you’re feeling overwhelmed.}

For when you need to feel like you’re gazing at the moon

Darker evenings means you can admire the moon rising earlier. Her shimmering face glows through a gauzy veil of tattered clouds whipped by the wind. A silver disc of bright loveliness gazes benevolently over the land.

She shines tranquilly over a harvest mouse munching a bedtime bramble. Then dusts the velvet wings of a bat emerging like a flake of night from a ruined castle. And gently illuminates your face as you gaze adoringly up at her.

Some perfumes are much more about how they make you feel, rather than a hollow list of notes. Lunar Dust is one of them. To be sure, there are twinkles of bergamot, a breath of iris and a supple backbone of subtle amber woods, but the overall effect is one of timeless gentle comfort and optimism. Simply marvellous.

Sain No More by Nosu

_{Sain No More by Nosu Parfum is a breath of fresh, herb infused air. Perfect for your fragrance first aid kit.}

For when you need to feel like you’re sitting around a campfire with your pals

Golden and glowing, low winter sun glints through the slender stems of birch trees. Your pals unload their supplies from worn canvas backpacks, as you gather kindling for a fire. Quiet voices and soft chuckles warm the cold air.

After you’ve shared flasks of hot, nourishing soup, everyone gathers around the glowing embers, gazing into the light. Leather notebooks are opened, pencils poised, bundles of soft herbs crushed in chilly fingers. A solitary juniper berry escapes and sizzles juicily on a flame heated rock.

Anchoring fleeting thoughts on smooth paper, you all write in companionable silence. The sun’s set now, so someone lights a chunky beeswax candle. Smiling around at your friends, you offer a bead of pale jade frankincense to the shimmering fire, and everyone breathes deeply.

Cleansed. Renewed. Comforted.

Cologne: Orange by Olfiction

_{Cologne: Orange was the perfume that inspired me to build my own fragrance first aid kit. Bright and zestily fresh, it’s a marvel in difficult situations.}

For when you need a sparkling citrus pick-me-up

I first wore Cologne: Orange by Olfiction on a long train journey from London to Glasgow. My carriage was hot, stuffy and smelled of densely packed humanity. So, what did I do? I sprayed a very subtle burst of this magnificent perfume onto my wrist. And, oh what a difference it made.

It felt like I was actually in a sunlit orange grove, and nestling among soft green herbs for a wee nap.

It’s what I imagine an original cologne from way back smelled like. Almost medicinal – not in a pungent and scary way – but you can almost feel it physically lifting your spirits, shouldering your burdens and opening your eyes to beauty, even if you’re struggling. Along with P.G. Wodehouse books, this should be available on the NHS. Bloody marvellous stuff.

Dead Air by Oddity

_{Weird, but oh-so-wonderful, Dead Air is perfect for when you need to escape from planet Earth and believe life somewhere else in the universe would be a kinder one.}

For when you need to feel like you’re on another planet

A cocktail bar in another world.

Humid air rises over a super salty sea. Succulent pale green plants wave bendy tendrils from pewter grey rocks. Freshly cracked coconuts weep milky tears into a waiting glass.

Fronds of fennel scattered everywhere.

Wisps of savoury smoke waft over the most succulent apricots and peaches, rotating themselves over burning coals. Brown sugar crackles. Singed herbs sigh.

You sip in delight.

By Your Side by Tsu Lange Yor

_{By Your Side by Tsu Lange Yor is perfect for when you crave the comfort of a hug without any words needed.}

For when you need the fragrant promise of intimacy

Date night at a pottery club.

Hazy light spills through open windows as gauzy curtains swing in a light breeze. Smooth wooden benches hold pottery wheels and plump balls of terracotta clay. Lilting music plays in the warm air.

A bottle of spiced juice is opened and gets spilled a little. Soft giggles and eager glasses. Fragrant fizz among worn leather jackets.

Dextrous fingers on slippery clay. Spirited smiles and flickering glances. The workday cares slide away as you tenderly mould and shape.

And the night is still young.

Gilded by Olfiction

_{Gilded by Olfiction is an uplifting and serene perfume for your fragrance first aid kit.}

For when you need to feel like you’re breathing cleansing incense

Like licking a lemon and ginger gelato while watching a Viking ship being ceremonially burned on a windswept beach. Sacrificial herbs and seeds like eucalyptus and angelica flicker amongst the golden, glowing timbers as they creak and settle into mesmerising shapes.