French women are renowned for their stop-you-in-your-tracks fragrances. Almost every time I visit Paris, I find myself falling in love with the scent of a stranger. It’s usually a fleeting moment. Someone brushes past me in the street, or glides by my café table- but the scent? The memory lingers. When I last visited in June, my ever-attuned nose caught the same fragrance not once, but three times. The women wearing it were a particular type- you know the sort. Impossibly chic. Their hair artfully tousled, cheeks flushed with a hasty sweep of rouge, lips blooming with the faintest hint of a just-been-kissed tint. These three women (as well as, let’s be honest, half of Paris) embody exactly what I aspire to be. What can I say? I'm just a girl! So, after encountering the scent for the third time, I finally plucked up the courage to ask one of them what she was wearing.
'Oh!' she said, momentarily surprised. Then, with a laugh, 'It’s my secret!'
A secret? Of course! How very French!
Thankfully, she relented. 'It’s actually a hair mist,' she confided, her elegant French accent lilting beautifully. 'It lasts all day, and it’s the fragrance I get the most compliments on. I only bought it after smelling it on someone else, too.'
The scent in question? Le Parfum by Sisley. Here's why it's the French girl approved perfume of the summer.
Shop: Sisley Le Parfum
www.selfridges.com
What Sisley say: 'This perfume reflects the brand’s cult fragrance. It is designed to develop on both the skin and hair, which can retain scents for longer. Fresh and delicate, this hair and body perfume is instantly absorbed, leaving a long-lasting fragrance. Its elegant, heady sillage unfolds with each movement.'
What we know: Hair is more porous than skin, meaning it absorbs perfume and lasts considerably longer. It's also less exposed to sweat and body heat, two factors that cause fragrance to fade away as the day goes on. However, the fact that you can wear this on skin too, means more bang for your buck.
Rachael Martin, beauty director says: 'Bright top notes of lemon, lavender, and verbena melt into soft mimosa flower, before settling into a warm base of woods and amber. It’s the kind of fragrance that smells slightly different on everyone, yet always carries that same familiar addictive quality. Fresh yet comforting, fruity yet floral- it’s both unique and truly special.'
Pros
- Can be used on body too
- Generous sized bottle
- Long lasting scent
Cons
- The label is a sticker, which doesn't feel premium when compared to the bottle or scent itself
I’m no stranger to Sisley, of course. Often regarded as the gold standard in luxury skincare (Black Rose Cream, anyone? it’s firmly established itself as the brand of choice among beauty editors the world over. I’m also a devoted fan of Sisley’s haircare range and credit its hair serum for the extra inches I’ve gained over the past year. So, you can imagine my delight when I discovered that the fragrance in question was from Sisley, a tried and tested favourite.
While the brand is famously expensive, I actually think £94 is excellent value for such a luxe brand. It's on par with Tom Ford scents when it comes to longevity, plus it's multi-purpose as it can be laced across the hair and body. There's hair beautifying benefits in there too - infused with a blend of nourishing oils, a single spritz adds a luminous shine without ever weighing the hair down or feeling greasy.
But the most important part? The perfume itself. It’s utterly divine. Bright top notes of lemon, lavender, and verbena melt into soft mimosa flower, before settling into a warm base of woods and amber. It’s the kind of fragrance that smells slightly different on everyone, yet always carries that same familiar addictive quality. Fresh yet comforting, fruity yet floral- it’s both unique and truly special. And every time the wind catches, you best believe that you, and those around you, will know all about it.
Those French girls? They're onto something here...
Rachael Martin is Grazia’s Beauty Director. Originally from Northern Ireland, she studied English Literature at Queen’s University Belfast, before moving to London to pursue a career in magazine journalism