Black Orchid by Tom Ford

Ah! Tom Ford... until the day comes when I can strut around London Town in your electric petrol blue dresses I will happily settle for your Black Orchid.

I have been wearing this since the summer of 2007. It ooooozes strength, power and sex yet maintains a sense of real femininity. Black Orchid is an enchanting blend of black truffle and ylang with bergamot and blackcurrant, it then unravels with notes of lotus wood, patchouli, vetiver, vanilla, balsam and sandalwood.

It's deep, dark and brooding, it's Film Noir in a bottle.

Spritzing this onto my skin feels like slipping into seductive lingerie moments before being seduced and subsequently ravaged by Lord Byron. To wear this is to be desired.

Beautiful Lavender

Inspired by a feature on Serna Linley in the June issue of Tatler I have been driven to distraction by the idea of lavender:

"My home smells of lavender; we grow masses of the stuff in France, so it's everywhere - under our pillows, in the bath, on the fire... You can even flavour ice-cream with it."

As a young girl, my sister and I would be packed off to our grandparents to spend the summer holidays, both gardens boasting huge lavender hedges which I adored. I loved the way the bright flowers would attract bees and would be so happy to sit by them reading my books. My first ever fragrance was a sprig of lavender rubbed on my wrists and behind my ears, so throughout my life this scent holds a very powerful nostalgic attachment.

Recently I have been frustrated by the musty, vintage smell on clothes and scarves that have been packed away in my wardrobe and not aired for more than a few weeks and was distraught to find my cashmere cardigan has been nibbled at my moths. So this afternoon I have decided to take action.

While I don't have a field in Provence handy, I do have ample window box and balcony space in my little Wapping flat, so it's goodbye useless geraniums and hello lovely lavender. I'm planning to harvest bunches of it to fragrance my wardrobe and knicker draw, sprinkle some in my bath and generally marvel at the wonderful colours.

Belle du Soir fragrance by Le Labo

I have always been a fan of heavy woodiness in fragrances. The soundtrack to my misspent youth has been peppered with the scents of Clinique Aromatics Elixir, Agent Provocateur, Vivienne Westwood's Boudoir and in more recent years Tom Ford's Black Orchid.

When it comes to skincare and makeup I'm an absolute brand hopping hussy but with fragrance I'm fairly loyal, a lesson learned from my grandmother who was quite the glamourous head turner in the 50's. A fragrance is your signature; it clings to your clothes and decorates the air around you, it's an invisible piece of fine jewellery so for me, a fragrance choice should be carefully made and consistent.

On a recent visit to the Anthropologie store in west London I met a bottle of Belle du Soir and found my values fall like a pack of cards.

Belle du Soir is a musky and rich scent of neroli, water lily and gardenia placed on a background of sandalwood and patchouli.

I love the way it is presented in an amber coloured bottle, inspired by vintage pharmacy vials (60ml) while tin boxes containing solid fragrances are designed like measuring weights from the last century (5g).

I purchased a bottle, doused myself immediately and fell in love. Check out Anthropology stores for opportunities to find out for yourself!