Scents and the City

Loathe as I am to have another bottle of alcohol as a Staple, this is a completely different type, and whatever - it's my birthday. Back in the halcyon days of being Down and Out in Paris, I spent a day with my fabulous friend Anna in Sephora on the Champs-Elysées, testing basically all of the men's fragrances. After several hours of olfactory cogitation (yes, we were very bored, and VERY poor), the conclusion was that the only ones worth getting were Chanel's Platinum Egöiste and an old Givenchy one that I've forgotten the name of. Then along came Prada's 'intellectual' scent, which I found on a holiday to Italy, as my first (and only) purchase from the Milanese branch of Miuccia's emporium. This year, the scent's Ford, Tom Ford. Like Amaretto, it's a gorgeous amber colour, but in a ribbed glass bottle with a gold label. It's got a certain luxe even before you spray the first richly scented cloud of wood-smoked, cinnamonny and almost citrus-infused scent, which is luscious and, in my mind at least very Christmassy - damp logs, holly and sticky pine; cloves, blood oranges and black pepper Molton Brown shower gels. Describing a scent usually descends into this adjective-heavy style, and although the only way to experience it is to wear it yourself, some pointers help. Especially as scent is so subjective, and so personal. But for me, this year is the year of old school Hollywood glamour, Tom Ford style. Other Staples this week include:
Tom Ford for Men fragrance
Bishop's Hand card game
The Washington pub in Primrose Hill
The film 'Ronin'
A silk scarf (always useful)
Narrow-legged black jeans Satsuma Japanese restaurant in Soho