Smell is one of our most powerful senses, and it has the ability to instantly bring us back to a place or time.
From your own perfume to your entire venue, more and more couples are paying attention to scent in the overall vibe of their wedding, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot to do it.
To share some ideas for adding fragrance to your wedding, we’ve recruited the help of Maria.
Maria Kabakova-Upfold is owner of Bristol based Shy Mimosa Perfumery. Maria is going to tell us all about the French perfumery brand Les Cocottes by Anais Biguine exclusively available at Shy Mimosa.
So who better to share her insights on enhancing your day with scent? Over to to Maria…
I always had interest and passion for scent, and a few years ago I discovered the world of niche and rare perfumes, and that blew me away and completely change my perspective of perfumery. I wanted to have a meaningful working life, where I will go to work feeling fulfilled, knowing that I enjoy what I do.
And every time I travelled, I would take this opportunity to explore perfumeries across Europe, and I thought that Bristol, being an open-minded, culturally diverse and artistic Mecca, having a specialist perfumery would complement the city. So, I researched, contacted people and with the support of my husband, I took on the best and biggest career changing decision, and the business was established. The perfumery is located in the heart of historic Clifton Village in Bristol.
The unusual approach of the Perfumer Anaïs Biguine when creating her lines is that she likes to study the lives of people who have had a fascinating existence. She completely immerse herself into their world, to connect and understand their existence. From then on, she creates the fragrance structure.
Inspired by these incredibly vivacious and characterful women, the perfumer Anaïs , debuted this fabulously feminine and evocatively opulent range with three unique fragrances based around the most well-known of ‘Les Cocottes’, because each of them really represented something very different and each made her mark on the incredible history of the Belle Époque.
Melle Cleo (1875 – 1966) or Cleo de Merode by real name was considered the world’s most beautiful woman. An absolute star, she captured her contemporaries’ imaginations.’ Whatever Cleo did, wore or purchased was immediately copied; people simply couldn’t get enough of this fascinating creature and wanted to be just like her. Her namesake fragrance seems simple and sweet at first, then blossoms into a complex and nuanced journey – a kind of olfactory choreography with unpredictable variations – much like Melle Cleo herself.
La Belle Otero (1868 – 1965) was a beautiful gypsy with an insatiable nature. The ‘Queen of Elegance’, she was frequented by kings and rich bankers from Paris to New York, St. Petersburg to Monte Carlo. She was the most spellbinding and ruthless courtesan of the Belle Époque.
Otero was to become one of the most infinitely sought after women in Europe, devoting her days to dancing with abandon, having tempestuous affairs with handsome men, decking herself out in precious jewels, recklessly gambling and throwing wild parties. And her embodiment in fragance? A musky woody-floral with a suitably sensual finale.
La Castiglione (1837 – 1899) is a burst upon the social scene, where she brought a sense of newness; she was perfectly beautiful with a boldness that makes her fashionable.
Virginia Oldoïni, Contessa di Castiglione was famous both for being a spy and Napoleon’s mistress. Almost nocturnal, La Castiglione was deeply mysterious, loving to shock with her striking looks and artful photographs. Inspired by this utterly intriguing character, this fragrance – a spicy oriental – is, unsurprisingly, suggested to be worn by candlelight.
After trying on Les Cocottes, you’ll be wanting to kick off your shoes, dance on the tables and beguile with your charms.
We offer fragrance consultation for brides and their bridal party, helping them to find the perfect scent for their wedding day. We believe that fragrance has the power to evoke memories and we can help brides capture the emotions on their wedding day by finding the perfect fragrance to match their style and personality.
Our service is unobtrusive with understated passionate, ensuring that each bride feels as special as is her wedding day. Our collection comprises of carefully curated niche, rare and exclusive perfume brands.
We can also offer “samples service” to brides that are unable to visit our Perfumery, to try before committing to buy.
Recently we’ve launched personalised consultations for brides and grooms, and brides and their bridal party. Here is the link to our website, should you wish to include:
https://www.shymimosa.co.uk/services/
The aim, and my business concept, is to make people feel comfortable and not intimidated by the products or subject they are not familiar with. I will engage in a conversation, not necessarily perfume related. This will enable me to understand their life-style or personality. Then they will be guided through the collection and encouraged to explore something different that they wouldn’t usually go for. And by the process of elimination, the choices will be narrowed down and finally tested on the skin.
The Cocottes range retails at £90 for 100ml and can be explored at Shy Mimosa Perfumery boutique or via their website https://www.shymimosa.