To embark on a scented voyage is to let imagination and memory entwine, transporting the senses to far-off lands with every breath. This month, in further celebration of The Perfume Society’s travel themes, this time we set sail for Mexico seeking scented inspirations – an evocative land where sun-burnished citrus meets velvety cocoa, where blossoms unfurl in sultry warmth, and wafts of incense anchor your spirit.
Let these perfumes whisk you to vibrant evenings and lush gardens – even if your feet never leave home…
4160 Tuesdays Drive Them Wild
“Inspired by Hollywood actress, dancer and legendary beauty Dolores del Rio, (María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López-Negrete) whose second career as a film producer was to launch Mexico’s own film industry. Elsa Schiaparelli described her as the most complete of the many beautiful women she met.” – Sarah McCartney, founder and perfumer.
Sunshot oranges burst on the skin – a radiant hip-wiggle of blood orange and mandarin, swirling with vanilla’s creamy glow and magnificent orange blossom. As daylight fades, cocoa-dusted musks and velvet oakmoss whisper beneath, grounded by the addictive flourish of tonka. Effervescent and sultry, this is sunlit passion transformed into fragrance – wild, joyous, and alive with the promise of hidden gardens waiting to be discovered.
£120 for 50ml eau de parfum In the Perfume Society Shop
OFFICINE UNIVERSELLE BULY Eau Triple Mexican Tuberose
Here, the famous tuberose of Mexico reigns with sun-drenched majesty – creamy, narcotic, spiced with the gentle warmth of clove and a silken sweep of vanilla. Ylang-ylang and musk shimmer at the edges, weaving a diaphanous veil that caresses the skin. Inspired by Aztec gardens, this scent is dappled with pools of tropical sunlight and velvet blossoms, a fragrant reverie of simple pleasures and a slowly simmering, scented allure.
£143 for 75ml eau de parfum selfridges.com
[NB: Those who purchase the Luxurious Fragrances Discovery Box will receive *one* of the travel-sized Buly fragrances as part of their box, and it could just be the Mexican Tuberose if you’re lucky – though ALL are stunning!]
Christian Louboutin Loubikiss
A hypnotic embrace where white floral petals drift on the eve of Día de los Muertos – jasmine sambac, grandiflorum, and voluptuous tuberose bloom beneath a moonlit altar crowned with memory. Soil-warm musk and amber woods ground the reverie, like incense swirling through hushed chapels. Every inhalation conjures a Mexico sparkling with colour and reverence, each note a lingering, bewitching kiss whispering eternal love.
£235 for 90ml eau de parfum harrods.com
Arquiste Flor Y Canto
A tapestry of blossom-laden air unfurls – marigolds weaving gilded glimmers through a cool Mayan temple, narcotic tuberose swags drenched in sunlight and heady scent memories. Each breath conjures the ancient spirit of Mexico, mingling sacred warmth and vivid bouquets in a tribute to its living heritage. A gorgeously radiant yet addictively scented serenade to celebration, wearing this invites you to lose yourself in the blissful magic of the moment.
£180 for 100ml eau de parfum bloomperfume.co.uk
Paul Schütze Cuadra
Practically radiating the shimmering heat haze of a sultry day in Mexico, Cuadra is one of artist, photographer, musician (and now perfume creator) Schütze’s architecture-inspired scents. Evoking the brilliantly hued building of Cuadra San Cristobal by modernist Luis Barragan, it’s a journey in a bottle. Intriguingly laced with dark coffee, jasmine, hay, eaglewood and tobacco, it swaggers with barely restrained passion – and puts that Mexican destination firmly on our bucket list.
£95 for 50ml eau de parfum paulschutzeperfume.com
Woven through these fragrances the very soul of Mexico seems to shimmer – exuberant and contemplative, wrapped in memory and brimming with sunlight. Let these scents transport you – no matter which you seek to try for yourself – to distant landscapes, stirring dreams of journeys yet to come, and creating fragrant memories that will follow wherever you roam…
Written by Suzy Nightingale