Surrounded by plush 1920s interiors and gently tinkling crockery, green fields flashing by, we began our steam-pulled journey aboard the Belmond British Pullman - not just into the into the countryside but also into the world of Clive Christian perfumes.
Aboard the train, we indulged in a 4 course lunch, with each course nodding towards one of the four new Noble Collection Pairs, Art Nouveau & Art Deco, through taste, scent or history, which we were introduced to with each accompanying course.
Clive Christian is a British luxury perfume house that aspires to create the world's finest perfumes stocked in the world's most prestigious retailers including Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Net-a-Porter and Saks Fifth Avenue to name a few. The brands' signature crown topped bottles have a fascinating story; Clive Christian's predecessor, the Crown Perfumery Company (est. 1872) is the only perfume house that was granted permission to use Queen Victoria's crown atop its bottles and thus the definitive Clive Christian design was born.
Clive Christian perfumes are always designed and released in pairs (sold separately) and the reason lies in one of history's greatest love stories. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert famously created scents for one another as gifts as a symbol of their love, and so Clive Christian perfumes mirror this by carefully intertwining the ingredients in their feminine and masculine fragrances in order to complement each other. Beautiful alone but even better together. The importance of scent to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert was demonstrated in the repetition of orange blossom throughout their marriage, which held such importance to them because Victoria wore a garland of orange blossom in her hair on their wedding day (which at the time was a symbol of betrothal and chastity).
At the end of our journey, we were invited to select our favourite of the four perfumes. Although it was a difficult decision, I eventually selected the beautiful and fascinating Water Lily. My preference when it comes to fragrance leans more towards sweet, green florals, and Water Lily is described by Clive Christian as 'an elegant floral chypre delights with iris and tuberose. Aldehydes and green leaf sparkle with effervescence at the top to compliment the unfurling elegance of the floral heart'. I've been wearing it daily since our journey aboard the Belmond and I'm delighted to report that Water Lily is not only a beautiful and unique scent, but a long lasting one too. Additionally, it would be criminal of me to not briefly touch on the Clive Christian packaging; the outer sleeve and the exquisitely decorated perfume box leave me tempted to keep the bottle tucked away inside so as to have the pleasure of unpacking it over and over again! For now, the perfume sits proudly on my dressing table but the box is certainly one to keep - not just for it's beauty but for travel convenience too!
If like me, you're a lover of luxury fragrance and you're unfamiliar with Clive Christian, I would highly recommend delving into the brand further. Clive Christian are truly an authority on fine perfumes with the history and experience to back it up.
If you’d like to see our journey with Clive Christian, you can take a peek in my ‘Events’ highlight on Instagram.