A lot of bottle

The nuances of modern perfumery now allow a single drop to evoke an entire landscape. Amie Elizabeth White explores the native houses hitting the right notes

- Amie Elizabeth White

IN 1822, Charles Lillie published The British Perfumer, a 400-page book he hoped would save the country's fragrance industry 'from total annihilation'. He claimed those who 'style themselves Perfumers, as well as most buyers, are entirely ignorant, the former of what they sell, and the latter of what they purchase'. Chapters were categorised by scent family, sectioned to address each ingredient—from ambergris, found in the digestive system of whales, to aromatic seeds. He explained preparation, advising that most should be found in Britain and where to source them if not (orris, for instance, 'comes in the greatest perfection from Florence'). Two centuries later, Lillie would be pleased to find British perfumery is thriving and Nature is a driving force.

'Our starting point was unique,' explains Emily Cameron, who co-founded Somerset perfumery Ffern with her brother, Owen Mears, in 2017. 'We wanted to revive the forgotten art of natural perfumery and create artisanal, seasonal scents.' Inspired by the flora, fruits and folklore of Exmoor, each fragrance illustrates the landscape's shift between seasons, using only raw and natural ingredients hand foraged or sourced from family farms around the world, blended, barrel-aged and bottled in Somerset. The latest, Autumn 25 (£89; www.ffern.co), invites us to an orchard, via apple and pear, blue chamomile, white flowers and oakmoss, evoking warm sunlight spilling across the branches. They are produced for the titular season only—each new scent is named correspondingly—and released on the equinox or solstice. 'Our work is centred around Nature's rhythms, something people are looking for in their lives, a deep connection to Nature and the cycles of the year,' explains Miss Cameron.