Winter 22

The light here is soft, pearl-like; a silvery white fading to rose and palest lilac. To the east, dark green fields run into blue-grey cliffs, dropping steeply to pebbled beaches. To the west lies a sandy bay, the waves lapping blue to the shore. Running out to sea is the famous Cobb - seen from afar, a thin line of black.

Artists and writers have long flocked to Lyme Regis, drawn by the colour and the light. But it is the air which sings on a winter’s day - clear and sweet. Layered with both land and sea, it is this scent we have captured for Winter 22.

First to the warmer notes and the welcome heat of winter sunshine. For this we turned to cardamom and clove bud - rich and spiced - and married them with patchouli and sandalwood, both earthy and a little musky, echoing the warm stone of the harbour wall.

The valley that surrounds Lyme carries with it a unique scent. Deepest green with dense, darkling winter woods, we found we could conjure it with cedar, balsam fir, oakmoss and marjoram - woody, with a touch of mint.

Pooling in the bay before being washed out to sea, these resinous valley notes mingle with the fresh, clear air. In conjuring such freshness we looked to Winter 21 for inspiration, returning to the cool palette of lemon rind, lavender and peppermint.

In midwinter there are few flowers to be seen, and yet at Lyme we sensed a trace of them in the air, a sweetness we couldn’t quite determine. We found our answer in sweet orange and jasmine, a pairing we had used in Winter 19, our very first Ffern fragrance.

Onto the rounded, juicy notes of the sweet orange, tempered by the delicacy of the jasmine, we layered mimosa - honeyed and gently floral. This new accord brought the moreish, soft, sweet facet we had been searching for.