Winter 26

With the wind we howl along the headland. Flicking pale sand from the beaches and salt spray from the waves. Out at sea, a boat leaps from crest to crest, too close in for comfort.

For Winter 26 we placed a lighthouse on that headland. Safe harbour in a storm, its bright light capable of changing fate.

We began with the sea, reaching for its depths with oakmoss, spiced cardamom and cool violet leaf. Calling up the cold, we blended eucalyptus and peppermint, singing in the nose like wind.

The moon is rising in our scene, fitful between clouds and edged with blue. Timut pepper captured the quality of this light, sparkling on the surface.

Clinging to rocks on the shore is black tang seaweed - or bladderwrack - a herb of protection for sailors, echoing our lighthouse. Ours is foraged from the pink granite rocks of Brittany in northern France, then dried and distilled using a solvent extraction process. Unusual in fragrance, our seaweed has a distinctive, almost umami facet. Here it calls to mind that essential rugged element of Britain’s coast.

Above the tideline is driftwood, brought in by other storms. Treasures for the lighthouse keeper, burning blue in winter bonfires. We blended cedar, sandalwood and fir - a little dry, a little earthy - to underscore the tang of the seaweed.

We have our boat on the waves and the climbing moon, and ice and salt in the air… but how to create the beam of our lighthouse, that thread of vital warmth?

After many iterations we found it in golden mimosa. Its scent is warm and rounded, a honeyed floral that can buoy up a whole fragrance. We drop it in - and the light swings round, sending our boat to safer currents. Passing by the headland, turning into the harbour.