Because there’s no place quite like the Great British high street – from its niche independents, to seasonal Pop-Ups and those expansive yet elegant department stores – Because Magazine is on a mission to champion the bricks-and-mortar of London in all its glory. Each week, we’ll beeline to the rails of our favourite retailers to scope out the must-have pieces and in-store exclusives that are more than worth making an effort for. This week, we're on Regent Street, discovering the art of scent at Liberty London.
Because all the same as lusting over the beauty of a bespoke gown or the intricacies of an ear stacking story is our appreciation for the power of scent. Something so magical can be found in not just the potions, but the bottles too – of which are beautiful representations of craftsmanship.
A place to revel in such wonderment is at Liberty London, who play host to their very own perfume department packed with all the scents under the sun. Experimental, classic and centuries-old recipes can be found in their (exceptionally large) range, but what unites them all is their quality.
From top, base and heart notes, there’s so much to learn and explore with the art of perfumery. Intrigued by the rich blend of history found in Liberty London’s Beauty Hall, we took to Regent Street to meet Beauty Buyer, Emily Bell, and discover her favourites in the emporium of aroma...
What... Veronique Gabai, Souvenir de Tunisie
Because… “Veronique took inspiration for her beautiful French brand from where she grew up: Cote d’Azur. As you can see, there’s a lot of blues and golds on the bottles. The gold represents the beautiful golden sun and all the different shades of blue are the blues that you see in the sea, the sky, the glassware, anything, it’s so stunning. With each of the fragrances in the collection, Veronique Gabai has ensured that they can be built on top of one another and mixed together. My favourite scent is Souvenir de Tunisie – it’s a white, floral fragrance, that’s very elegant and beautiful. The aroma is predominantly orange blossom and at the base, you’ve got almonds, which represent the sweetness of the Mediterranean bakeries.”
What... Heretic Parfum, Florgasm
Because... “Heretic Parfum is a brand that I found in LA a couple of years ago – Douglas Little is the creator and perfumer of the brand. He has an intention to really push the boundaries of fragrance and he does just that, with each of his fragrances coming in at 100% natural. What inspired the scent was his question of what a flower would smell like if it had an orgasm… as you can imagine it’s floral – intensely floral – and it has really heady sort of white notes and tuberose. It’s amazing. As you can tell, just from the name of some of his fragrance, he really pushes the boundaries. The way he makes his fragrance goes back to how we used to make fragrance hundreds of years ago. Even how he’s making them is really different from what everyone else is doing in the industry at the moment. The juice is actually milky and this is deliberate. When they were making the fragrance, naturally, it’s got a really high alcohol content. When they tried to bring it down, it made the juice milky but they actually decided to keep it because obviously it’s cheeky and the name of the fragrance is Florgasm. What was a mistake turned into a genius play on the words for the fragrance, and again, shows that he definitely does push the boundaries in the world of perfumery”. 
What… D.S. & Durga, Burning Barbershop
Because… “D.S. & Durga are a Brooklyn-based brand and they’re like a dream team husband and wife duo. David, a musician by trade, is a self-taught perfumer and his wife, Kavi, is an architect by trade. The fragrance I’ve chosen to speak about is Burning Barbershop. In the late 1800s in New York, there was a fire in a barbershop which caused the building to completely burn down. When they went to the ruins after the fire, a half-empty cracked bottle of cologne was found and it had a little bit of juice left in it: this is where the story around the fragrance came from. The Burning Barbershop is meant to smell like the aftermath of the fire and the remaining juice that was left in the found bottle. When you smell it, it genuinely smells like a burning barbershop… It’s amazing and such a clever idea!”
Support bricks-and-mortar: visit Liberty London at Regent Street, Soho, London W1B 5AH, or shop online via Libertylondon.com.
Unveil more of London's brick-and-mortor:
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