Penhaligon’s

Just because we’ll never be royals (it don’t run in our blood), doesn’t mean we can’t smell like them!
I have not one British bone in my body*, so it was news to me that Penhaligon’s is the official perfumer of The Royal Family.
I was actually introduced to the brand by House of Dandy on Tras Street. When I attended their opening night, I fell in love with Quercus, the liquid soap they had in their bathroom. I just couldn’t get enough of its citrus-​y woods-​y smell. When I found out they had a shop in Ion, I hightailed my way over there and didn’t blink an eye as I dropped $ 50++ on my own bottle of Quercus Liquid Hand Wash. Besides my unhealthy obsession with all things Quercus, I also liked their Juniper Sling perfume, as it smelled exactly like a gin and tonic. It came on a bit strong at first (like all gin, no tonic) but after a while I started getting the sweet aromas of orange and brown sugar.
They also have lotions, soaps, and body washes, if perfumes and colognes aren’t your thing. I find their sales associates very approachable, informative, and pleasant, so ask away and they’ll set you up nice!
You’ll definitely drop some ca$h money here, but sometimes you gotta spend money to make money. Why not smell like royalty while you’re at it?
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*I’m pretty sure I’ve told you this, but I’ll say it again: When presented with those Christmas crackers, I proceeded to open one by myself, not realizing it was customary to break it with a partner. Obviously, this proves that the American ideals of freedom and independence run in my blood.

The light trails of scent that drifted out of the shop was what beckoned me the very first time. If you have ever been to Io, you would know that the shopping complex uses a distinctive fragrance to perfume the space so the sudden change in scent caught my attention.
When you step into the shop, the dark wood paneling with glass bottles lined neatly atop catching and reflecting the lights overhead immediately creates a whimsical setting. This place really entices you to purchase something — just look at their brilliant product packaging!
The service staff are really friendly and will be always be more than willing to let you go a little mad testing out their range of perfumes till your nose feels stuffed. The fragrances often complexly layered with various undertones and overtones. You can also opt for a personalised session where the experts will help craft and decide what is the most suitable scent for you. Talk about opulence.
I got my sister a set of candles last Christmas. Infused with the scent of various types of tea, light any of them up and the room smells gloriously of Earl Grey or Assam. Great buy if you aren’t gg to flip out paying so much for wax.

British perfumer Penhaligon’s has a store in Singapore! I am such a sucker for pretty packaging and gorgeous scents. The shop itself is gorgeous, and sells candles based on their scents for around $ 50 too.
I’m a big fan of their fragrances, and the sales assistant at the Singapore store was very patient, taking me through each scent to explain the notes, and telling me to take my time to decide on a scent. I left without buying anything, but he remembered me when I came back, and brought out the scents I’d selected last time.
A small bottle costs around $ 130 which to me is a pretty OK price, although it’s cheaper in London given the current exchange rate.
I finally settled on 2 100ml bottles of Endymion and Opus 1870 («spicier» scent), and a candle with the scent of Endymion, and my friend got a bottle of their newer scent «Juniper Sling» which smells equally gorgeous, and according to the website is: «a crisp cocktail shot of gin with the freshness of juniper, cool measures of angelica and brandy and a beating libertine heart of black pepper, cardamom, soft leather and orris».
I love Endymion’s base notes of leather and mask contrasted by the lighter mandarin and bergamot top notes, and middle notes of lavender and sage… gorgeous!!!
Ok, so check this place out for gorgeous scents, and get someone a perfect gift.