The excitable British weather keeps tantalizing us with unexpected bouts of sunshine & when spring and summer do finally start in earnest & the cherry blossoms in London have disappeared, it’s Sampaquita that comes into its own. A favourite of my favourite actress Emma Thompson, it’s a scent that I also recommend for younger customers & brides to be.

 Rather than post my own review of the fragrance, here is one from Bois de Jasmin soon after it was launched in 2005.

“Sampaquita is an olfactory version of a gelato on a hot day in Sienna. Not because it is gourmand in any way, but because it makes me feel happy and rejuvenated, almost giddy. The top notes are a Venetian lace of citrus notes, with lychee providing not the commonly familiar pineapple-rose scent of a fruit, but a lemony burst that lychee essence tends to give. Then the lemony melody softens into a floral medley. Here, water lily note is what I notice the most, paired wonderfully with sweet spring like freesia and lush jasmine sambac. The dry down is slightly earthy, with a hint of musk.”

And another from Perfume Posse

“…Give it a lead time of 20 minutes or so and it becomes a green, grassy (yes) soaring thing – the soft green sweetness of magnolia in the rain, a juicy white-grape-like smell I presume is the lychee fruit (sorry, I have no idea what they smell like), and hints of the pulpy freshness of freesia and water lily. A little online research shows that sampaquita is more commonly spelled sampaguita, and it is a type of jasmine. All these notes rest in a base of vetiver and weedy ambrette that create the illusion of floating above a tropical bower. Sampaquita, as you can guess, would be a perfect summer scent; it’s got sillage but not the sort that’s going to cause people on the subway to move away from you in disgust when it’s 90 degrees outside. But Sampaquita is also perfect for right now – when it’s 39 degrees and sleeting, and your boots are muddy, and it feels like spring is a long way off.   Eight hours later I’m still floating in a subtle, alluring garden of pleasure….”

The Good Web Guide is holding a fantastic competition to win our lovely Belle of the Ball Gift Box which includes a bottle of Eau de Parfum and a Replenishing Body Lotion in Sampaquita. And what’s more, anyone can enter!

Belle of the Ball Gift Box could be yours!