The Journal

Journal

Notes from the House on fragrance, country life and the English way of doing things.

Period photograph of S. F. Edge and his riding mechanic in their Napier, number 45, among a crowd before the 1902 Gordon Bennett Cup

October 2026

Why British racing green is green: a short history

British racing green began with a green Napier in 1902 and a race held in Ireland in 1903. A short history of the colour, and of the fragrance that borrowed its name.

Close view of oakmoss, a pale grey-green branching lichen, growing on bark

October 2026

What is a chypre? The fragrance family explained

A chypre sets bright citrus against a dark base of moss and resin. Here is where the family began, what it smells like and why it has had to change.

A dark green open-topped motor car on a gravel drive beneath a great oak on a misty autumn morning, fallen leaves along the verge and parkland fading into fog.

October 2026

The Founding Hundred: a place at the beginning of a new British perfume house

The first hundred people to register take numbered founding places. What a place brings, what it costs (nothing) and what happens next.

A clear cut-glass scent flask with a silver cap, made in Ireland around 1800, lying on its side on a pale grey ground

October 2026

How to make perfume last longer, and where to spray it

Where to spray it, how much to wear and the small habits that help a fragrance stay. Most of it comes down to warm skin, good cloth and leaving well alone.

A rain-soaked footpath forking across a green meadow beneath autumn trees on a grey day

October 2026

Petrichor, and the perfume that smells like rain

The smell of rain on dry ground was named in 1964, by two scientists writing in Nature. What petrichor is, and what a perfume that smells like rain can honestly offer.