The Spritz List: March

From new releases to rediscovered classics, here are a few fragrant highlights that have piqued my interest over the past month

Hermessence Musc Pallida by Hermès

Musc Pallida originally joined the Hermessence line back in 2018 as an eau de toilette. Now, the house’s perfumer Christine Nagel has revisited the formulation and upped its concentration to an eau de parfum. As you might guess from the name, the result is a soft, skin-like perfume that showcases the notes of musk (musc) and iris (pallida). Dreamy and sophisticated, the scent opens with a burst of powdery-floral iris (think petals, not root) that then mellows into a wonderfully warm-but-not-stifling, suede-like, creamy musk. Perhaps the most notable aspect of this scent is Nagel’s use of aldehydes, which keeps the iris away from “vintage makeup” territory, and instead verges clean, light and fresh. Plus, it has impressive longevity that once sprayed, lasts for hours.

£300 for 100ml at hermes.com

Salt by Perfumer H

Earlier this week, I stopped by Lyn Harris’ Perfumer H outpost on Chiltern Street in London to acquaint myself with the brand’s full line (more of that to come). There are so many of Harris’ fragrances I love, but one that especially resonated with me on this trip was Salt. This is a perfect springtime scent with top notes of coriander, rosemary and white sage bringing an initial vegetal bitterness, followed by cool-spicy cardamom and fresh-floral rose and angelica, then evolving into cedar, patchouli and orris root. Imagine you’ve rented a beautiful cottage by the sea. It’s twilight and you are raising a glass of Cynar and tonic to your lips, a herb garden to one side of you, a forest to the other, and a bracing sea-breeze chilling your cheeks.

£160 for 50ml at perfumerh.com

Portal by Kingdom Scotland

Another superb spring scent, this time more on the warm botanical side. Inspired by Scotland’s ancient forests, Portal is herbaceous and woody balanced with zesty-fresh bergamot and dry, earthy vetiver and oakmoss. Classic, cologne-like and infinitely wearable at this time of the year when I crave a little comfort on a cool, rainy morning.

£140 for 50ml at kingdomscotland.com

Banana Rush by Juliette Has A Gun

This is a whole lot of fun. According to most trend forecasters, banana is set to be one of the big notes of 2026, and boy is it here in spades. An initial blast of deliciously ripe banana is given intense, sugary depth from maple syrup, opening into a sweet tropical two-some of coconut and frangipani flower, then creamy vanilla. I’m not usually a gourmand guy, but what I liked about Banana Rush was the drydown, which increasingly gave off the vibe of freshly bruleed brown sugar on top of a banana cream pie. Something I’m looking forward to spritzing on my next baking-hot beach day.

£100 for 50ml at spacenk.com

Pool by Tsu Lange Yor

Speaking of feeling the rush (geddit?), last week I also made sure to check out the pop-up for Troye Sivan’s brand, Tsu Lange Yor, at Space NK on Oxford Street. Of the six fragrances on offer (you’ll also find candles, cashmere jumpers and beautiful oil burners as part of the brand), I found Pool incredibly intriguing. At its heart is a mouth-watering note of tomato leaf, piquant and vegetal, given a wonderful watery greenness from notes of cucumber and lychee. Cool spice from tangy red pepper and coriander are tempered by juicy raspberry and bergamot. I suggest you dip a toe in. Quite possibly calling it as my scent of the summer.

£126 for 50ml at tsu-lange-yor.au (or at Space NK)