It's that time of year – a time to rack your brain trying to find the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday list. How will you make certain your gift stands above the rest?
Maybe you can follow the example from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). To help the Queen mark her diamond jubilee in fragrant style, the RSC has extracted compounds from across the Commonwealth to create a unique scent.
When I first learned of this, I pictured smells of damp earth and salty sea air. I envisioned scents of crowded pubs and fish and chips. Then I thought, ewwww. . . .who would want to smell like that?
The Queen needn't worry. According to an article in The Guardian, chemist and perfumer Angela Stavrevska, of CPL Aromas, the British-based international fragrance house that created the scent, said: "The perfume was inspired by the classic fragrances available at the time of the coronation. Sensual florals were popular during this era, as were fresh and lively green accords, both of which feature in Adamas."
Queen Elizabeth II isn't the first monarch to have a scent custom made. The Guardian notes that Queen Elizabeth I was said to have doused herself in a blend of musk, damaskwater, rosewater and sugar, which was boiled for five hours then strained. She must not have been allergic to bees.
Read The Guardian article to learn more.
Traci Purdum
Senior Digital Editor
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