Wanderlust scents

While hopping on a plane might not feel like an option right now, Grazia’s Joely Walker has a fragrant solution for disrupted travel plans

with holiday plans on hold for the foreseeable, we’re looking elsewhere for our wanderlust fix. Enter perfumes that, when you close your eyes and inhale, transport your mind away from the humdrum of the everyday (if even for a moment), offering up an instant feelgood mood-boost. You know the kind – those scents that immediately remind you of that trip of a lifetime, that snap you back into holiday mode faster than you can say ‘cocktail hour’.

‘It’s truly fascinating how a scent can transport you to a specific location or moment in time,’ says Vilhelm Parfumerie founder Jan Ahlgren. ‘The brain’s smell centre – the olfactory bulb – is directly connected to the amygdala and hippocampus, so the smell of something can immediately trigger a detailed memory or intense emotion.’ See! Our primal brain biology proves a new summer fragrance can take you on a trip back to more carefree times. And with so many new spritzes taking inspiration from locations – from vibrant cities to the sun-baked beaches of California – there’s never been a better time to take a scented holiday. Spritz this way…