An invitation to Bentley’s newest fragrance launch was a joy that ran deeper than expected.
Driving a car you love is so much more than the ‘a’ to ‘b’. It’s the feel of the steering wheel moving from under your palm, the resistance of the accelerator beneath your sole or the slick movement of the gearbox. Sometimes it’s the thrill you get when the mechanic tells you that against all odds, your pernickety classic car flew through its MOT. It’s the bond you feel and the memories you create together over the miles.
It’s the smell of crisp winter air streaming through the window as you drive through the open countryside, the rich aroma of a hot leather seat in the sunshine, the tang of burning fuel. I worry about the environment as much as the next person, nonetheless a part of my soul will die the day I get an electric car. Even its nuanced scent on its first few weeks out of the factory is something that many pay to keep in their car long-term.
Bentley. Beyond The Collection, Magnetic Amber
Walter Owen Bentley once expressed his unremitting delight in travel as “one of man’s fundamental longings”. Magnetic Amber, Bentley’s newest fragrance joins the already-established Beyond Collection, an anthology that takes inspiration from its founder’s love of exploring our world, pinpointing aromatic elements which encapsulate each wandering destination, to bottle the essence of each. When it comes to accompanying accessories, it makes so much sense that scent would be a lynchpin of the lifestyle.
Of the seven fragrances in the collection, four are unisex and three carry feminine notes. The unisex Magnetic Amber hails from the nose of Grasse-born Master Perfumer Karine Dubreuil Sereni, who also created the womanish scents of Beyond, unintentionally giving this new addition a gentle imprint of strong and smooth femininity.
Bentley. Beyond The Collection
With this new scent, we visit Panama where inspiration is derived from its rare white amber deposits. Sunlit climes are shared through Italian bergamot and Moroccan rosemary, offering verdant herbaceous qualities to the opening notes. A heart of olibanum and cardamom adds a woody, resinous heat tinged with citric freshness, imbuing the wearer with the reflections of long lingering balmy evenings. At its deepest missive opens two South American native notes with a heady Madagascan vanilla and the tonka bean, giving a smokey addictive quality to the scent which leads to a dry down of clary sage Ambroxan, bringing creaminess and a touch of salinity.
Magnetic Amber leads on from the initial trio of unisex fragrances, with Acapulco, Mexico illustrated by Exotic Musk giving fresh top notes of saline waters, flowing to a depth of tobacco ambrane with a spicy and woody heart from tonka bean. Java, Indonesia, is symbolised by Wild Vetiver carries layered woody tones of amberwood, birch and vetiver, lifted with citrusy bergamot, verbena and pepper.
Bentley. Beyond The Collection
I keep finding my return to Goa, India, depicted by the Majestic Cashmere. A lingering sweet musk of ambrette and incense opens at the initial spritz, with a second skin scent of orris and orcanox giving a rich woody musk, complemented by the spicy florality of labdanum and patchouli.
The feminine arch of the collection reaches further still across the globe, exploring indigenous blossoms that encapsulate the feel of each new city. Radiant Osmanthus for Kyoto, Japan, to Vibrant Hibiscus for Seoul South Korea.
Mellow Heliotrope radiates the charm of Lima, Peru, bringing a powdery romantic scent into the realms of seduction. The scent opens with forward notes of piquant blackcurrant bud and pink pepper, moving to a youthful strawberry-laced heart with a floral burst of violet and its namesake, heliotrope. A lasting impression is created with the finish of decadent praline and captivating vanilla, rounding off the fragrance with gourmand features which remain gently suggestive below the flowered overtones.
Each element of the flacon is a nod to the automobile design, each angle of the faceted glass reminiscent of the Continental GT, the inimitable wings engraved onto metal shoulders and hand-stitched leatherwork adorns each cap. All that remains is moving to a refillable tank for each bottle, akin to each car.
