Harrods Salon de Parfums

An olfactory wonderland, devoted to the world’s finest, rarest scents

In reaction to the glorious sound of scent bottles clinking out of its ground-floor perfume hall, on Wednesday October 8 Harrods is opening the Salon de Parfums, a 5,000sq ft sixth-floor olfactory wonderland dedicated to the world’s finest and rarest scents.

Eleven of the leading names in perfumery have been chosen to have dedicated brand boutiques: By Kilian, Chanel, Clive Christian, Creed, Dior, Guerlain, Henry Jacques (first picture), Roja Dove, Tom Ford, Xerjoff and Ex Nihilo. The idea behind this “Burlington Arcade” concept, though doors shall not divide them, is that there is enough room between the areas to avoid cross-pollination of the notes of the perfumes.

The fragrance gallery (second picture) is a room within the Salon de Parfums that features selectively curated brands, each with exclusive-to-the-store and limited-edition scents, including Harrods Emerald Stars (£350 for 50ml, fourth picture) from niche Italian brand Xerjoff and Dead of Night by ERH1012 (£390 for 20ml, third picture). The room itself will be majestic in feel, with chandeliers, architectural columns and elegant grey decor. Other ranges to be found include those from Thomas Kosmala, an independent London perfumer, Dolce & Gabbana’s Velvet Collection and innovative marque Bond No 9, which has eight scents inspired by Harrods itself among its geographically themed collection.

“We will help customers find their signature scent, but we will have a number of brands that will offer bespoke fragrance,” says Mia Collins, head of beauty at Harrods. Examples of the latter include the houses of Henry Jacques and Roja Dove. In its position on the sixth floor, is this scent heaven – or heaven sent?