Views from a Paris window   +  review

Stella McCartney [Nude]

Nude is a fragrance that I've mentioned in passing several times. This gorgeous Stella McCartney fragrance deserves a post of its own. Nude is the archetypal modern rose fragrance. It's soft and powdery and lavish.

If you don't like rose fragrances, don't give up on them until you've tried Nude. It's contradictory, but Nude is both rich and also beautifully gauzey.

Rose is a fragrance that's familiar to all of us, whether you realise it or not. Rose perfumes, soaps, washes and room fragrances abound. But frequently they are done very badly. Recently I tried the Cath Kidston own label rose fragrance — it should be called Acid Rose. Grim.

I often read the word description 'sparkling' about modern fragrances. Nude typifies the sparkling trend. It's almost a single note fragrance, polished into absolute purity. A tinge of citrus and peony help bring the rose to life, in the same way that champagne is meant to make strawberries taste even better.

I didn't expect to like this fragrance. I don't think I would choose to wear this every day — but it's a solid part of my perfume wardrobe alongside sister modern florals, Fleur du Matin by Miller Harris and Narciso Rodriguez For Her.