Man In The Mirror

One of the joys of this job is learning about new brands - and one of my favourites fragrance discoveries of 2025 is Nosu. I met the co-founders, Jacob Grainger & Lucy Webster at the Barnes Fragrance Fair earlier in the year and it was a pleasure to re-connect with Jacob recently for the podcast.Jacob is the co-founder and self-taught perfumer of Nosu, a British indie perfume house. There are currently 3 fragrances in the collection, made in North London and each one is accompanied by an original artwork created by Lucy, inspired by the textures and themes within the scent. Together, these elements blur the lines between the visual and the olfactory worlds, offering a full sensory experience.Lucy & Jacob are part of a new wave of talented indie brands who are doing things their own way and working collaboratively. In line with that ethos, Nosu are taking part in the first ‘Pop Up Perfumery’ where various brands will take over a temporary space at 69 York Street, London W1 from 13-16th Nov 2025, alongside Eau de Boujee, Soul Notes and Sainte Cellier. https://www.instagram.com/thepopupperfumery/They have also created a bespoke scent for the ‘Passengers’ exhibition at Parallel LDN Gallery, which is running until the end of November in Devonshire Square in London. https://www.instagram.com/parallellondon/Jacob mentioned the following products/services from his morning and evening routines:Tocobo - Moisturiserhttps://www.boots.com/tocobo-multi-ceramide-cream-50ml-10359710The Ouai - The Wave Salt Sprayhttps://theouai.co.uk/products/wave-spray?variant=54933620228478George Northwood Barbers - Shoreditch, Londonhttps://www.georgenorthwood.com/You can find Nosu on Instagram at:https://www.instagram.com/nosuparfum/?hl=enBrand website:https://www.nosuparfum.com/Nosu Fragrances are available from the following stores:https://www.instagram.com/roullierwhite/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/parfumledanceuk/?hl=en- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -You can ‘tip’ me via the link below. This really helps me with the podcast running costs (it’s a costly business!): https://ko-fi.com/maninthemirrorYou can follow me @maninthemirrorpod on IG:https://www.instagram.com/maninthemirrorpod/On TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@yousmellgreatwhatisit————————————————————————————————Thanks to Anders Sundberg for ‘Man in the Mirror’ sound mixing and production and Andy Goff @goff_andy for the artwork. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Man in the Mirror went overseas for the first time last month! I was the guest of the Santa Eulalia Perfumes brand, which is part of the stunning Santa Eulalia department store in Barcelona, Spain. The original shop was founded in 1843 and today, on a different site, is the premium multi-brand fashion store in the city.Santa Eulalia stock some of the finest designer brands including Tom Ford, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Chloe, Jil Sander to name just a few. They also create their own made-to-measure suits, menswear and tailoring under the Santa Eulalia name. Luis Sans is the President of store and the fragrance house, he’s the fourth generation of his family to be custodians of the brand and he very kindly agreed to take part in ‘Man in The Mirror’ in September 2025. Santa Eulalia Perfumes represent the essence of Barcelona - showcasing both the traditional and the cosmopolitan sides of the city. There is a new intense, more powerful collection of some of the classic fragrances under the ‘Forte’ banner. They are available in some of the best perfume boutiques globally, as well as in the Santa Eulalia shop itself. In the UK the range is in Liberty. Luis mentioned the following products from his morning and evening routines:Proraso - Shaving Soap:https://proraso.com/en/products/shaving/Santa Eulalia Perfumes - 175, Obscuro, Marinis:https://www.santaeulalia.com/en-gb/collections/perfumes-santa-eulalia/perfumesIn the UK:https://www.libertylondon.com/uk/brands/s/santa-eulalia/You can find Santa Eulalia Perfumes on Instagram at:https://www.instagram.com/santaeulaliaperfumes/Santa Eulalia Store on IG:https://www.instagram.com/santaeulalia1843/Brand website:https://www.santaeulaliaperfumes.com/en/(PR trip) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -You can ‘tip’ me via the link below. This really helps me with the podcast running costs (it’s a costly business!): https://ko-fi.com/maninthemirrorYou can follow me @maninthemirrorpod on IG:https://www.instagram.com/maninthemirrorpod/On TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@yousmellgreatwhatisit————————————————————————————————Thanks to Anders Sundberg for ‘Man in the Mirror’ sound mixing and production, Andy Goff @goff_andy for the artwork and Andy Gilbert (ATRX) @andygilbert_atrx for the theme music.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marc-Antoine Barrois is a guest I’ve been wanting to feature on the podcast for a long while, so I was thrilled when we got the opportunity to spend some time together this summer at the brand’s flagship UK store in central London. Marc-Antoine is a couturier, as well as the Founder & Artistic Director of his eponymous Maison. He designs beautiful tuxedos, crisp white shirts and jewellery, but is equally well known for his collection of fragrances, created in collaboration with perfumer and friend Quentin Bisch. The perfumes have won countless awards, been critically acclaimed and found a loyal and ever-growing audience. I can’t think of any perfume that gets me as many comments and compliments as ‘Ganymede’ from Marc-Antoine Barrois.The house is still independent and has a dedicated team (including Marc-Antoine’s younger brother, another Quentin!) who carefully plot the brand’s course and slowly, but surely introduce new products and new markets. Here in the UK there is a must-see shop in the Piccadilly Arcade that gives a tantalising glimpse into the ‘Marc-Antoine Barrois universe’ - complete with an upside down blue rabbit in the window! They also have a presence in Harrods and Selfridges. Marc-Antoine mentioned the following products from his morning and evening routines:Augustinus Bader - Hand Creamhttps://augustinusbader.com/uk/en/the-hand-treatmentB683 Fragrance - Marc-Antoine Barroishttps://marcantoinebarrois.com/en-gb/products/b683You can find Marc-Antoine Barrois on Instagram at:https://www.instagram.com/marcantoinebarrois/Marc-Antoine’s personal IG:https://www.instagram.com/mabarrois/Brand website:https://marcantoinebarrois.com/en-gb- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -You can ‘tip’ me via the link below. This really helps me with the podcast running costs (it’s a costly business!): https://ko-fi.com/maninthemirrorYou can follow me @maninthemirrorpod on IG:https://www.instagram.com/maninthemirrorpod/On TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@yousmellgreatwhatisit————————————————————————————————Thanks to Anders Sundberg for ‘Man in the Mirror’ sound mixing and production, Andy Goff @goff_andy for the artwork and Andy Gilbert (ATRX) @andygilbert_atrx for the theme music.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that brands and products are a result of life choices and decisions that may have seemed insignificant at the time. One such decision led Craig Andrade to leave work early to attend a candle making workshop. He fell in love with the craft, the creativity and the connection with olfaction and he decided to make a change and quit his corporate law role. Craig’s ‘Act II’ began when he studied perfumery at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery and eventually he founded his own brand, Raconteur in Australia - focusing on native botanicals. There are now three stores in Australia and the brand is stocked globally, including at Bloom in London. Craig says:“My perfumery practice straddles beauty, art, history, science, botany, geography, and physiology. It comprises rich layers of storytelling and meaning. My focus is on making natural fragrances that combine these elements and provide both pleasure and purpose.”Craig mentioned the following products from his morning and evening routines:Sodashi - Cleanser Clay, Face Polish and Sleek Moisturiserhttps://www.sodashi.co.uk/products/Cancer Council of Australia - Sunscreenhttps://www.cancercouncilshop.org.au/collections/sunscreenRaconteur fragrances are available here in the UK at Bloom - and via the Raconteur website globally. https://bloomperfume.co.uk/collections/raconteurYou can find Raconteur on Instagram at:https://www.instagram.com/the_rac_on_teur/Raconteur website:https://theraconteur.co/- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -You can ‘tip’ me via the link below. This really helps me with the podcast running costs (it’s a costly business!): https://ko-fi.com/maninthemirrorYou can follow me @maninthemirrorpod on IG:https://www.instagram.com/maninthemirrorpod/On TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@yousmellgreatwhatisit————————————————————————————————Thanks to Anders Sundberg for ‘Man in the Mirror’ sound mixing and production, Andy Goff @goff_andy for the artwork and Andy Gilbert (ATRX) @andygilbert_atrx for the theme music.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode 3 in the new season. I’m following up one perfumer with another, this time a young, exciting perfumer who is really making waves at the moment. It’s Florian Gallo, who works for the fragrance house DSM-Firmenich. We spoke particularly in relation to a beautiful fragrance Florian has created for luxury Italian brand Brunello Cucinelli called ‘Sofio Zenit’, a study in white fig and aromatics that’s been a huge favourite of mine all summer. It’s part of the’ ‘Icanti Poetici’ collection from the brand which also features fragrances from Alberto Morillas (last week’s guest!) as well as Quentin Bisch and Jordi Fernandez.Florian mentioned the following products from his morning and evening routines:DOP - Douche Creme - Bonbon Colahttps://www.naturalfrenchsoap.com/dop-douche-creme-bonbon-cola-250mlSofio Zenit from Brunello Cucinelli is out now:https://www.harrods.com/en-ua/p/brunello-cucinelli-soffio-zenit-parfum-100ml-000000000007732451You can find Brunello Cucinelli on Instagram at:https://www.instagram.com/brunellocucinelli_brand/Florian Gallo is on Instagram at:https://www.instagram.com/floriangallo_perfumer/- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -You can ‘tip’ me via the link below. This really helps me with the podcast running costs (it’s a costly business!): https://ko-fi.com/maninthemirrorYou can follow me @maninthemirrorpod on IG:https://www.instagram.com/maninthemirrorpod/On TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@yousmellgreatwhatisit————————————————————————————————Thanks to Anders Sundberg for ‘Man in the Mirror’ sound mixing and production, Andy Goff @goff_andy for the artwork and Andy Gilbert (ATRX) @andygilbert_atrx for the theme music.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.