In which we meet Early Modern, Gallivant, Kingdom Scotland and 4160 Tuesdays

Early Modern

I stopped briefly at Early Modern and spoke to Clara Weale, owner, CEO, perfumer and founder of this small and beautifully done brand. My standout favourite was Ex-Libris, inspired by Clara’s frequent trips to the Central Library. It’s everything a book lover could wish for: polished wood, dusty pages, vetiver and patchouli. Lisa bought a full size bottle of this last year. I’m hoping she’ll get bored of it and give it to me, but so far, crickets.

Gallivant

Always a pleasure to stop and chat wth Nick from Gallivant. He is also in demand at Barnes and we managed a fly-by wave and big smiles. I’ve had to use last year’s photo as his stand was so in demand, I couldn’t get a photo of him NOT being surrounded. The city of Dubai may be waning in popularity, but Gallivant Dubai extrait de parfum was attracting much interest. My favourites from Gallivant are Bukhara (that iris!), Tel Aviv (it made me want to go there), and Gdansk, but I would happily wear them all. NB the photo is from Barnes 2025. There was barely a gap in the crowd this year, and that’s what I like to see.

Kingdom Scotland

One more stop before I needed fresh air and a duck pond, and I alighted on Kingdom Scotland, and its founder Imogen Russon-Taylor. Imogen has been working on a fifth perfume which is taking longer than expected. This is a good sign. It means [perfectionism and slow, perfumery. I’m here for it and happy to wait. My favourites are Kingdom Botanica and Metamorphic.  You can read my reviews of them here.    

4160 Tuesdays

Always great to see Team Tuesdays at Barnes! I checked with Nick Randell and asked if his wife, Sarah McCartney was actually cloned. Surely one person can’t do all she does! The woman herself wasn’t at the stand as she was teaching a class in the other building. This was a great opportunity to try the fragrances I had been reading about on the Facebook group of late. Lavender Rice, Flawed Fern and No Mow May, as well as a sneak preview of Blaze of Glory: These Are The Good Days. I loved them all but can’t give a lasting review as I wore them all on my skin and have since washed daily. I did write them on blotters too, but they have faded. The one that cut through everything with its astringency and fresh airy fairy feel, however, was Lavender Rice.  This is lavender that is dewy, fresh, bright and uplifting. I’m a big advocate of lavender, which gets an undeserved O*d L*day label far too often. It’s actually indispensable and is in far more fragrances than people realise. No Mow May came a close second, with its grasses both green and dried and a warm golden feel to it, like a spring evening when everything’s either in bud or in bed.

I did finally catch up with Sarah McCartney after the class she had finished taking. We were both all peopled out by this time, so I made a future promise, which I will KEEP this year, to visit the studio and spend proper time sniffing around and drinking tea. She’d been up and at ’em since 9a.m, like the other stallholders and participants and stewards. I’ve no idea how everyone remained so adorable when they probably really needed a nap and silence. I know I did. Still, it’s only once a year, I always tell myself on Christmas Night. The effort is always, always worth it.

Will I see YOU at Barnes next year? I’m already looking forward to it.