Juliette has a Gun

It is quite rare, but very possible, that a perfume bottle can make you squeal with delight and make you adamant that you want it, having never actually smelt the fragrance. Juicy Couture ‘Couture’, below, and Vivienne Westwood’s ‘Boudoir’ top the list for me, and no doubt you have your own coveted selection.

Added to the visual appeal of an eye-catching design, the allure of a deliciously decadent name can make a perfume an absolute essential regardless of whether or not the fragrance is one which appeals or would suit you. It is in this vein that I have been raving for days about the new range of Juliette has a Gun fragrances, all created by Romano Ricci (great grandson to Nina Ricci) and none of which I have actually ever sampled. Shakespeare had clearly never beheld a Romano Ricci creation when he wrote -

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

- but then, he was also not an impressionable Fashionista with a magpie-mentality, like the rest of us, so can be excused on this occasion.

The exquisitely eye-catching range consists of three fragrances each with rose as a keynote: Miss Charming (labeled ‘the perfume of a virgin witch’ - hopefully just a dubious French translation) the more mature and elegant ‘Lady Vengeance’ and the classic, cologne inspired ‘Citizen Queen.’ In essence this is the perfume equivalent of Baz Lurhmann’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, transporting the glamour and sensuality of Shakespeare’s heroine into the 21^st century with a dose of kick-ass girlpower and sex appeal rivalling Brangelina in Mr and Mrs Smith.

French Vogue, effortlessly more chic than its British equivalent, has already touted Ricci as a ‘perfume star’ and the brand will no doubt enjoy similar success here in due course. Its edgy, monochrome and fuchsia splattered packaging is rivaled in similarity only (and only slightly) by Jean-Paul Gaultier’s ‘Madame.’ There is certainly a gap in the contemporary fragrance market for innovative designs and quirky conceptual marketing, amidst our beloved, tried and tested ‘Chanel No. 5’ and ‘Anais Anais’.

So here's the rub.

The mood of the three Juliette has a Gun fragrances combines the classic vulnerability of Shakespeare’s heroine (encapsulated in vanilla basenotes and soft florals) with an edgy, daredevil streak of Moroccan rose and wild fruits. Tempted? Me too – Ricci makes a convincing Romeo, and the bottles really are to die for. As yet, the fragrances are not available to buy in the UK, but have sold so well in France that the range has already extended to Belgium, Germany and Italy. Hold tight, Star-cross’d lovers, because secrets like these don’t stay secret for long, especially when they have been created by the self-confessed (or self-proclaimed...?) “offbeat dandy of the perfume world.”

Visit www.juliettehasagun.com for more information (and to drool over the delicious designs).