MEET THE FIND: Michael Donovan of Roullier White interview

Roullier White is a luxury lifestyle Boutique & Perfumery based in East Dulwich, London. I am the owner and have worked in the fine fragrance industry for most of my career so consequently our Perfumery houses some of the finest niche scents from around the world. We also create the Mrs White’s collection of 100% natural cleaning and beauty products all handmade in the UK. These were inspired by a book of household recipes inherited from a great grandmother which showed that you don’t need to use harmful chemicals to keep things clean!

HOW TO ENJOY WEARING PERFUME WHEN YOU TRAVEL:

• If it is summer and the weather is warm or you are travelling to a warm climate, always put your perfume on naked, concentrating on the back and chest. This will mean that the maximum amount of skin has been scented. Then dress and the fabric will hold the scent next to the skin and allow it to gently permeate. This will ensure that the perfume lasts a lot longer than it would otherwise. Then apply to pulse points and the hair at the temples and nape of the neck. Hair is porous and so again it will hold the scent – do not spray all over the hair unless using a specialist hair fragrances as the alcohol will dry the hair.

• Choosing a fragrance to travel with – Choosing a holiday fragrance is one of the greatest olfactory joys imaginable as a marriage of perfume and destination will be fixed in the mind forever, creating a scent-memory that can be relived again and again!

Just as you would never wear a ball-gown to go white-water rafting or short shorts in Thai Temples, there is an etiquette to sensible scenting that will enhance the travel experience and help cement the images of a stunning beach or majestic mountains firmly in the consciousness. Vacation scents should always be jubilant, they should lift the spirits, excite and energise, soothe and take us on a journey.

• Eau De Colognes For Hot Weather - There is nothing quite like the refreshing scent of Eau de Cologne in warm weather. It is uplifting, cleansing and really helps one feel perky in humidity. The origins of Eau de Cologne date all the way back to 1709 when the very first fragrance bearing this title was created, oddly not by a German Perfumer, but by an Italian!

'Farina's Eau de Cologne' become an international sensation almost overnight. In a world without proper sanitation this light, refreshing scent was spritzed onto a linen handkerchief and held directly under the nose to ward off unpleasant odours!

Two of my favourites are 'Agua de Colonnia Concentrada' from Alvarez Gomez in Madrid which dates to 1912. Another recipe that has been preserved and protected by generations of the same family, this is a lemon fragrance like no other, its sherbet fizz dancing from the bottle in a fountain of cooling luminosity. For holidays and hot days in the city it is quite unbeatable and never fails to raise a smile. Likewise 'Hierbas de Ibiza' a cologne inspired by the scents of the beautiful island, uses the natural essences of orange and lemon peel, thyme, lavender, sage, verbena, jasmine and orange blossom.

WHAT IS YOUR BEST TRAVEL TIP:

Stay up until midnight on the first night whenever you travel as it lessons the effects of jet-lag

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE PRODUCT ON THE FIND?

‘Unstung Hero’ – because it is a miracle in a bottle and I never travel without it!

Mrs White's Unstung Hero - £15.00

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE QUOTE?

“And Though It Is Much To Be A Nobleman, It Is More To Be A Gentleman “ Anthony Trollope