‘Trust me when I say that this might be my favourite fragrance of all time – and it’s under £80’
Date: 2024-10-28
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I’m yet to find a Merit product that I’m not a huge fan of, and the latest is no exception. Since the brand launched around four years ago, the zero-fuss but chic AF products have quickly made their way into my makeup bag full-time.
As for the perfume they’ve just launched, Retrospect, it won’t just be firmly in my handbag, but every beauty editor’s around the country.
Having become a fragrance fanatic over the past few years, it’s often the first place I’ll head to in a department store – and sniff out the latest scents. I’ve also become quite accustomed to something slightly different – and nothing like that usual Santal 33 from Le Labo or Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris’s Baccarat Rouge 540 that so many others seem to be obsessed with.
I like something masculine with a hint of the woods, floral but not overly sweet… so you can only guess how nervous I was about receiving a fragrance from the internet that I couldn’t smell first hand.
But how wrong was I – and now fully understand why it had a waitlist of over 10,000.
Retrospect L’Extrait de Parfum
A rich, evolving scent (30ml) that starts with soft, clean notes, moves to a subtle floral heart, and finishes with a warm base of musk, vanilla, and moss.
Buy Now for £79 from meritRetrospect is a rich, multi-layered fragrance that took over two years and more than 200 tries to perfect – not to mention it’s Merit’s first step into the ever-changing world of trendy scents.
Inspired by the ‘intricate scents of the past’, Merit have teamed up with master perfumer Fanny Bal in Paris to create Retrospect. This rich, balanced fragrance evolves as you wear it, blending nostalgic vintage notes with a modern twist – and trust me when I say, it’s absolutely divine.
In fact, as soon as I sprayed it, I immediately ran to see one of my housemates, to get her option – and needless to say, she was straight on the Merit website to purchase her own.
Best of all, the fragrance features notes that I love – with the top consisting of bergamot, pear, and aldehydes, a heart of jasmine, synthetic rose, rosemary, violet, and orris, and a base of vanilla, musk, and moss.
It also avoids any single category, offering a balanced and ‘nuanced’ scent. Starting with soft, clean notes, it transitions to a subtle floral heart and settles into a warm, rich base.
Best of all? As a concentrated l’extrait de parfum with nearly 30% fragrance oil, Retrospect only really needs one spray to last all day.
It was only two years ago that Merit branched out from colour cosmetics, with the launch of Great Skin Instant Glow Serum in 2022.
As you can imagine, the bold move paid off, as the serum became an instant hit. More recently, the Great Skin Priming Moisturiser joined the line-up, amassing a 15,000-person waitlist and quickly landing in the top 10 moisturisers at Sephora North America.
Now the secret is out about this being my fragrance of the year, I might need to stock up – especially at the affordable price tag for such a luxe-smelling fragrance.
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