The Band for Her Eau de Parfum

Nelly Hachem-Ruiz built Scalpers The Band for Her Eau de Parfum around a dessert material, and the way she keeps it from turning sickly is the interesting part of the fragrance.

The opening is peppery before it is anything else. Black pepper and pink pepper arrive together, one hot and dry, the other brighter and more sparkling, with mandarin orange supplying juice and magnolia a cool, slightly sharp flower note that pulls the whole top half upwards.

Affogato is the heart. It is sweet, milky and faintly bitter at the same time, and in perfume it reads as warm and creamy rather than as a drink. Turkish rose, which is deeper and jammier than most rose material, gives it body, while heliotrope adds a soft powderiness that is almost like face cream. Those three together make something comforting rather than sugary.

Only two materials close it. Sandalwood is smooth and milky, labdanum is dark, resinous and slightly bitter, and between them they give the sweetness a floor to rest on. A short base like this keeps the last hours clean instead of thick. In wear it is a cold weather fragrance, good for evenings and for anyone who likes sweetness with an edge rather than sweetness alone. It stays reasonably close and lasts well, and it is one of those scents that other people notice when they are near you rather than across a room.

The house began in Seville in 2007 and built itself on suits, shirts and accessories, especially the ties and slippers carrying its embroidered skull. Its clothing now covers men, women and children, with homeware added in 2021, and its perfumery is handled under licence by Perfumes y Diseno, which does the same job for El Ganso and Tous.