Spring scents that don't cost the earth | Sali Hugues

I don't know how and when so many perfumes have blithely passed the £100 a bottle threshold, but the rising cost of ingredients is, I believe, more of an excuse than an explanation . Just last week, fragrance author friends and I were complaining about a decidedly average scent that landed on our desks with a particularly audacious price tag of £230. Conversely, I've rarely received as many enthusiastic messages from Saturday readers as when I recently wrote a column about more affordable fragrances — and I'm told my recommendations are sold out. So here we are again, this time with an eye on the scents of spring.

If you haven't smelled the perfumes of the Marks & Spencer brand, remedy it right away . Her current offer is much better than she could get away with. There's been a lot of fuss on TikTok about its (admittedly good) Discover collection of lookalike designer fragrances, but to focus on the dupes (I'm not keen on principle) is to miss its much more imaginative Provenance and Apothecary lines.

From Apothecary, I love the Ease Eau de Parfum. It's a fresh, herbal, sauna-chic kind of smell that lingers on in an interesting and sexy way thanks to the inclusion of patchouli. It's the kind of scent that would appeal equally to those who think they hate the scent (there are no floral notes, no sweetness) and those who would never leave home without it. At just £9.50 for 50ml, Ease massively overproduces.

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Much more expensive but frankly cheap since it is made by Jean-Claude Ellena (our greatest living perfumer, in my opinion ) is Aqua Majestae Cologne Intense from Le Couvent Parfums (£45 CAD for 50ml). This one is floral, fruity and, like M&S’s Ease, both vegan and gender neutral. Think juicy apricots, white flowers and delicate, milky wood sap. It's soft, refined and comforting, and manages to last for hours without being at all garish. Its Le Couvent stable mates are all very portable and reasonably priced, too.

Lastly, I recommend Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue. Yes, it's a designer fragrance rather than a high street one, with an RRP of £49, but I don't apologize for that, as it's literally still on offer somewhere (I bought some for £30 only recently ). And Light Blue is almost impossible not to love. It is, to me, the combined smell of freshly laundered bedding, frozen lemon wedges and a slightly salty breeze. Grab it now before some marketer decides it's too cheap.