If a Romantic-era chap wanted something fragrant to distract from the smell of coffee and opium that (probably) surrounded him, his first port of call was Atkinsons of London.
Launched in 1799 on Bond Street, the shop (below) peddled the finest English perfumes and grooming products, and now – more than 200 years since it began – it’s back plying its scented trade. Available from Harrods, the hero Atkinsons fragrance – titled ‘24 Old Bond Street’ – costs £80 for 100ml, and blends notes of not-hugely-manly juniper and rose with notes of extremely-bloody-manly black tea and oak casked whisky.
There’s also a bath collection, which includes ‘Toilet Vinegar’ – a classic, slightly eccentric British product, which will leave you feeling every inch the 19th-century gent. Buy the range, and then look forward to Atkinsons’ next release, presumably due in the 23rd century.
