Designer perfume is priced like a luxury and, far too often, doesn't behave like one. You spend ninety pounds on a bottle, spray it in the morning, and by lunchtime it's gone. I found that maddening. I love fragrance — genuinely love it — and it seemed absurd that wearing something beautiful all day should be a privilege.

So I started blending my own.

Made to last, priced to wear

Pure Essence began with one goal: a fragrance that stays with you from morning until night, at a fraction of what the originals cost. That comes down to concentration. Our blends are heavy with perfume oil — far more than you'll find in a typical designer bottle — because the oil is what holds a scent to your skin through a working day. We don't spend your money on glossy packaging or advertising. We spend it on what goes in the bottle.

Fragrance that comes with you

The other thing that bothered me was the size. Perfume sits in a heavy glass bottle on a shelf at home, which is exactly where it is when you're running late for work, or halfway through a long day, or heading somewhere straight from the office.

So ours are made to travel. Small enough for a pocket, a handbag, a glove box or a desk drawer. If you forgot to put any on this morning, it doesn't matter — it's with you.

Blended by hand, in Britain

Every Pure Essence fragrance is blended by me, here in the UK, in small batches. Not bought in, not bottled abroad, not drop-shipped. I weigh the oils, I blend them, I check every batch smells the way it should before it goes anywhere near a bottle.

That's where the name comes from. Pure essence, blended with pure affection — it sounds sentimental, and it is, but it's also just accurate. You can't rush this and get it right.

Our perfume oils

Not everyone wants alcohol on their skin. Some people find it drying, some find it irritating, and some simply prefer the feel of an oil.

Our roll-on oils are completely alcohol-free — just concentrated fragrance oil, applied directly. They sit closer to the skin than a spray, warming with your body through the day rather than announcing themselves. They're excellent on a beard, where a spray can be harsh and drying, and they suit sensitive skin far better.

Every scent tells a story

A fragrance isn't really about how it smells. It's about the version of yourself you become when you're wearing it — steadier in a meeting, warmer on a first date, more yourself on an ordinary Tuesday.

That's the part worth paying for, and it's the part that shouldn't cost ninety pounds. Find the one that sounds like you, and let it stay with you all day.

See how to wear it — the warm points where fragrance lasts longest