The luxury jeweller is still hooked on the male scent that she smelt on a stranger in Paris five years ago

‘Right now I’m wearing Terre d'Hermès. It’s a man’s scent and I actually smelt it on a stranger during a show at Paris Fashion Week about five years ago – I was so mesmerized by it, I had to do that cliché thing of asking him what smell he was wearing. I basically ran straight to Hermès and bought it and have never looked back.

It is difficult to put my finger on what it reminds me of, mainly because it has been part of my life for a long time so has many memories and feelings attached to it. It is a very sexy smell, to me anyway, but in a subtle way – it doesn’t swamp you. It has an earthy, musky depth but without being cloying. There is a very subtle citrus note on top of the earthiness that lifts the whole thing.

I love all fragrance that has these kind of burnt, earthy tones. I use scent a lot in my life, not just on myself but also in the rooms I am in. I feel it is an incredibly important part of feeling good about yourself and your environment. I know it’s strange, but it makes me feel complete. It’s grown into such an important part of who I am that I feel somehow underdressed without it. It gives me a different kind of confidence to face the outside world, a bit like a pair of really killer heels and some red lipstick do!

I’m pretty much a one-scent kind of girl. I feel like my smell is part of my identity. I feel naked without it and if I do happen to put another scent on it feels very strange. I don't feel myself without my smell – I think it has become so much a part of me. It is strange, and wonderful, how scent becomes so engrained in your style and personality.’ 

Hermes Terre d'Hermès, £43 at L'Amora Perfumeria