What a summer we’re having, eh? (Or rather, not having.) I keep setting off on a walk, with bare legs and wearing a dress, and turning back within minutes to add a vest, a scarf, a jacket and tights. Normally those get packed away at the start of May or so, and don’t re-emerge till autumn. Ditto my ‘winter’ perfumes, which tend to feel unwearable in summer, for me – like wearing fur (faux of course), when the sun’s beating down.  

Báinín, though, has been just perfect for this on-again-off-again ‘summer’ weather. It starts out super-fresh, with sunlight streaming through it, zesty with citrus (bergamot, yellow mandarin, lemon and neroli), woven through with aromatic herbal notes of thyme, clary sage and peppermint. Citrus comes first, then the herbal elements, on my skin – but I’ve always loved those, and it actually smells very natural. 

Then, Báinín wraps you in a sort of miraculous cocoon of warmth, the olfactory equivalent of that pashmina which you shrug on when a sudden summer chill puts goosebumps on your skin. (And that is EXACTLY what’s been happening with the weather, around these parts.) This is probably not a coincidence; the name itself is taken from the soft wool that is knitted into Aran jumpers, and woven through the lovely tweeds of the jackets that keep Aran fishermen warm. (You say it ‘bawneen’, BTW, and it translates to ‘little white’, in English – apparently ‘after the ivory-coloured skeins of wool.’)

Cloon Keen call this ‘a captivating encounter between freshness and warmth, tinged with a coastal breath of golden gorse, dew-kissed herbs, a cloudburst – and then the delicate scent of rain on warm earth.’ I’m usually as allergic to marketing-speak as I am to scratchier types of wool, but they’ve absolutely nailed it with that description. It’s a scent for dodging summer downpours, then enjoying the sparkle of rain on petals when the sun breaks through. For wearing with layers of clothes that you’re prepared to discard (or add to), depending on the weather’s current, quixotic mood. It’d be absolutely lovely for a June, July or August wedding, meanwhile, because it lasts and lasts on the skin and wouldn’t need re-spritzing. (Though I love Travalos, here, for carrying around fragrances on the go.)

For background, Báinín comes to us from one of the only Irish perfumeries, Cloon Keen, whose Galway atelier I have been longing to visit (and I really will get there, some day). They have some seriously interesting scents, including Róisín Dubh, which in 2019 won Best New Independent Fragrance in the Fragrance Foundation Awards, a gorgeous velvety – and definitely more wintry – rose fragrance, that I keep meaning to add to my collection. 

You would definitely enjoy smelling your way through Cloon Keen’s creations in person – although in England, that requires a perfumed pilgrimage to Les Senteurs, in Pimlico. (For that exact location, and Cloon Keen’s Irish outposts, click their Store Locator here.) They do ship direct from their Irish website, meanwhile, and prices include the taxes.

What’s more, in a world when perfume prices are creeping skywards – I recently visited a boutique where they charge £4,000+ for eau de parfum! – theirs are not stupid prices, at £125 for 50ml. (Yes, it’s still a lot compared to Paris Hilton’s perfume portfolio, but…) Even better? If you fall for Báinín (or their other scents), these are now refillable. 

Anyway, I’m looking upon Báinín as some small compensation for this on-again, off-again summer. Every cloud – and boy, have we had plenty – has a silver-bottled lining, in this case.

£113 for 75ml eau de parfum – buy here

Prize Draws