Sali Hughes on beauty: the new crop of fig perfumes make perfect scents

Guardian journalism is independent. We earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Fragrances with superior tones are cutting through the sugary, cheaper efforts that have been pervasive recently After a lengthy sabbatical, I’m ready to let fig fragrances back into my life. There were years when I couldn’t get enough of lush, green Philosykos by Diptyque – a bona fide masterpiece and the greatest of all fig scents. Then a million sugary, inferior dupes sullied the whole category, cynically transporting it from the fruit groves of Turkey to the air freshener aisle at Halfords. With familiarity, grew contempt. But a new crop of figs is emerging to restore reputation and none are attempting to pass off as Diptyque. Tom Ford’s recent Figue Erotique (£188 for 30ml), takes fig at various stages of its life cycle (sharp, nutty, green and unripe; rich, juicy, warm and sun-drenched; and finally sugary, creamy and ready to burst) and isolates each in its own accord. Bigger and bolder than most figs, with a sultry, musky sexiness that reads almost as humid, it may not be your most worn in a heatwave (reach for Chloé’s vivid, sparkling fig, Plage du Figuier (£