Diptyque Eau Capitale Eau de Parfum, 75ml at John Lewis & Partners

Eau Capitale is the first Diptyque Chypre.

It opens with the freshness of “vert de bergamote” tempering its consummate voluptuousness. Fruity, yes, yet lively and zesty.

Was it studded with pink peppercorns to recall the pomanders - oranges pricked with cloves - once brought back from England by Desmond? Or to orchestrate the eagerly awaited “olfactory accident”? Between the flower and the spice is like an exclamation mark, a Capital letter.