Dearest gentle reader, last week marked Bridgerton’s return with Benedict’s journey into romance. Accompanying it is an exciting new fragrance launch from fine fragrance house Floral Street, in partnership with Netflix’s Shondaland team.

Enchanted Masquerade, priced at £74 for 50ml, begins with notes of green hazelnut, succulent pear, mandarin and alluring pink pepper before revealing a floral heart of gardenia, jasmine petals and rose absolute sourced from Grasse, the world’s perfume capital. The foundation features a calming blend of cedarwood, patchouli and skin musks.

As a perfume specialist, I discuss fragrances nearly every day, which means I usually have a strong sense of the perfumers behind my favourite scents. So discovering it was created by none other than Jérôme Epinette left me absolutely thrilled.

For the uninitiated, Epinette is a French-born perfumer based in New York. He’s crafted acclaimed fragrances including Byredo’s Bal d’Afrique (£150), Rare Beauty’s eponymous scent (£71) and Phlur’s fruit-forward creations such as Tangerine Boy (£79.20) and Mrs Smith (£20).

On a more personal note, he’s the creative force behind my favourite Sol de Janeiro scent, Cheirosa 71 (£28.50), as well as Noyz Unmute and Detour, which regrettably are currently only available in America. He also created Perle de Coco (£18) from & Other Stories, which is my preferred fragrance for a sunny getaway – I even shared this scent with some Love Islanders last summer in Ibiza, reports the Mirror.

So it’s fair to say I was thrilled to experience the Enchanted Masquerade perfume.

Floral scents aren’t usually my first choice, as I often find them powdery, which isn’t something I’m naturally drawn to. However, jasmine is my favourite floral note and this perfume avoids any powdery quality, making it very appealing to me.

The pear note at the opening of this fragrance is fresh without being overwhelming and allows room for the romantic florals that emerge. This one simply kept improving.

I adore the hazelnut note, which I feel brings wonderful warmth and richness to the fragrance.

During my conversation with Jérôme about the fragrance, it became evident that this was deliberate. The gifted perfumer was granted early access to the new season of Bridgerton to attempt to capture ‘this season’s storyline and the idea of unmasking your true self’.

He previously described the fragrance, stating: “With Enchanted Masquerade, I wanted to capture the essence of a magical evening full of unexpected joy and allure. This fragrance evokes a sense of playful elegance, where vibrant, fruity notes of pear and mandarin dance with the soft, romantic embrace of gardenia and rose. As it settles, the warm, cocooning base of vanilla and musks wraps you in a comforting, sensual, and elegant aura, like slipping into a beautiful outfit – creating an enchanting, unforgettable presence that lingers with you like a whisper long after the night ends.”

His assessment rings true – there’s an undeniably cosy, comforting quality to this scent with hints of romance woven throughout. Upon spritzing it before meeting companions, they immediately remarked that I smelled ‘lovely’ and persistently enquired about my choice of perfume.

This strikes me as a safe blind buy even without testing beforehand – it’s highly versatile and manages to satisfy numerous preferences without veering excessively in any particular direction. It avoids being overly floral, excessively sweet or intensely sensuous, positioning itself instead as an ideal balanced option that I anticipate reaching for whilst watching the second half of Benedict’s series, where I hope he has better manners and finds three more appropriate words for Sophie.