The M&S beauty hall got a major upgrade last week when it was announced that they were partnering with Sephora.
100 M&S stores are set to receive the Sephora treatment, with beauty specialists and curated brands arriving in-store, making their plan for high street beauty domination clear.
I'm normally a Boots devotee when it comes to beauty shopping (their Covent Garden outpost in particular), but now when I'm shopping for shoes and lingerie (and cookies) in M&S, the beauty aisles are drawing me in too, even without Sephora's star power.
My newfound interest in M&S' beauty is mainly due to the Studio collection, which repositions the idea of own-brand beauty as every bit as desirable and high-end as luxury names.
Housed in minimalist glass bottles with pleasing magnetic lids (they bring the weight of Frederic Malle's toppers to mind) M&S Studio launched with eight scents in June that look and smell as elevated as luxury counterparts, and their latest addition arrived this week.
Introducing M&S' new budget fragrance which smells expensive
The new M&S fragrance, Aura Ambrette, £22.50, arrived on my desk on Tuesday afternoon. I absent-mindedly sprayed it on my wrists and went about my day, neither smitten nor turned off by the scent.
But as the evening progressed, I kept catching wafts of the warm, cocooning scent and found myself increasingly enamoured.
It has notes of ambrette and sandalwood, but at the heart of Aura Ambrette is Iso E Super, a mysterious molecule known for appearing and receding throughout the day, developing uniquely on every wearer to create an individual scent.
The scent evolves over time, hence why I was unfussed upon first spritz, but head over heels come nighttime.
If this shape-shifting scent sounds familiar, you're not wrong. Iso E Super is the defining ingredient in Escentric Molecules' cult adapting scents, designed to smell unique on everyone who wears it, making it one of the most intoxicating fragrances out there.
The use of this intriguing molecule makes Aura Ambrette a convincing (budget-friendly) dupe for Escentric Molecules' Molecule 01, £125 for 100ml, for anyone looking for an adaptive fragrance.
I'm not normally fussed by dupes; a perk of being a beauty editor is being sent all the high-end brands to try, so my eyes tend to glaze over when I hear about dupes. I want brands to be strong enough on their own to not need to copy others.
But the fact that this scent alters to the wearer means it's not a direct dupe. Rather, it's a unique take on an already individual scent, making the price point even more appealing.
As for what is smells like? I'd say a fresh, autumn day. The way you smell after a walk in the countryside before snuggling down at home. It's a woody amber fragrance, so it feels cosy without being overpowering or obviously autumnal. That's just on me, though – you'll have to smell it for yourself to see how it mingles with your skin for your unique take.
