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Bentley launches new fragrance, causing me to briefly lose touch with reality

James Fisher

Bentley's has launched an Eau de Parfum named Become. James Fisher ponders the nature of the 21st-century economic system as a result.

You might think it was the business of a car manufacturer to manufacture cars and cars only, because in a linear world, that would make the most sense. I would go to Tesco to buy food. I would go to Clarks to buy shoes. I would go to Bentley to buy an automobile. Those brands make and sell those things, because that is what they were created to make and sell.

Except things do not work that way anymore. There must be more of everything, and even though a business was created, and is very good at, selling product A, it can also make a little bit of product B, and therefore make a bit more money. The line goes up a little more, someone on a yacht somewhere gets a little richer, another thing appears in the marketplace, and the world keeps on spinning, ever so slightly heavier than it once was.

I suppose there is no reason that Bentley shouldn’t make a fragrance for men. Indeed, they have made lots of fragrances, for men and also for women. The latest one is called Bentley Become and, for £80, you can buy 100ml of it. Perhaps you do not think buying a fragrance from one of the finest car makers in the world is odd. They are certainly not the first car firm to make something that wouldn’t necessarily fall within its remit — in Abu Dhabi, for example, Ferrari makes roller coasters.

So what does it smell like? What does it mean to Become? According to a press release, it is to celebrate ‘the power of authenticity’. The authentic smell of a leather-bound Bentley motorcar perhaps? Sadly not. To Become is to smell ‘spicy floral’. That involves a ‘dazzling citrus burst of sweet orange and bergamot’ followed by ‘black pepper oil’ that unfolds into ‘zesty notes of juniper berry’ and myrrh. As well as smelling nice, the product also boasts plenty of sustainable credentials, both in the bottle and the ingredients.

I suppose it is not news that everything does everything now. Who am I to complain, when spending many in evening in the middle of Lidl, looking at things I don’t need as I shop for the things that I do. Who am I to say that Bentley can’t make a fragrance — surely it can’t be more difficult than making a Bentayga, or a Continental GT?

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Perhaps business is about more than making things, but rather selling a lifestyle. Customers are more interested in signalling their preferences to other people, and the more items they collect, the more closely aligned with a business they can be. It’s not enough to own a Bentley, you must smell like a Bentley, use Bentley golf balls and hit them with your Bentley driver.

Is it, though, any different than wearing the strip of your favourite football team? Maybe you just like Bentleys. They are very good cars, some of the best I have ever been lucky enough to drive. Their business is based in Britain and is working overtime to create a sustainable brand, with local jobs and apprenticeships. It might just be that we are marching towards a future where brands and makers become like sports teams, and we must simply choose which one to associate with. What would mine be, if I was forced to choose?

Financially, it is unlikely to be Bentley, but I would choose them over many other car brands. I saw a pair of Greggs branded tracksuit bottoms not that long ago, and certainly felt that by wearing them I would send the correct message to those around me — ‘I like Greggs, please bring me a sausage roll’. I am a simple man of simple pleasures.

At the very least, the launch of Bentley Become, the Eau de Parfum from Crewe’s most famous car maker, has made me think. Which, considering the role of a fragrance is to stop and briefly take you somewhere else, means it has done its job to some degree.

James Fisher is the deputy digital editor of countrylife.co.uk. He lives in London