I am not entirely sure I have come back down to earth yet.
When we launched Told London, we did so with a very clear sense of what we wanted to make and why. Fine fragrance for the home, built to the standard of exquisite personal perfumery, rooted in real places and real memories. We knew what we believed in. What we could not have predicted was how quickly the fragrance world would take notice.
Dancing Light, Lake Como has been named a finalist for Best Interior Fragrance at the 2026 Fragrance Foundation UK Awards. The ceremony takes place on 11th June, and I would be lying if I said I was not already thinking about what to wear.
What this recognition means
The Fragrance Foundation UK is the industry's most respected body. Its awards are judged by some of the most knowledgeable and discerning people in perfumery, and to be named a finalist alongside established names in the category is something we do not take lightly. For an independent British brand at this stage of its journey, it is the kind of recognition that tells you the work is landing in the way you hoped.
It also feels particularly right that it is Dancing Light, Lake Como that has been recognised. This fragrance is perhaps the most personal in the collection. It is our love letter to the place we now call home.
The fragrance itself
Lake Como is awe-inspiring in a way that is genuinely difficult to put into words. The light on the water in the morning, the mountains rising behind the villages, the gardens cascading to the shore, the particular quality of the air. It is a place that makes you want to be more considered, more attentive, more exacting in everything you do. Living here has shaped Told London in ways that go beyond this single fragrance.
Dancing Light tries to hold that quality. Fig leaf, honeysuckle and our aquatic accord open the fragrance with something luminous and green, alive with the freshness of the lake. The heart unfolds into wisteria, magnolia and star jasmine, the flowers that tumble from Lake Como's famous villa gardens. The base of cedarwood, sandalwood and musk brings depth and longevity, something that lingers the way the memory of a beautiful place does. The sandalwood accord, in particular, is stunning.
The fragrance was created in collaboration with Ruth and Nic Mastenbroek, a mother and son perfumery duo whose own story feels entirely in keeping with the spirit of Told London. Ruth spent years training Nic in the craft, passing on her knowledge, her sensibility and her exacting standards before retiring and handing the creative reins to him. Dancing Light, Lake Como was one of the fragrances they worked on together during that transition, which means it carries within it not just the memory of a place, but the memory of a collaboration, a body of shared expertise moving from one generation to the next. We find that rather wonderful, and entirely fitting for a fragrance built around the idea that the most meaningful things are the ones worth passing on.
It is housed, as all our fragrances are, in a hand-illustrated fine porcelain vessel, with motifs by artist Kerry Lemon that capture the spirit of Lake Como in line and detail. The vessel is designed to be a permanent piece of your home, refillable and enduring. Not something you burn through and replace, but something you keep.
A thank you
To the Fragrance Foundation UK and the panel of judges, thank you. For an independent brand built on genuine passion for the craft of fine fragrance, this kind of recognition from the industry's own is deeply meaningful.
And to everyone who has discovered Told London, bought a fragrance, shared it with someone they love, or simply taken a moment to tell us what it meant to them: you are part of this too. Told London exists because people who care about beautiful things recognised something worth caring about. We will not forget that.
We will see you on 11th June. Fingers crossed, and breath held.
With love, Lillie
Buy the candle here. Currently at a discounted, celebratory price.