According to those in the know, your olfactory choices are influenced by memories. So if, for instance, your mother was a lover of lavender, you should find that scent comforting and homely. But it’s travellers in whom the odd whiff of oud or blast of civet can really trigger a response. Even now, the smell of a certain brand of shampoo instantly takes me back to the first days of my two-year stint in Uganda, while I’ll never be able to smell jasmine again without thinking of a memorable day on safari in South Africa.

That said, what things smell like is a fairly subjective process and depends as much upon personal experience as finely honed senses. So, the London blend from cool new French perfume brand, The Scent of Departure, is a gorgeously woody mix of pine, bergamot and gaiac wood rather than the slightly acrid pong of tarmac and traffic fumes that I’m familiar with. The fragrance is utterly lovely, with fresh top notes drying down into a warm woodiness but it’s without doubt perfumer Gérald Ghislain’s version of London rather than mine.

Discrepancies in what I think London smells like and Ghislain’s vision aside, for a beauty journalist turned travel writer, The Scent of Departure is a dream ticket: combining my two favourite things – perfume and travel – in one small luggage tag-shaped bottle. It’s a brilliant idea and lets you travel the world in Ghislain’s wake, immersed in a succession of freesia, peach, chocolate and coffee – all those smells that make the world such an fragrantly fascinating place.

Although the 21 ‘destinations’ include the exotic likes of Singapore, Bali and Istanbul, I found myself coming back to ‘LHR’ again and again. I just adored it, although I ought to admit that I’m a sucker for slightly masculine woody perfumes. For me, the delicate sweetness of Singapore’s lotus flower, cyclamen and violet just wasn’t punchy enough, although I wouldn’t be surprised if that turned out to be the top seller. Unlike the far flung city itself, ‘SIN’ is very accessible with a gentle loveliness that’s bound to have a wide appeal. ‘NYC’, meanwhile, was a sugary homage to the Big Apple, replete with Central Park lilac and rose topped off with crisp green apple notes that reference the city’s nickname.

Less wholesome but arguably more exciting was Abu Dhabi, another city I know well. Two years spent in nearby Dubai gave me some idea of what to expect before I opened the bottle, so I wasn’t surprised to get an instant blast of spicy oriental richness, although I was slightly taken aback by the lack of oud. What smells more like the UAE than oud; the place where every other woman (and man) carries the scent along like a shiny new Louis Vuitton tote? Again, Ghislain and I parted ways. His olfactory vision is sweeter and warmer, with plenty of edible-smelling vanilla, benzoin and tonka bean, spiced up with a shot of amber and nutmeg. Luckily, Dubai’s ‘DXB’ came through on the oud front, with its satisfyingly robust blend of intense rose, jasmine and thyme, underpinned with lovely, lovely oud.

By and large, the perfumes slot into rough categories depending on the continent. US cities, New York, Los Angeles and Miami, are the fresh and fruity ones, while Europe’s London, Paris, Frankfurt, Vienna, Budapest and Keflavik are slightly more challenging and sophisticated. The Far East does delicate beautifully, while from the Middle East, you get the warmly spicy Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai. The perfume might not necessarily smell like your memories do – after all, these are Ghislain’s reminiscences – but each stands alone as an interesting cityscape in perfume. London’s conjures up the Serpentine and Hyde Park, rather than the fumes of High Street Kensington or the spice and rubbish of Brick Lane, while Dubai’s is pure Mall of the Emirates. It certainly wouldn’t smell that way if Ghislain had spent his time in the emirate rummaging through the fabric shops in Satwa or tucking into the butter chicken at Ravi’s.

But clashing remembrances aside, The Scent of Departure is a fabulous idea, made all the better by the fact that the perfumes are actually good as well as being affordable. There have been far too many second rate new launches lately but when you have a perfumer as good as Ghislain, you can probably relax and let him get on with it. And crack on with it he certainly has, with generally excellent results. SIN didn’t work for me, but if you love a delicate floral, it probably will for you. For me though, it’s all about LHR: tarmac or no tarmac, it’s a worthy addition to any travel bag.

The Scent of Departure is available to buy from hqhair.com.