The big mouthwash makeover

For a pre-party perk-me-up or post-party refresh, a surprisingly stylish array of mouthwashes give a twist on the ritual – drawing on natural ingredients and channelling a perfume-bottle elegance that gives the bathroom sink a dressing-table glamour.

Many are created by perfumers: Buly 1803’s is a combination of Castéra-Verduzan spring water and sweet mint tea; Floris’s concentrated violet mouthwash (add six drops to a cup of water) revisits an archive recipe from 1919 inspired by the Duchess of Parma; while Lebon’s is made in Grasse, the French Riviera town considered the heart of perfume, and blends mint and green tea with rosemary, sage and aloe vera.

Alcohol-free blends avoid that fiery feel: look to new brand Waken, which has a four-bottle range including aniseed; Aesop, which takes anise and adds spearmint and clove; and Olas, which uses marine-bio activates, including sustainable blue-green algae and echinacea. Others, such as Innerscents and Georganics, take as inspiration the ancient Indian folk remedy of oil-pulling: swishing essential oils – variously coconut, orange, tea tree and geranium – around the mouth.