The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Sarah McCartney's Both Sides of Clouds arrived in 2020, the latest and current version in her Clouds series that began with the original Clouds and continued through Clouds Illusion. The name borrows directly from Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides, Now," and the inspiration carries that song's quiet reckoning with what beauty looks like from every angle. McCartney built it around narcissus, orris, tonka, vanilla, and oakmoss, a stack of materials that already had history in her West London studio. This version sits between the opulent first Clouds and the brighter, more synthetic Clouds Illusion, pulling the best of both without inheriting their extremes. The chypre skeleton is deliberate. So is the restraint.
What makes this composition unusual is the absence of layering for its own sake. McCartney doesn't crowd the narcissus with competing florals. She sets it against a narrow band of citrus and lets iris do the heavy lifting in the heart, then threads vanilla and tonka underneath rather than building a sugar monument on top. The oakmoss anchors the chypre structure without dragging it into vintage territory. It's a light gourmand touch, exactly as the house describes it, more confectioner's dusting than cake. The discipline is what gives Both Sides of Clouds its lift.
The evolution
The first spray is bright citrus, lemon and bergamot with orange blossom curling above it, almost sharp enough to taste. The iris arrives, cool and powdery, and the narcissus joins it with a green-honey edge that reads almost vegetal. Eventually the chocolate and vanilla come forward from underneath, warming the composition without sweetening it. The oakmoss and sandalwood settle the base, and that's where it stays. On fabric the next morning, a trace of vanilla-tonka-musk, faded but intact, still faintly creamy. The arc is gentle but complete, never collapsing into a single note. Each stage earns its place, and nothing disappears entirely once it has appeared. The citrus and orange blossom linger as a memory even after the florals take over. The iris never fully surrenders to the base, leaving a cool thread that runs through the warmer materials.
Cultural impact
The Clouds series has become a useful reference point for anyone comparing McCartney's range. This version reads as the most balanced of the three, the one that bridges the house's more opulent and more synthetic takes. It wears like a personal signature rather than a statement. The composition rewards attention without demanding it, holding its shape through a full day without turning flat or one-dimensional. What makes this version distinct within the Clouds lineage is the way it negotiates between registers. The opulence of the original Clouds and the brightness of Clouds Illusion both leave traces here, but neither dominates.
