This winter has been an unpredictable one, so far, in the Mid-Atlantic region: no snow, mild temperatures, weirdly fluctuating humidity. It happens to suit my current state of mind: for me, the year opened on several notes of personal and professional disappointment, when nothing turned out quite as I expected it to.
However, wearing (and writing about!) perfume is always a reassurance to me. And over the past week or two, the temperature has finally dropped (and stayed low); we even received a light (if fleeting) layer of snow one night. Maybe something, even if it's just the weather, will get back on track. Here, then, is my highly subjective list of ten fragrances that have been keeping me company during this season.
In the past I've thought of Guerlain Après l'Ondée as a springtime fragrance, but this year I realized that it's also a good fit for where-is-winter days that alternate between chilly rain and pale sunlight. I wore it often in January. Yes, it has been reformulated, but its misty violet-and-iris bouquet is still more moving and mysterious than anything at a typical mainstream fragrance counter.
Along the same lines, Frederic Malle L'Eau d'Hiver is a can't-miss fragrance for cloudy winter mornings. It's a gray scent, and I mean that in the best way. It was created by Jean-Claude Ellena as an "eau chaude," and it does feel simultaneously chilly and warm, just like those odd, changeable days when you can't figure out whether to undo another button on your coat or to add a scarf.
To continue the winter-name theme: For Strange Women's Winter Kitty is a scent that I had to try just for its title. It cleverly blends woodsy vetiver with a breath of cool mint and a drop of smoky vanilla to suggest the smell of a cat's fur just after it has taken a walk in a snowy forest. It feels like a younger cousin of CB I Hate Perfume's Winter 1972, made with natural ingredients, and it has very good staying power for a botanical fragrance.
I traditionally wear Caron Nuit de Noël on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day — I'm fortunate enough to own a bit of the parfum, dating back six or seven years — but once the holiday season has faded away, I find myself reaching more often for Farnesiana. Its powdery-velvety composition of mimosa, almond, and musk makes it the perfect sophisticated comfort scent.
Another perfume in that category is L'Artisan Parfumeur Traversée du Bosphore. I wore it often last fall, and I'm still turning to it regularly. To me, its balance of fruit-accented leather and dusty iris feels smart and soothing at the same time. It has some sweetness (that hint of Turkish delight!) but it's still serious enough that I can wear it to appointments around town.
Do I ever tire of powdery fragrances? No, not during the winter, at least. Lorenzo Villoresi Teint de Neige is an old favorite. The name means "snow-white complexion," not "shade of snow," as it is often mis-translated, but I still associate this fragrance with cold weather. Sometimes it makes me feel like an Edith Wharton heroine traveling to the theater or a ball in a luxuriously fitted carriage.
Sometimes the long, dark evenings call for more indulgence than usual. I'd wear Les Parfums de Rosine Rose Praliné, which mingles a dark rose note with black tea and bittersweet cocoa, to a winter tea-time gathering when the sun sets earlier than we expected and the guests linger longer than we planned.
For a somewhat guiltier pleasure, I'd choose Bond no. 9 West Side. Wearing its mix of sugared rose and peony smothered in ambery vanilla can feel like eating a plate of cookies left over from a holiday party or an entire box of Valentine's Day candy in one sitting. Sometimes, that's just something you need to do. I also happen to receive unsolicited compliments when I wear this fragrance. (Everyone loves sweets.)
Estée Lauder Youth Dew is a perfume that I reserve for the coldest, windiest days of the year. It's spicy and not a bit shy, and it feels plush and just a little bit prickly around the edges, like a vintage fur coat. For something that stays softer and closer to the skin, the matching body oil and body cream are also wonderfully scented.
White florals are often recommended for spring and summer, but I prefer Thierry Mugler Dis-Moi, Miroir (Mirror Image) in winter. Dis-Moi's notes of lily and orange blossom are cradled by a milky accord, a combination that would seem a bit creamy-sickly-sweet to me on a hot day, but feels very pretty, in a slightly artificial way, at this time of year. I think it will even transition well into early spring.
Have you been having unusual winter weather in your part of the world? Which fragrances have you been wearing lately?
You can find more great winter fragrances at Bois de Jasmin :: Grain de Musc :: Perfume Posse :: Perfume Smellin' Things.
Note: image is Vintage Central Park [cropped] by A. Strakey at flickr; some rights reserved.
Hello Jessica!
You wrote really interesting article, especially for this time of year. I must say I’ve never sniffed any of that you mentioned and I feel guilty about not doing so. Maybe once in my life I’ll find some of them to sniff.
Answering your questions – the weather is pretty unpredictable here in Poland as well. In November & December we had here unusually high temperature. But for the last 3 weeks it was very cold (more than -25*C at night, -12*C during the day) and some snow appeared, but not much.
On this weird, but still winter weather I like to wear Potion by Dsquared2. It’s a beautiful, warm fragrance with a beautiful notes of cinnamon and amber. It’s warming me up on this crazy weather.
Hello to you in Poland! No one can go wrong with a nice amber in chilly weather, right?
Right, nice amber is a must for winter. I’ll just add some cinnamon and vanilla for a perfect cozy scent.
SOTD une folie de rose, which has made me ponder on the influence of weather/temperature on the perception of the scent. In this cold winter UFR has a creaminess in the drydown I never noticed before (i.e. blotting out the slightly sour note many rose scents, UFR included, often develop with time).
Bee, I think that’s an interesting question… I do feel as though the temperature affects the way I smell a fragrance as well as my experience of wearing it.
Bee,
I’m glad I read your comment regarding rose scents sometimes having a slightly sour note. Several years ago, I got into the shu uemura fragrance collection (there were 3). I loved loved loved Fleur de Source and Fleur de Terre (and I used to layer them); however, when it came to Fleur de Rose, the initial top note was a nice soft rose and then…it began to smell like dirty socks…and now I know it was not my imagination!
After last winter’s brutal, record setting week after week storms, this year we seem to have had about three weeks of winter (one of which came in October) and the rest of which has been interspersed on individual days between weeks of spring weather.
Nonetheless, January through February remain my “winterblues” season. I am learning to remind myself to just hold it together and get through.
On Sunday, as part of an attempt to fight back this season, I slipped my bottle of Atalier Cologne Trefle (smells like clover on a hot humid day) into my gym bag. It’s what I have on today.
I can sympathize with the “winter blues”… I could really need slightly longer daylight at this point. Soon…! And I love Atelier’s Trefle Pur. I gave a bottle to a friend who wears it often, especially in spring and summer. It’s delightful.
I just bought Trefle Pur over the weekend. I almost never buy a FB from just one “test drive” but I couldn’t leave the store without it. And as a bonus, it was my husband’s favorite of the four I tried that day.
I have been wearing so much L’eau d’hiver over the past few months that I actually finished my bottle! It must be true love!
Well, you won’t get any argument from me! I think it’s dreamy. Funnily enough, I didn’t fall in love with it for a while… I was too busy with Lipstick Rose and Iris Poudre and even Musc Ravageur! It’s like the quiet, sort of nerdy guy/girl who turns out to be really fascinating when you get to know him/her.
I find that I am gravitating toward Farnesiana this winter. It is so comforting to me, I even wear it to bed. Tubereuse Criminelle is another one.
I love Tubereuse Criminelle and was very happy when it was finally offered as an export. Something about that camphorated opening makes me want to apply it again and again.
I was excited when Tuberose Criminelle became available here, too! It’s not really my “thing,” but I admire it for being so weirdly beautiful, so I’m glad it’s more accessible now.
I know exactly what you mean. I just can’t seem to get enough of it.
Another Farnesiana fan!
What wonderful choices! I love scents in winter that are quite animalic like Nuit de Noel. On the flip side, I think it is interesting how you sort of “matched” the season with cooler scents like Apres l’Ondee instead of guarding against it with the velvety warmth of an animalic or oriental. I must try that concept, it might have outstanding results particularly in summer….
I like that elegant-animalic quality of Nuit de Noel… lurking below the surface. It reminds me of those very chic Art Deco sculptures of jaguars and leopards and other wild cats!
Lovely piece, Jessica. I absolutely love Après l’Ondée and L’eau d’Hiver, and I like Teint de Neige as well. But perhaps my favorite cold weather scent is Cuir de Russie.
Lil, It’s funny, not many of the classic/retro Chanels “work” for me… even when I like them in the bottle or on friends. Cuir de Russie seems ilke such a reference scent for leather… I’ll give the bottle a whiff next time I’m shopping somewhere with a Chanel counter!
So many interesting choices, most of which I have yet to explore! Thanks, Jessica.
GG, I hope this will give you some ideas for future sniffing. Have fun!
If it actually got cold (by my standards) where I currently live, I can’t imagine how much Youth Dew I would go through. Also a fan of the bath oil and the body cream, and don’t forget the fantastic powder box!
I spent Christmas visiting family in the Midwest, though, and I used up a generous vial of Anne Pliska EDP within a few days. I had tried it before and liked it okay, but it seemed to come alive in the cold.
Am I the only person in our little world who has not tried Anne Pliska?! I really need to order a sample in my next round. It really is a cult scent, isn’t it.
You are the only one. And we must remedy this. Let me know if you’d like some.
The great thing about Pliska is that you get that juicy mandarine (almost slurpee territory) and a nice dry amber. Both standard winter mood lifters, but tweaked a bit and doubled up. I’d been “off” ambers for quite awhile but have have been wearing it a lot recently.
Hm… now I’m even more curious!!
I thought of Anne Pliska – it’s a winter fave of mine. I really want to try the parfum, too.
Thank you for the great list, there are several on there I haven’t tried yet but think I should. I tend to choose dark, resinous fragrances heavy on the spices, vanilla, and amber in the winter, or what we have of it done here anyway. Arabie and Fille en Aiguelle have been on heavy rotation on cold days. I really like Fille en Aiguelle layered with a little vanilla. It’s very Christmasy to me. Ambre Narguille and Spiriteuese Double Vanille are also cold weather favourites, along with Shalimar, Epic Woman, Elixir des Merveilles, Botrytis, and Labdanum 18 (my favourite powder fragrance).
Julia, winter is definitely Shalimar time! And I love the idea of wearing Fille en Aiguilles with a layer of vanilla…
Many years ago, when philosophy products had just come on the market and were mentioned by Oprah I sought it out. Back then the only place you could get it down here was Saks, and I don’t think she had even launched Amazing Grace yet, she had Christmas bath products that were awesome. Highly pigmented bath bubbles in deep ROYGBIV colors and a shower gel called “Holiday Blues” that was amazing. It was dark blue and smelled of pine trees and vanilla, some citrus and spice, maybe a little pinon smoke floating between the snowflakes. It was deep and beautiful and really smelled like Christmas but not in a sugar cookie way. It was fabulous and they haven’t offered it again. Long story longer, Fille en Aiguelle with a little vanilla reminds me very much of that elusive fragrance. I wore it a lot over the holidays this year and I suspect that it will become a winter tradition
What a lovely list!
It hasn’t been very cold/wet here in Southern California this year, but when we’ve gotten a taste of winter I’ve been turning to Theorema and Cabochard. I love Cabochard so much that I keep hoping it will get dank and dark and rainy so I can fully appreciate the scent …
I’ve tried Theorema, but never Cabochard! Will have to make a mental note of that one…!
This winter’s been all over the place. For a while it was “unseasonably mild”, then it turned freezing for a short while (albeit nothing as extreme as some parts of Europe) and now it’s getting warmer again.
Anyway, my winter favourites include Memoir Woman, Ambre Narguile (my go to winter comfort scent), AdP Profumo, Vol de Nuit, OJ Tolu, C&S Frankincense and Myrrh, Montale Oud Cuir d’Arabie, SL Jeux de Peau, Chanel Coromandel, FM Carnal Flower (at its best when it frosty, imo), TF Tobacco Vanille and Tabac Blond to name just a few.
Oh and I’m wearing L’Eau d’Hiver today although childhood associations mean that the scent of mimosa will always invoke early spring to me. I mentally refer to it as “March in a bottle”
My sample is running low and I’m starting to wonder if I should promote it to FB Worthy category.
I agree that there’s something perfect about lush white florals like Carnal Flower in deep winter… it’s sort of decadent, like having fresh flowers in your home at this time of year!
My favorite winter scent is L’Artisan’s Dzonkha, hands down.
Oh, that’s a good one! Duchaufour, right? I remember when it was launched, and the whole “travel” story that accompanied it.
What a weird winter this is! Not really that cold and very dry here. Cold enough to enjoy winter scents though – Youth Dew and Cinnabar, Chergui and Un Bois Vanille have been my most used this season
Oh, Chergui!! A long-time love of the MUA fragrance board. Cinnabar definitely belongs to the same category as Youth Dew. And I love a whiff of Opium in cold weather, too.
I adore Chergui. It’s also great in the heat, too. I guess it’s the desert wind. The first time I wore it was to an outside game on a late winter morning that was very clear and fairly warm. I kept catching whiffs of it on the wind as I moved around and it was heavenly.
This winter I’ve fallen in love with my L’Heure Bleue pdt acquired in the late ’90s. I bought it on instinct more than by preference back when I had a good relationship with my Guerlain SA at SFA. Around the same time I found a vintage bottle of the extrait at a local antique store, still sealed.
In all these years it has sat towards the back of my cabinet, surfacing long enough to be used about once a year so that over 50% remains in the bottle. This season, it has received more wear than any other fragrance in my wardrobe. I wore it to the theater, to work, to church; received compliments in choir and it’s one of the few that makes the CEO take note.
Where has it been all this time? or where have I been?
OperaFan, I know what you mean… I recently went through the same experience with Chamade! Maybe we just need to find our way to certain fragrances.
Chamade was my first Guerlain, and by the time I used up my 100ml splash bottle, I didn’t want to look at it. Fell in love with it all over again a couple of years ago.
Oh yes forgot to say – I bought my L’HB just before the Town & Country article came out where Catherine Deneuve named it as one of her favorites.
And for NJ – Winter? Are we in Winter??? I have rose bushes that have green leaves in tact in the garden….
Oh! I missed that article. Interesting! I recently heard that she also wears Lipstick Rose, one of my favorites. She has good taste.
We’ve been having a “weak” fall/winter season. A few days of cool, and many days are warm (70-80). I really long for seasonal weather – it just doesn’t sit right with me to have spring or summer weather in January. That said, the minute is get’s remotely cool (under 70), I go for my cool weather scents, which really are my true loves.
KRL, It doesn’t feel right to me, either… we’ve had plenty of days in NYC that were so mild that people were walking around in little spring jackets and, yes, even flip-flops instead of proper winter coats and boots! Strange to see.
Jessica – I was in NY summer before last and was stunned at how many people I saw in flip flops. Setting aside that they offer no support for the serious kind of walking NY can require – their feet get so dirty! What’s up with that? Needing to know from a New Yorker…
I have *no* idea what they are thinking! I’m someone who believes that flip-flops are really meant for the beach, the yard, or a walk home from a pedicure, but that’s just me. No, I don’t understand it, either… I always feel the need for some foot-protection when I’m hitting the sidewalks, dashing onto the subway, etc.! It’s very strange.
I’ve been so confused by our abnormally warm weather this winter that many days I’ve gone without perfume! Shock! I got tired of whatever I put on in the a.m. when it was fairly cold, being too heavy in the afternoon. But on the other hand, my spring/summer scents didn’t feel right in the mornings. The few scents that seemed to work either way include Vol de Nuit parfum, Mecca Balsam, Incense Pure and Samsara (vintage).
It was cold enough to sleet today so I put on Attrape Coeur – it hasn’t gotten out much this winter.
Oh, Attrape-Coeur. No arguing with that!
Oh can someone please help me … I feel so miserable!
I am FRAGRANCE-LESS!!!!
Since 1998 I’ve been wearing Hypnotic Poison each winter.
Oh there have been others … from the exuberant Dolce Vita to the gloomy Feminite du Bois, the rich Tuscan Leather, the soothing Ambre Narguile or anything from Boadicea the Victorious.
But Hypnotic Poison WAS ME.
Then slowly it began to fade.
The bitter almond accent lessened.
The rich, dangerous, slightly leathery note – still don’t know what it was but it was sublime – was muted.
The jasmine accord changed.
And Hypnotic Poison stopped being Hypnotic.
Someone killed the elegant, untamed, pure-breed panther and planted a cute fluffy stray kitten in its place. Hardly the real thing.
It was my compass, my North, and now it’s gone.
And there is nothing to take its place.
You all have very nice fragrance lists, and maybe you can come up with a suggestion, because I surely have run out of ideas.
I’ve never been a fan of any Poison. (Why buy a scent with a hateful name).
However, Daim Blond is a an elegant sexy leather. Its apricot is a cousin to a an almond scent.
Ha! I’m the same. Poison is such a turn-off of a fragrance name!
This sounds like a case for the Monday Mail. Why don’t you try it? In the meantime, I’ll recommend my favorite leather (although it may be too tame for you) – Chanel Cuir de Russie. I wear the parfum in the winter and the edt in the warmer months. Good luck!
This *does* sound like a good Monday Mail request! I was never fond of Hypnotic Poison… but have you tried SL Un Bois Vanille?
You might try FM Une Fleur de Cassie, Nile Goddess – it’s a bit like what you’ve described and a very interesting perfume, indeed.
Bois d’Argent or Idole.
Nile Goddess, have you tried Bvlgari Omnia? The original one in the brown bottle. It has that in edible vanilla to it and warm sandalwood. I highly recommend it. Kenzo Amour (the weird shaped melamine bottles that come in three colors) is another non-foody vanilla with rice steam accord. Now I want to go sniff all three.
Wow thank you ALL so much!
It’s so nice of you all to contribute suggestions when you did not like Hypnotic Poison in the first place. Robin does, as I remember, so she will surely know of similar fragrances.
The one fragrance HP reminds me was the original Opium formulation, again a love-or-hate creation and so unique in its glory days compared to what it is today. Not that they were alike, but they exuded the same brazen confidence, and were equisitely blended.
The sharp bitter almond accord is what I’m really after as it was very noticeable and not at all sugary or foody.
SOTD is Costume National 21. It’s a little chilly out today but very sunny. This scent is a very comforting with its milky, spicy notes but its quiet enough for a sunny day. I’d forgotten how much I really like this one.
Hardlyworking, I remember owning and loving a bottle of Costume National Scent Gloss… back when Sephora used to carry the line. I should try some of the other CN fragraces.
I received from a thoughtful SA a cute little sample of Scent Gloss that came with a bright pink lip gloss. It’s such a good-natured scent but you hardly hear about it.
I love this selection, Jessica! So many interesting choices, from indulgent like Rose Praliné to subtle like L’Eau d’Hiver. I also included Traversée du Bosphore on my list, because I love the aura it creates. Its soft drydown has such an addictive quality.
V, I agree: it *is* addictive! It’s been a while since I’ve fallen so hard for something from L’Artisan. I love Bois Farine, Mure et Musc, Drole de Rose, Orchidee Blanche… but no recent release has suited my own taste in a while, until this one came along!
Winter in Paris has been unusually mild, then extravagantly freezing. I really should have pulled out Traversée du Bosphore or my old love Farnesiana, of which I still have a vintage early 90s bottle. Lovely choices, Jessica, and you’ve reminded me I’ve been meaning to try the Thierry Mugler Miroir collection for… well, since it came out!
I enjoyed a few of the Miroir scents — the nutty-bready one, and the one with the fizzy grenadine-like note, too — but this was the one that charmed me into buying a full bottle! I thought it was an interesting group, and well-done all around.
Have you tried the Miroir des Voluptés? I couldn’t get a sample even from muglerstore and no one in the US seems to carry it!
We have had an unusual summer-again-warm, cold, hot, dry, humid! (sometimes all in the same day). I never know what to wear, including perfume, so its pot luck. Quite hot here today-expecting a thunder storm later-so I have, on the back of my wrist, the smallest, single, spray of Fracas.
Fracas seems to suit a sudden thundestorm — so dramatic!
This winter has been such a disappointment to me – I moved from south east to north west (Canada) and was kind of dreading AND looking forward to a -40 winter, just to see what it was really like. Alas, I think we had one cold day, and the rest of the time it’s been hovering around zero. Boo-urns! That’s BALMY around these parts. But I’ve still been dousing myself in some cold-weather perfume – I bought Prada Candy on a drunken whim in November, and find it to be a comforting, delicious scent, that remains soft enough for the day. Traversée du Bosphore is second in line – oh my god, I love TdB, but I save it for special days cause I only have a bit left. On grim, cloudy days I’ve been pulling out the incense-y smells – Avignon (for bad moods) and Luctor et Emergo (for good moods). Fun post, Jessica!
If you’re going to buy perfume on a drunken whim, Prada Candy was a good choice…
“Drunken Whim” is a great perfume name, actually. Imagine the Eaux Faux copy it could inspire. . .
I’d definitely buy a decant of Drunken Whim.
Littlemoron, I love the idea of Avignon for “bad moods!”
I love this list! I love rich orientals, but I think I like them best in the fall and the snow. (And love tuberose in the snow. With champagne, please.) Totally agree that softer scents like Apres L’Ondee and L’Eau d’Hiver are perfect for those gray, not-quite winter days. There’s something about the spareness of the landscape and the lack of smells in the air that makes me want to wear more subtle perfume. I also ended up pulling out my orange blossom and citrus perfumes this year.
lol, with champagne please!
Second that! Perfect!
“There’s something about the spareness of the landscape and the lack of smells in the air that makes me want to wear more subtle perfume. ”
Bless you, Alyssa! You have so eloquently articulated my conundrum regarding perfume this unseasonably warm winter, as well as the answer!
Yes! I think that’s why I like Apres L’Ondee and L’Eau d’Hiver at this time of year. I’m giving in to the spareness and the chill.
I should say it was a post from Victoria of BdJ that originally made that point about the lack of smells in winter. I’ve never forgotten it, because it makes other things make sense too–the way you can wear a rich floral chypre in the city, for example, and feel just right when it seems overbearing walking along a windswept beach.
“There’s something about the spareness of the landscape and the lack of smells in the air that makes me want to wear more subtle perfume. ””
In my mind, this is the perfect time for many iris scents. There’s something quite melancholic about many of them that seems to fit that kind of mindset.
Yes to irises!! They don’t suit summer very well… but winter and early spring, yes!
I will not complain about this winter. If I don’t have to shovel I am a happy girl. We’ve had a few cold days but nothing like last year. I’ve been reaching for EL Sensuous quite a bit. I was given Gucci Flora as a gift for my birthday in July and really didn’t care for it in the summer. I pulled it out to try it in the colder temps and I like it much better. Not a favorite but much more wearable in the cold. Shalimar has been a good choice many days too.
Oooh, Shalimar. I used to wear it so often. I need to bring it back into rotation. And I agree with not having to shovel… that’s the up-side of a mild winter!
I too love my gardenias and tuberoses in winter. My sotd is daim blond, which is the first “leather” I’ve tried that I’m loving! It seems perfect for the coolish weather right now.
Dilettante, Daim Blond is so classy, and that’s not a word I normally use! I can’t wear many Serges, but I love to sniff this one when I see it somewhere.
classy is so right! I may have to add it to my want list! Something I did recently realize is that the SL’s can be very different on skin than on paper, and even from person to person.
It’s been unseasonably warm most of the winter here in the DC area. The grass didn’t die out completely, and the early bulbs are blooming. Some flowering shrubs, such as sheltered cherry trees and camelias, are blooming in slow motion; hellebores, too. So I haven’t been drawn to my usual warm winter scents very often but rather to green scents like Chanel No. 19, and to florals that I’ve never worn before like Amouage Lyric and Guerlain Idylle Eau Sublime. Strange but not boring, I guess!
I just love seeing and saying the word “hellebore.”
Your post is reminding me to break into my Angel Taste of Fragrance bottle. Another great winter scent.
You know, I never tried that Angel… I’ll have to scout out a sample somewhere!
I enjoyed your post! Never heard of Winter Kitty, but I like the sound of “the smell of a cat’s fur just after it has taken a walk in a snowy forest.”
This winter, I’ve been wearing more florals. Not sure why, but perhaps it’s the atypical weather. I have worn Teint de Neige to bed several times – it feels so luxurious at night!
I agree… atypical choices for atypical weather! And I still love Teint de Neige after all these years. Plus, it’s so long-lasting that you can probably still smell it on your pillow in the morning!
I’d forgotten I owned Angel Violet until this week, then wore it Sunday and today. Camphor moderated with flowers is great for winter because it smells like my grandmother’s coat closet.
Oh, what a nice scent-memory, Aimiliona! I love that.
Winter in London has been fluctuating radically and until a few weeks ago, was quite balmy. ‘Balmy Winter’ was unwholesome, unhealthy and an incubator in which germs could circulate. Myself, and everyone I know, caught interminable, recurring colds. The warm weather must have enabled germs to fester and circulate! Unsurprisingly, I reached for colognes and citrusses during this period – and burned lime/neroli/grapefruit oils in my oil burner. All very antiseptic and energising! The past few weeks it’s been icy cold, and perfect for Patchouli 24, Musc Ravageur and Dzongkha. They only work for me in very cold weather and I’ve been enjoying them SO MUCH!
I must give Apres L’Ondee and Chamade a proper try, as I’ve only smelled them on tester strips. Spring is just round the corner, and they sound perfect. Would they be classed as ‘Greens’?!?!?!
Blimunda, it’s the same here in NYC — everyone has been ill, either with the messy headcold/sinus infection and lingering cough, or the horrible stomach/intestinal virus, or one followed by the other! ugh.
I’d say that Chamade is a green floral. It’s so worth trying!
Yay!!! Winter Kitty! I had to get this for the name, too, and love the smell. Sometimes my kitty does actually smell like it when he has been prowling around something evergreen.
We’ve been having funny weather in the SF Bay Area, too. Today it’s sunny, and very warm if you are actually in the sun, and freaking chilly as heck if you aren’t. Cooler weather is when I pull out the Serges, and recently got Mona Di Orio Vanille and Cuir, and today am wearing a new love, Byredo Seven Veils. But, the other day I was wearing a Fleur d’Oranger from Yves Rocher; not exactly wintery. Fortunately most of my scents are fairly good for intermediate weather, like we normally experience here.
I think I first read about For Strange Women in Oprah’s “O” magazine! Etsy perfume-oil shops are a dime a dozen, these days, but FSW does a very nice job with the concept, the visuals, and the scents themselves. And now you’re reminding me that I’m way behind on Byredo…
I have been using Diptyques Eau Duelle quite a bit. It is cosy and warming for cold Norwegian winter days. And then I discovered GPs Brulure de Rose, and that has been “my” scent for the last few months. Sweet and comforting, yet elegant. But now, I look so much forward to spring, and I just adore the lovely smell of lilacs in Malles En passant. That is spring in a bottle!
I think Diptyque Eau Duelle is such a nice modern vanilla. And I look forward to wearing En Passant, too… quintessential spring!
Our weather has been all over the place this winter too, but that seems to be the way the British climate is going. Thanks for reminding me of L’Eau d’Hiver – I have a decant somewhere and I just fancy it! I have also recently reclassified Apres L’Ondee as a winter scent…
Otherwise I am another Brulure de Rose and Eau Duelle wearer at this time of year, also Floris Snow Rose, EL PC Amber Ylang Ylang and Kenzo Flower Oriental to name just a few recent scents off the top of my head. ; – )
I bought EL Private Collection Amber Ylang Ylang when it was first released, and then decided I didn’t really love it, and swapped it away… why?! That was a rash decision. Silly me.
I can understand that – I went off AYY for a good few years, and gave half my stash away. My taste has evolved towards sweeter things now, and I too am kicking myself. Ebay prices aren’t cheap – and I did look… : – )