At midnight tonight, many of us will toast the New Year with a glass of Champagne. Fizzy wine goes so well with New Year's Eve's party dresses, flashy jewelry, and dance music. Well, so does fizzy perfume.
Here are some of my picks for Champagne-like fragrances:
Yves Saint Laurent Yvresse: There’s a reason Yvresse was named Champagne before the Champagne lobby sued Yves Saint Laurent to change it. This pale, fruity chypre smells like a spill of off-dry Champagne the morning after the party. For me, wine can recall perfume, and the combination of moss and dry peach or apricot often reminds me of white wine. (Rose, violet, and sandalwood, on the other hand, remind me of Cabernet Franc. Leather chypres smell like good Temperanillo. Gosh, I’m getting thirsty.) Yvresse was well named.
Molyneux Quartz: For a drier Champagne-like smell from a fruity chypre, try Quartz. It smells like kissing someone who has been eating alfalfa sprouts and apricots. The earthy, metallic scent of the inside of a mouth is like both chypre and wine, including Champagne. At least, I think so. Quartz blends the stainless steel and river rock taste of saliva with fuzzy, earthy fruit for a fragrance that rivals Veuve Clicquot's.
Chanel No. 5 Eau de Toilette: No. 5’s dry down has always smelled a little to me like the combination of skin and over-the-hill Pinot Gris. But No. 5’s initial burst of tickly aldehydes mimics the sneezy hit of a first sip of Champagne, when tingle overtakes flavor. For a full-bodied pink Champagne, you could try Chanel No. 5 Eau Première.
Le Labo Aldehyde 44: Most people think of aldehydes as a sensation of sharp fizziness, but aldehydes — and there are lots of different types — often smell warm and fruity as well as tingly, just like sparkling wine. Aldehyde 44 is a radiant cloud with an earthy edge that, like Champagne, transcends gender.
Parfum d’Empire Osmanthus Interdite: Osmanthus Interdite smells like complex Alsatian wine, but its mood is as light and celebratory as Champagne to me. However, Osmanthus Interdite has more body than Champagne. That suits me just fine. Delicate blondes can run with the lighter-than-air fragrances. I’d rather wear silk with a weighty hand than chiffon, anyway. To be perfectly frank, with a hundred dollars to spare I’d choose a good Pinot Noir over Champagne. (Then again, I’d probably buy perfume — or a few books, a vintage cashmere sweater, and a nice treat for my dog — before either of those.)
Tonight I’ll be sharing dinner with a small group of friends. No raucous parties for me. I might drain the rest of my Osmanthus Interdite sample to wear, but carry a handkerchief with a dab of Vero Profumo Onda as a reminder of the crazy but passionate mix the coming year hopefully holds.
What perfumes remind you of Champagne? What perfume will you wear New Year’s Eve?
Note: image is Lets cheers Happy new year 2009 [cropped] by nImAdestiny at flickr; some rights reserved.
Yup, I equate the fuzzy, tickly aldehydes with effervescence of champagne which is why I wore Baghari several years in a row for NYE.
This year, however, I’m in Tubéreuse Criminelle just because it’s fabulous.
Baghari is a great Champagne-like choice! Of course, as you say, Tubereuse Criminelle is hard to beat for sheer fabulousness.
I think that Baghari deserves to get a LOT more love than it usually does. It seems that her sisters Bandit and Fracas get all the glory while Baghari gets forgotten. Quite unfairly since, imo, it’s a beauty.
Happy New Year from the gloomy, rainy North of England, Angela and everyone else!
It really is a beauty, just not as assertive as her sisters!
I am wearing SSS Champagne de Bois, not only because it has Champagne in the name, but because it is strong enough to get through all the congestion to my very reduced sense of smell. It also is too rich and thick to wear in any but chilly weather, so I figure I should wear it while I can. Besides, it is just gorgeous, and that is reason enough.
I’m sorry you’re not feeling well. I hope you’re on the mend.
And yes, gorgeousness is plenty reason enough!
Great choice! And I hope you get well soon.
I’m not a drinker, so I have no idea what Champagne tastes like. However, I am often drawn a wine-like note in scents (Memoir, MG Plum, and PdE Aziyade, for example).
I will likely be having a quiet New Years, but I will probably wear a celebratory scent, anyway–maybe Ubar?
I think Ubar really sparkles–I love the tingly jasmine in it. Plus, it feels all golden and celebratory. Happy New Year?
Carnal Flower is my white-satin-and-champagne scent. But I often want something quieter and more contemplative for NYE. Last year it was vintage parfum Bois des Iles. This year I fear it will be the scent of the tissues I’m blowing my nose into…
Oh no, you’re sick, too! I hope you are feeling better soon. Really, some of my best New Year’s Eves have been spent quietly by the fire, and only about half the time do I make it up to midnight. Maybe you’ll have one of those peaceful sorts of evenings.
Hi Angela
Thanks for your article!
Tonight I’ll be wearing Parisienne L Eau, love it and in my country it is Summer so it is perfect for our current hot weather.
Dior Dolce Vita reminds me of Champagne. I used to wear it when I was young. Happy New Year!
It would be so strange for me not to have a frosty New Year’s Eve! Enjoy yours, and Happy New Year to you, too.
Going out for supper, so shouldn’t wear anything too bold over here in this perfume-free burg. EL Jasmine White Moss, perhaps. Pro-fizzy wine myself, although it doesn’t have to be Champagne, and it usually isn’t. Hope everyone has a lovely New Year’s Eve, as quiet or as celebratory as they like!
That’s part of my dilemma, too. I think Osmanthus Interdite is quiet enough for dinner, though, if I apply judiciously. Enjoy your evening!
Wonderful article, Angela.
My favourite scent that goes well with Champagne is Peche Cardinal. I discovered it quite by accident, and a happy one at that, whilst having a sip of Champagne just after I doused myself in the fume. *Heavenly* I’ve been wearing Tabac Blond all day today, but I’m now getting ready to go to a New Year’s Eve party, so I shall be wearing Peche Cardinal… I know there’ll be Bellini and Champagne there 🙂
Yes–Bellini was exactly what I was thinking when I read Peche Cardinale. Enjoy your evening!
As 50_roses mentioned Champagne de Bois has an opening that smells exactly like a champagne. There are more but I just can’t remember any of them at the moment.
For New Year’s Eve will dress in Prada Amber Pour Homme.
Fabulous New Year’s Eve and Happy New Year, see you in 2013!
Prada Ambre Homme is one of your favorites, I know–that makes it perfect for the evening!
That’s the exact reason why I’m wearing it tonight. Pradaholic ought to end the old year and welcome a new year in perfume by Prada 🙂
Excellent!
Good morning in 2013!
Now I remember that L’Artisan Voleur de Roses has a fizzy, champagne like opening.
When it dries down it smells more like Halloween to me–dank, earthy, and haunting.
Yes, in the drydown it’s an earthy and dusky rose but in the opening it’s champagne like in my opinion.
I want to say Cristalle, but I could just be thinking of Cristal.
Oh yes, there is that…
Happy New Year, Angela! Just in case there’s anyone else out there who’s far more likely to be found drinking a gin & tonic than champagne, I highly recommend Tokyomilk Gin and Rosewater. Delicious good fun!
I haven’t tried that one, but I love its name. I’m definitely going to seek it out. Gin and tonics may not be in my immediate future, but I’m sure they’ll make their appearance some time.
That would be me! I’ll take G&T over Champagne any day and am in fact having one at the moment. Thank you for the recommendation, I have been curious about this brand for some time now.
I always think of a G&T as a summer drink! Although I like a good martini any season.
Ari, you reminded me that I have an untried sample of this, so I got it out. I like it, and there’s something suitably celebratory about it, too. Thanks and Happy New Year!
Only to say you are writing evocatively today. Sense memories, wow!
That’s one of the beauties of perfume. Happy New Year!
Home in front of the fire with DH is my idea of celebrating and my SOTD is Mitsouko, talk about something that has withstood the test of time 🙂 Happy New Year!
I admit to loving my time in front of the fire, too, and part of me is loathe to leave the house. Enjoy your evening!
My one big sadness with my new house is that it doesn’t have a fire place. It’s old enough that it *used* to have a fire place, but the chimney has long ago been sealed up and plastered over. *sigh* I have dreams of maybe installing a small pellet stove some day, just for the illusion of a real fireplace! In the mean time, I sure burn a lot of candles this time of year! Nothing seems to say “cozy” quite like a fire.
I got one of those little electric stoves at our favorite store, Home Depot. They throw heat and look like a little wood stove. It’s not anywhere near as nice as the real thing but I have a good imagination and the simulated flames are not all that bad.
If it throw out heat, that’s almost good enough in this weather. Although I do love a real flame.
Angie, did you see that little dusting of snow we got this afternoon? Very pretty and really makes me wish for that fireplace! And I agree, there’s something about a real flame that I think is hard to replicate.
I hope we get more of it!
Candles are imperative in the winter, in my mind. I love the idea of a pellet stove, though, with a little window in front.
I really need to revisit Yvresse.
I think my most champagne-like perfume is probably Arpege. 🙂
Arpege has a lot of body, making it especially nice when the air is full of good smells–fires, flowers, good food.
Absolutely Chant D’Aromes! Sparkling, fizzy, fantastic!
For me, Chant d’Aromes has an almost spiritual air, too, like the inside of a stone-floored church with roses outside. Nice choice!
CDA is the champagne of fragrances for me but tonight I must wear either Lolita Lempicka Eau de Minuit or Midnight!
Perfect names for a (hopefully) perfect midnight!
I, too, prefer a cozy, contemplative NYE at my own hearth, with my darling husband. We are usually basking in the Christmas glow, half way through the 12 Days, still exchanging small gifts and delighting in the magic of the season.
This year, though, it’s just me and my double pneumonia, LOL! I prefer Asti to champagne, but I don’t like my perfume near that sweet…will probably go with Party in Manhattan or Jubilation 25.
Happy New Year everyone!
Double pneumonia! My gosh. I hope you’re getting lots of rest. Maybe something a little like orange juice (Caron Alpona?) would be good for you.
Hah, no choice about the rest; I can’t take thee steps without having to sit down! Other than that I don’t actually feel all that bad. Been running a 102 degree fever for a week, but the only reason I even went to the doctor is that my mom came over a few days ago and noticed I was turning blue!
I am a total Caronista and Alpona does sound lovely, but your suggestion of orange made me think Asja. It’s also one of my comfort/bedtime scents and it sounds fantastic right about now.
Well, rest up with a spritz of Asja, then! That’s a scary high fever.
Sorry to hear your really under the weather. Get your rest and take your meds. Hope you feel better soon.
Thanks! I am allergic to all antibiotics except Cipro, and am being non-compliant. The doctor is less than thrilled with me, but I was told many years ago not to take the Cipro unless I was at Death’s door, since I will very likely develop a reaction to that as well, and then I will have no options whatsoever.
Soon as I am better I have a little somethin’ to send you! Hope your father is continuing ti improve!
Well, in that case, don’t take your meds. I wouldn’t either. 🙂
Dad is still really weak but he did take a few steps with a walker yesterday so I guess that’s progress.
Doctors always want to prescribe Cipro when I need an antibiotic…and I refuse to take it. Just curious, did you read Bitter Pills by Stephen Fried? That’s what did it for me. Death will have to be knocking before I’d consider Cipro.
I know it can have terrible side effects, but it’s my only option! I seldom take any drugs for any reason anyway, because I just don’t think they study the long term effects of the stuff well enough.
Black Saffron reminds me just a little of my much-loved and long-lost Champagne by Germaine Monteil, so I think I’ll wear a little of that tonight.
Wishing you all a very happy 2013!
Nice choice!
Mmmm… I’m intrigued by that Black Saffron.
Believe it or not and I don’t think anyone else gets this, but JLo Still has a fizzy sparkling champagne aura on my skin. With atll that said, I will be wearing Coco parfum for a cuddly NYE at home.
Cuddly is surely the next best thing to sparkling on New Year’s Eve.
Lovely suggestions! I finally thought of a champagne-like perfume I might wear tonight – Versace V’E extrait. I find it very winey, very bubbly.
But I like your Aldehydes 44 suggestion – great reason to break out that sample!
I haven’t tried the Versace–on the list it goes!
I’ll be sporting my fav Champagne scent, Mémoire Liquide Champagne et Mure. On the sweet side, more like a desert wine, but hey — my tastes run that way.
Happy New Year’s, Ang!
I’ve had a terrible sweet tooth lately, so it sounds good to me, too.
And a very Happy New Year to you!
Like some others here, my nose is compromised (getting over the flu, yuck) and I’m nursing another sicko, so I won’t be going out tonight, but perhaps I’ll put on something sparkly and toast the new year with a wee sip of something anyway. (Maybe Target will have a single-serving bottle of bubbly!) Certainly I’ll wear something festive. Maybe Nostalgie. HNY!
So many people are sick today–I hope you’re feeling better soon. Nostalgie sounds like good medicine for whatever ails you.
Tonight I am wearing Amouage Gold Man which to me smells like Chanel #5’s twin male brother.
I love Gold Man. Great choice.
50 Roses and I will be scent twins tonight. I’m thinking of going with Champagne de Bois as well. Santa gave it to me. I’ll be asleep before midnight. No wild parties in the plans. We’re not big NYE people but that’s probably because we usually have to work New Years Eve and when you’re up at 5 it’s hard to stay up to midnight.
Yikes! No kidding. A good night’s sleep is the best way to end one year and start the next, anyway.
I’ll be wearing vintage Germaine Monteil Champagne, even though it doesn’t smell at all bubbly! Happy New Year!
Lucky you!!! You’ll smell fabulous!
How can you beat it with that name?
And a Happy New Year to you all! I haven’t yet decided what scent to wear today, but you all have given me some wonderful ideas – I may have to go scout through my sample vials. Or go with my first thought, Ormonde Woman, which always seems right to me! Feel better all who are ailing, and may 2013 bring you much happiness, prosperity, and joy.
Ormonde Woman, while nothing like champagne, just can’t lose no matter when you wear it. I love that fragrance.
To me, “Joy” is the ultimate champagne and roses scent. It has that golden effervescence, complete with an animalic hint that reminds me of the ghost of over-ripe fruit — a quality that you find in wines and champagne. And the aldehydes add some fizz.
Early Happy New Year to everyone :)! May you find your dream scents in 2013 :)!
And with a name like “Joy,” it surely will bring lots of wonderful things to the new year!
Happy New Year everyone. Other than the year of the big snowstorm in the Northeast in 2010 when planes were grounded for days on end, this is the first time in 9 years that I will be spending NYE at home instead of ringing in the new year in another country. I’ll be watching the ball drop from the warm comfort of home :-). Tomorrow, a bunch of friends and I are having dinner at a Chinese restaurant….for one of my friends, a New Year celebration is not complete unless she has Peking Duck!
My SOTD will also be SOTE — SL Boxeuses not because of any special significance but just because I have a sample and wanted to try it today. If I may say so myself, it was a good choice!
A perfume with a fizzy opening (for me anyway) is Amouage Interlude Woman.
There’s something holiday-ish about Boxeuses that I can see suiting the day well. Happy New Year!
In Estonia it’s already past midnight and our celebration is in full swing. Nothing grand, though – I am throwing a party for friends with small children, so that they can stay overnight and relax a bit after the children have gone to bed. And while I am making sure that my daughter falls asleep, I can steal a few moments to check on fellow perfume-lovers 🙂
As I have been preparing and cooking since yesterday evening, I felt that I needed something light and relaxing, but with a touch of glamour. So SOTE is Chanel Bel Respiro – not one of my absolute favourites, but perfect for tonight.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Bel Respiro is like Spring, and so is a New Year–so it all makes sense. Happy New Year, and enjoy your house full of guests!
A week off a terrible flu w/ vertigo and I don’t want to smell a thing. A little frightened at this point. Hope the old me returns soon.
I love an aldehyde blast to remind me of champagne. I would go “old school”, First by VC&A, and “grade school”, with Avon Charisma.
Happy New Year, my scentimental fools!
What a perfect comment! Scentimental fool indeed!
Great article as usual, Angela 🙂
Tonight, I will be wearing Thierry Mugler Alien. Big, bold jasmine explosion! While Alien is generally quite creamy, I do get a hint of fizziness at times.
And it will stand up to any party you take it to!
Lol!
Happy New Year 🙂
Happy New Year to you, too!
Getting very anxious that so many NST-ers are sick. What’s happening guys? Winter, I guess, for most of you. I’m in Australia so have no worries about winter illnesses at the moment. (A bit of hay fever tho’.) I have my full repertoire of summer fragrances on the dressing table – orange blossoms, citruses, lavenders, figs, summer berries. Scent for the NY was Olympic Orchids’ A Midsummer Day’s Dream (fig and black currant.) Yum.
All those notes make me picture a fragrant blooming garden and lots of sun. It sounds so nice.
Still up?? 🙂
It’s not even dinner time yet here! I have still to get myself dolled up and head out for the evening…
The scent I own which most reminds me of champagne is Hanae Mori Haute Couture.
I’m getting over a cold like most of the rest of you and not up to full sniffing power, but I wore Bvlgari Black today. Felt like the right cool scent to go with the snow and ice outside.
Happy new year all!
Bulgari Black is just right all the time! I hope you’re feeling well soon, and Happy New Year to you, too.
Wow, I’d seen articles about the announcement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that this is shaping up as a particularly early flu season, and here’s proof. Hope everyone feels better in 2013 and discovers a wonderful new perfumes to love!
Also, I love Quartz, and don’t forget Caron Bain de Champagne! Tokyomilk Gin and Rosewater, which Ari recommended, is reminding me a bit of that.
I can’t believe I forgot Bain de Champagne!
No kidding! Or maybe only the ailing readers are the ones at home with their laptops….
Also getting over a nasty cold virus here,wearing the suggested YSL Champagne (vintage).Can smell some of it -probably missing some nuances unfortunately.
Oh no! Another person with a cold! Get well soon, and Happy New Year!
I’m afraid I don’t wear any champagne-like fragrances. Well, possibly Isfarkand’s opening of fizzy pink pepper might be the closest I’d come.
I wore Champaca for NYE. I hadn’t worn it for ages, and felt like a simple, unusual, subtle end to a totally bonkers year! It also got into my hair, which smells of it this morning, and since I don’t need to wash it this morning I guess it’ll be my new year’s day fragrance too…….!
I adore Champaca. It reminds me so much of spring before the air really warms up.
Happy New Year! I’m in Peche Cardinal today. I wore it last night but wanted more of its Bellini goodness.
I’m going to get out my sample of it. I’m wearing Duel now, but when it wears off (and it does after too long), I want to dab it on.
Happy New Year, everyone! 🙂
Happy New Year to you, too, Bela!
Was just well enough from a bad cold that went around nearly our whole family to go out for an Arthur Murray New Year’s Eve party last night. Lots of good dancing and my nose was recovered enough for Miss Dior le Parfum, which is my big night out standard now. Probably having a minor relapse today, but it was worth it as long as I can feel decent by Thursday when I have to go back to work. Now I just have to get a very stubborn, reluctant eleven year old to get started on his science fair project (involving diet Coke and Mentos). He needs to write up the background part. Any hints?
You’ve had a colorful few days! A party at Arthur Murray sounds like something from an old Bing Crosby/Danny Kaye movie. And good luck with that science project!
It’s a little like the Bing Crosby or Fred Astaire days, but with some line dances and a lot of latin-influenced dances (Gangnam Style, anyone?). Personally, I prefer waltz and foxtrot, but I’m old fashioned. But it’s fun to have an excuse to get glammed up and really dance with other people.
Especially if you have live music. Sounds like fun!
Sapphire, I always tell my students that the background is where students explain what they knew BEFORE they did the experiment. What experiences have they had with the subject of their research, what ideas led them to come up with their question? In the case of the mentos/Coke reaction, had he seen the Mythbusters episode on it? Did he watch it on YouTube? These might be good starting points to explain what he did and why he decided to do it.
I like to use this reaction as half of a demo with my students. It’s mostly a physical change, actually, not a true chemical reaction, since it’s speeding up the removal of CO2 gas from the Coke, not making a new substance.
The other half of the demo is a real chemical change (and satisfyingly disgusting). I put a cut up chicken liver in some Hydrogen peroxide. Not only does it fizz up, but the container (use glass!) gets very hot–hot enough to cook the liver! The fact that the temperature changes is good evidence that it is a chemical reaction, not just a physical change. Probably too late for him to add this to his experiment, but it might be fun to try anyway! Good luck, in any case!
Thanks, Marjorie Rose!! It’s not easy motivating an eleven year old who is getting over a cold and sleep deprived from all the coughing. We (by this, I mostly mean me) have been very interested in learning the principles behind the reaction. The chicken liver/peroxide thing sounds cool, but we will have our hands full just getting the Diet Coke/Mentos part written up. The hard part is coming up with a plausible hypothesis when this is a pretty well-documented experiment as it is. Our plan at the moment is to test regular versus diet versions of Pepsi, Coke, and a generic cola. We will probably work backward (somewhat) to get the hypothesis. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Hope your new house is going well!
Happy New Year to you all! You make my life so much more interesting and colorful!
Stranded up in the Rockies in Utah – much snow. Need to order that Demeter Snow.
Was in a hurry and left my Nuit de Noël for Christmas Eve and my Champagne de Bois for new Year’s. Blind-grabbed lots of totally wrong stuff for life in a lodge and skiing: Week-end a Deauville, Antonia, Seville a l’Aube….so I make do with a sample of Eau Duelle and Andy Tauers Incense Extreme…..or nothing. Always a good combination with burger patty, beer, wet skiing gear and burning logs….believe me, the snow smells different every day and tree sap and needles in the cold…a miracle….
I love hearing how everyone is spending their New Year’s Day. A snowy lodge in Utah sounds divine (add burgers, wet snowing gear, Duelle, and Incense Extreme, and it’s even better). As it happens, I’ve been working lately on a novel that takes place in a lodge in a blizzard, so the whole atmosphere has been in my brain for weeks.
Have fun!
I rang in the new year wearing the same scent (Azagury eau de parfum) I wore for my wedding back in October. It reminds me of happy times, wedded bliss, and endless possibilities. Perfect for the start of a brand new year. Happy 2013, everyone! xo
That sounds perfect! A great way to end one year and start the next feeling joyful.
Happy New Year, Angela and all of you NSTers! I don’t have anything remotely champagne-like, unless you count my very bubbly violet fave, Stephen Jones by CdG.
December 31 is also my wedding anniversary, so I went sultry with DSH Mirabella. It was perfect!
Nice!
I’d forgotten about Stephen Jones. What a great fragrance, though.
Lazy New Year’s Day here with a just above freezing rain. But I’m curled up on the sofa with an afghan and a book. No perfume today, but the house is delightfully scented with the smell of macaroons in the dehydrator.
Happy New Year all! You all smell maaahhhhvelous!
It sounds like you’re spending your day doing one of my favorite activities!
Happy new year everyone! I didn’t think I had anything champagne-ish but it turns out I do, with Osmanthus Interdite. Suits me just fine as I certainly am not a delicate blonde…
Talking of blondes, I was remembering champagne mentioned in connection with Vraie Blonde, but now that I look it up in your review I see it was Vega that was champagne while VB was ‘cocoa-tinged ginger-ale’!
In any case, Yvresse is awful on me and so is VB. I do not hold out much hope for Vega:)
For most of New Year I have been in Chergui, my one true love, though I have also had small doses of Portrait of a Lady and Rose Anonyme (for NYE) and for NYD, given how hot it is here, it was supplemented with Herba Fresca.
Apparently no one can smell my perfume unless they put their nose right on it – so, I am able to play!
Your choices all sound wonderful–lush and evocative.
Angela, Searching for “persistence” tips for homme fragrances brought me “Now Smell This”. Specifically, bleu by chanel seems to expire within a couple hours. Since parfum over cologne isnt plausible for typical mens fragrances, are frag. free lotions only option? and are there ingredients to avoid?
Other hints I’ve heard are to apply fragrance over vegetable glycerin (easy to get at the drugstore) and to spray it on fabric, such as a shirt, or hair. Since they don’t get as warm, they don’t burn fragrance of as fast.
But some fragrances simply don’t last long, and in those cases it’s often better to carry a small atomizer with you and reapply partway through the day. Good luck!
I’ve heard that fragrance free lotions have stuff in them that neutralises fragrance (makes sense) and that may hide any fragrance you apply with the lotion. So be prepared to experiment. Spraying on clothes is a good option and I too also often carry a decant with me during the day. Failing all that, I just search for fragrances that last well on my skin and ignore the ones that don’t. Simple as that.
I have a bottle of the original Champagne – lucky find! Another, similar sparking wine-type fragrance is Champs-Elysees.
Thanks for the recommendation!