What makes a ‘winter perfume’?
Our sensory experiences are inextricably seasonal: through the materials we wear, the food we consume and subsequently, our relationship with taste and smell. In the same way that savouring a rich mug of hot chocolate during the height of August has little appeal, dousing oneself with crisp and ozonic fragrance notes can be somewhat jarring when it’s bitterly cold outside.
Temperature also dictates a perfume’s sillage (the scent trail left by the wearer), projection (the distance it travels from the wearer) and also the way in which scent molecules interact with the skin. Heat decreases longevity; cold increases it. But the opposite is true with sillage and projection, meaning that gourmand, spicy, or resinous notes (often used in the base of a perfume) can become cloying in summer, but infuse the air with a much-needed sense of warmth during winter.
Below is a list of fragrances that do just that, ranging from niche scents designed by innovative independent brands to modern classics from major luxury houses.
Dior
‘Gris Dior Esprit de Parfum’
Francis Kurkdijan, who was appointed creative director of Parfums Dior in 2021, created the recently launched ‘Esprit de Parfum’ collection to push the notes of iconic fragrances in the house’s ‘La Collection Privée’ portfolio – ‘Lucky’, ‘Rouge Trafalgar’, ‘Oud Isaphan’, ‘Ambre Nuit’ and ‘Gris Dior’ – to the extreme of their expression’. Subsequently, ‘Gris Dior Esprit de Parfum’ has a heighted floral accord but is also sweeter and woodier.
Bottega Veneta
Bottega Veneta 'Alchemie'
Bottega Veneta’s Alchemie is a fitting choice for those who like to make a statement with their winter fragrances. Unabashedly bold, this blend of myrrh from Somalia and spicy pink pepper lasts from the moment you spray it in the morning until late in the evening. Notes of mandarin, nutmeg and leather add even more depth, while the artisanal glass bottle, handblown in Venice and elevated on a base of Verde Saint Denis marble, compliments the opulence of the fragrance inside.
Loewe
Loewe 'Roasted Vanilla'
The fragrance equivalent of a cashmere sweater, Loewe’s Roasted Vanilla is one of three scents in its new Crafted Collection. A soft, warm fragrance, its creamy vanilla heart is complicated by the peculiar spiciness of pink pepper and the alcoholic sweetness of cognac.
perfumesloewe.com
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton 'Fantasmagory'
Louis Vuitton's ‘Fantasmagory’ is the latest addition to its Les Extraits Collection, a line of perfumes for which in-house nose Jacques Cavallier Belletrud reinterprets classic perfumery notes into idiosyncratic new fragrances.
‘Fantasmagory’s’ central focus is a remarkably pure vanilla note. To create it, the brand cryogenically freezes a whole vanilla pod prior to CO2 extraction, producing a scent that is ‘akin to smoothing a vanilla pod's natural essence directly over bare skin.’ Almond notes add a creaminess to the vanilla’s natural sweetness, while the addition of CO2-extracted ginger adds a touch of freshness. Visionary architect Frank Gehry designed the bottle with soft curves and a silver cap inspired by the appearance of a wind-blown flower.
louisvuitton.com
Perfumer H
Perfumer Lyn Harris’ cult favourite brand, Perfumer H, has come out with a new fragrance just in time for winter. Rose With Insect with a dark reimagining of a classic rose fragrance with succulent notes of peach and neroli, spicy cardamom and metallic aldehydes inspired by the glint of an insect's wing. It is a unique interpretation of a classic rose fragrance that, in the words of the brand, ‘evokes a tainted idyll where perfection is unsettled and fragility becomes desirable.’
perfumerh.com
The Nue Co
The Nue Co’s ‘First Milk’ is an ideal choice for those who prefer their winter fragrances to be more subtle. One of three scents in the brand’s ‘nostalgic’ functional fragrance line–scents that use neuroscientific research to trigger certain emotions– ‘First Milk’ is designed to evoke the infantile comfort of a person’s first scent memory. Made with notes of almond milk, tonka bean, and iris, this ‘skin fragrance’ infuses the natural scent of its wearer with an intimate, creamy quality that lives up to its promise of being instantly calming, while also smelling strangely compelling.
thenueco.com
Acqua di Parma
Acqua di Parma ‘Luce di Rosa’
Acqua di Parma is synonymous with Italian sunshine and its signature fresh and citrussy colognes. But ‘Luce di Rosa’, with rich floral notes of Bulgarian Rose and verdant geranium has a darker facet to its character: a grounding of vetiver, guaiac wood and cedarwood, finishing with the embrace of musk.
Frederic Malle
Frederic Malle ‘L’Eau d’Hiver’
‘L’Eau d’Hiver’, created in 2003 by nose Jean Claude Ellena for Frederic Malle, translates to ‘winter water’. The perfume has been rather accurately described by the brand as ‘fluffy’ and ‘like a perfect scarf, warm and light at the same time, inviting you to curl up with it’. Weightless enough to be worn all year round with top notes of bergamot, the heliotrope in its base notes provides a gourmand and powdery base.
Marissa Zappas
Marissa Zappas ‘Carnival of Souls’
Joining the roster of fragrances created by Marissa Zappas for her namesake brand is ‘Carnival of Souls’, inspired by the 1962 B-movie of the same name. (It was fittingly released on 31 October, to mark Halloween). With notes of mimosa cream, violet, saffron and vanilla, plus incense and musk, Zappas has described it as a ‘melancholic celebration of life (and death), and the radiant psychedelia of survival’.
Diptyque
Diptyque ‘Bois Corsé’
‘Bois Corsé’ is one of the richer scents in Diptyque’s ‘Les Essences de Diptyque’ collection. Created by nose Nathalie Cetto, it combines cedarwood with roasted Arabica coffee, creamy sandalwood and Tonka bean. As Cetto told Wallpaper*: ‘[With ‘Bois Corsé’] I wanted to capture the duality of the tree bark – its rough exterior and its tender, protected core’.
Maison Francis Kurkdijan
Maison Francis Kurkdijan ‘Oud Satin Mood’
Maison Francis Kurkdijan’s ‘Oud Satin Mood’ was created in 2015 with Bulgarian rose, violet and strawberry, Turkish rose and gourmand notes such vanilla and caramel meeting with resinous oud and benzoin at the base. Kurkdijan has said that he designed this fragrance for the wearer to ‘wrap’ themselves in, like being swathed in a rich fabric.
Unifrom
Unifrom ‘Winter Saga’
Stockholm-based independent brand Unifrom is a fragrance house inspired by Swedish high-rise architecture. But, all its perfumes are developed in Paris and made in Grasse. This includes perfume oil ‘Winter Saga’, which blends fresh and warm notes together such as sweet ginger, cinnamon and clove, fir tree and white musk.
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