Even if I try not to fall into the trap of what the media calls ‘seasonally appropriate makeup’, there’re some things I like better in winter than in any other season. Burgundy lipstick is one, wintery scents are the other.
As we’re now all in a proper fragrance mood after our introductory posts about perfumes (1 and 2), I want to show you my fave fragrances I wear all the time in winter. I don’t own that many bottles of perfume, and usually I rotate through them naturally, but there’re definitely some bottles in there that get pulled out during a specific time of the year. I own three versions of Estée Lauder’s Bronze Goddess, for example, and I love them all during summer. But the following fragrances are my main winter loves.
Triomphe, Rancé (50ml, 85€ at Douglas)
My husband brought that one home two years ago, I tried it and nowadays I wear it a lot more often than he does. Rancé is a fascinating perfume house. It was founded in the 17th century (!!!) as a glove making house (gloves were perfumed in those days). Francois Rancé, in the 18th century, was a lifelong admirer of Napoléon I. and created some perfumes dedicated to him, like Triomphe. The scent has been reintroduced in 2009 and has been recently reformulated (I own the older version). For me, it opens with notes that remind me of a classical men’s cologne – citrusy notes, followed by wood. But unlike some colognes, it remains a ‘warm’, and, later on, musky scent, while it never veers into a gourmand territory. While it’s always found under men’s perfumes, I think it’s really a unisex fragrance.
Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum Spray (30ml, 50,95€ at Parfumdreams)
This came out in 2011 as the first fragrance luxury leather giant Bottega Veneta ever did. (Now it has a lot of flankers. As far as I smelled them, stay clear of them and go for the original version.) I read The Non-Blonde’s review of it and was instantly curious. Apricot jam with leather?! Intriguing. And it is. It really is. For me, there’s something languorous and luxurious about this, something ladylike, but with a touch of femme fatale underneath. I always feel grown-up whenever I wear this. It opens with a burst of bergamotte and pepper. The heart and base notes emerge quickly, and this is where the magic happens. I’m never able to smell the Non-Blonde’s boozy peach compote, but there’s a lot of boozy plum compote with some spices thrown in for me, plus the leather. While I’d wear Triomphe for lounging around at home, Bottega Veneta is a fragrance for elegant affairs – dinners, Christmas parties, even a business meeting.
L’Eau d’Hiver, Frederic Malle Editions de Parfum (50ml, 110€ at Essenza Nobile)
And here’s where I cheated. Despite its name, Winter’s Water, L’Eau d’Hiver is not mainly a winter fragrance for me. I wear it during winter, sure, but I can wear this one all year round without any qualms. I was going through a Jean-Claude Ellena phase in my fragrance life when I encountered L’Eau d’Hiver. I wore some of the scents Ellena had done for Hermès, and on a perfume scouting tour with Ronin I sprayed L’Eau d’Hiver (you can read Ronin’s article about it here) and was instantly smitten. I remember reading somewhere that the fragrance should remind you of winter’s pale watercolour landscapes, but for me, it’s the complete opposite. This is a ray of sunshine, the memory of summer in olfactory form, and therefore, it’s a great winter fragrance. I can get behind the idea of a ‘white’ fragrance – there’s iris, almonds and heliotrope in its notes – but for me, it’s mainly honey and hey, with a bit of woody and citrusy notes as well. It’s a very discreet scent, close to the skin, and at the same time quite sexy in a quiet manner. I wear it when I need something uplifting when winter is at its most grey and dreary.
Do you have any favourite winter fragarnces? Tell me about them!
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