Winter lets us sit with our fragrances more – the colder weather means they don’t blossom quite as headily; and those subtler changes across the on-wrist lifetime are far more noticeable (not to mention more rewarding).
Smokes, resins, and woods definitely have a place when the mercury drops. But so do citruses, herbs, florals, and fruits. It’s just as fun smelling like a boozy Chesterfield as it is a mortar of medicinal petals. So if you don’t want to smell like you’ve just finished a rendition of Step In Time this winter, check out our top choices for the season below.
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- Santa Maria Novella Quercia
- Xerjoff Louis XV 1722
- Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Angeliques Sous La Pluie
- Dior Dior Homme 2020 (EDT)
- L’Occitane Eau Des Baux
- Aēsop Rōzu
- Frapin 6 Hours To Rio
- Diptyque 34 Boulevard St Germain (EDP)
- Penhaligon’s Fortuitous Finley
Santa Maria Novella Quercia
KEY NOTES:
- Head: Lavender
- Heart: Patchouli, Vetiver
- Base: Oak
WEAR IT WITH:
- Glasses, wool knit, Russian literature, flat white, tangled headphones
Santa Maria Novella is one of the world’s oldest perfumeries, set up by Dominican friars in the roaring 1220s. It may come as a surprise that its newest line is persistently modern. Inspired by the towering oak in the Medici palace gardens, Quercia does what it says on the packaging – deliver a peppery oak that’ll float around you for hours. Murderous lineage not included.
Xerjoff Louis XV 1722
KEY NOTES:
- Head: Aromatic Notes, Liquor, Saffron, Grapefruit, Plum
- Heart: Cocoa, Hazelnut, Coffee, Lavender, Rose
- Base: Amber, Cashmere Wood, Leather, Sandalwood, White Musk, Incense
WEAR IT WITH:
- A last-minute Uber to the party
Moving forward a few hundred years, Xerjoff’s Louis XV 1722 is inspired by another famous palace (one just outside of Paris). Taking cues from the floorboards of the debaucherous halls, expect wafts of rose, coffee, cashmere, hazelnut, sandalwood, and, of course, enough champagne to fill the Nile. Xerjoff collaborated with the de Venoge Master Blender to get the champagne note specifically.
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Angeliques Sous La Pluie
KEY NOTES:
- Head: Juniper Berries, Pink Pepper, Bergamot
- Heart: Angelica
- Base: Cedar, White Musk
WEAR IT WITH:
- Your best boots & a thermos
Rather than warming yourself up, why not embrace the cold? Malle’s Angeliques is a frosty musk – a masculine “your skin but better.” Take a brook-side stroll in the alps and shake the rain out of your hair. While this one won’t last the day, the reapplication becomes that much more invigorating.
Dior Dior Homme 2020 (EDT)
KEY NOTES:
- Head: Bergamot, Pink Pepper, Elemi
- Heart: Atlas Cedar, Cashmere Wood, Patchouli
- Base: Iso E Super, Haitian Vetiver, White Musk
WEAR IT WITH:
- Anything and everything
This famous fragrance underwent a pretty large reformulation in 2020 – the original powdery iris was replaced with a cool, spicy wood evocative of toasty pencil shavings (thanks to the Iso E). Just as addictive as the original, and arguably more wearable, this will be the one you reach for most often.
L’Occitane Eau Des Baux
KEY NOTES:
- Head: Bergamot, Cardamom, Pink Pepper
- Heart: Cypress, Incense, Cinnamon
- Base: Vanilla, Tonka Beans, Cedar
WEAR IT WITH:
- A roaring fire
Hailing from the Bulgari school of sporadic roman lettering, L’Occitane’s “EAV DES BAVX” is one to confront your biases. The brand’s somewhat naff Provence branding has nonetheless come through with a no-fuss, incensed vanilla, at a very affordable price point. Inspired by the Medieval Knights of Baux (with cypress pinned to their cloaks, Lorien style), Eau is likened to less cigarettey Tobacco Vanille. A great option to throw on as you would a favourite jumper or Chet Baker record.
Aēsop Rōzu
KEY NOTES:
- Head: Rose, Pink Pepper, Petitgrain, Bergamot, Shiso
- Heart: Rose, Ylang Ylang, Jasmine, Cumin, Clove, Guaiacwood, Sandalwood
- Base: Vetiver, Patchouli, Myrrh, Musk
WEAR IT WITH:
- A vintage chore jacket thrifted from the 10th
I believe there’s a rose for every nose. If you haven’t found yours yet, Aēsop’s Rōzu is a mercurial one which may suit. At different points smelling like a budding rose to a dried husk, it’s surrounded by hay-like greens for something sentimental, innovative, and understated. It’s less “holding a bouquet” than it is “passing a dusty florist stand in an antiques market.”
Frapin 6 Hours To Rio
KEY NOTES:
- Head: Bergamot, Cardamom, Ginger, Mandarin, Mango, Pineapple, Guava
- Heart: Ambrette Seeds, Rose
- Base: Amber, Musk, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Oud, Woody Amber Accord, Ambermax
WEAR IT WITH:
- Your heirloom pilot’s watch, passport with one spare page, a bundle of spare Reais…
Frapin flies you back to the days of the Concorde, sipping cognac at 16,000 metres in a flash from Paris to Rio. It’s an old-school cologne scent stepping off the plane and bathed in a blast of tropical fruits carried on the breeze. One that will get better as it sits, just like a snifter of cognac.
Diptyque 34 Boulevard St Germain (EDP)
KEY NOTES:
- Head: Cinnamon, Clove, Pink Pepper, Cassis, Citruses
- Heart: Iris, Geranium, Violet, Rose, Tuberose
- Base: Woody Notes, Sandalwood, Amber, Vanilla
WEAR IT WITH:
- The chore jacket you thrifted in the 10th
Inspired by the perfumer’s founding location in Paris, this spicy, woody, floral fragrance evokes the sentiment that you were elbows-deep in the enfleurage yourself. As chic as your moccasins (and as rare on the street).
Penhaligon’s Fortuitous Finley
KEY NOTES:
- Head: Salty Pistachio
- Heart: Violet Leaves
- Base: Leather
WEAR IT WITH:
- A long-sought dinner reservation (and something suede)
The royal family darling’s latest scent is an addition to its own Manor House family of “Portraits” fragrances. The first “downstairs” character, the enigmatic gardener, it’s a handful of green pistachios in a leather glove. A cosy number that stands out from the vanilla-oud-incense crowd, yet fresh enough to veer away from the cloy.
Still on the hunt for your signature scent? Check out our other guides below:
