2016, in the early days of the New Year, me and my best friend sit in McDonald’s with our newly bought notebooks and gel pens. Over cheeseburgers and fries, we scribble down new years resolutions. This was a big year for us, final year of secondary school, GCSEs, the longest summer ahead of us, 6th form by the autumn, we had to set intentions. Out of the many things I wrote down in my big, glittering A4 notebook, the one I remember most (and still put to practice) was to wear perfume every single day. As the resident perfume expert amongst my friends and with two years’ experience of working with perfumes under my belt, it was only a matter of time before I made this post. Just yesterday afternoon I was sending long, informed voice notes to my friend advising which scents work for the season, which dupes of luxury niche perfumes are actually worth it, and why everyone loves Ariana Grande Cloud (Baccarat Rouge 540 dupe, naturally).
Before working with perfumes, my collection was very humble. One bottle of Elie Saab Girl of Now, which remains my favourite perfume of all time, and a bottle of Mugler Alien that my Dad had gifted me for my 21st birthday. Girl of Now for the day, Alien for the evening (and mostly for nights out). I can no longer wear Alien because I want to forever preserve the memories of the summer I turned 21 whenever I get a sniff. I’m quite a nostalgic person and fall prey to sentimental sensibilities. I love that perfume has the power to take you back to a specific time, or place, or comfort of a person. I can’t smell Chanel Coco Mademoiselle without thinking of one of my best friends, Gucci Rush invokes childhood memories of me and my cousin as we doused ourselves in her mother’s bottle, whilst Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire floods back memories of teen house parties and the taste of cheap cider as I’d spritz myself with my friends bottle before we went out.
When it comes to my perfume proclivities, I almost strictly own full bodied amber/chypre scents or sweet, decadent gourmands. They are definitely my two favourite fragrance families and are typically merged together. Amber, dubbed the ‘fantasy’ note of perfumes, doesn’t actually exist in and of itself but instead describes warm, sweet scents, usually mixing together sugary notes of vanilla, with woody, earthy notes like sandalwood and patchouli. Gourmands describe syrupy, almost edible perfumes, usually leading with a fruity note and blended with accords of actual foods such as chocolate, whipped cream, or honey. Then of course, you have floral fragrances, woody, aquatic, ozonic, animalic, and citrus scents. A lot of the times these fragrance families will overlap, and you’ll have a marrying of floral-amber or aquatic-citrus.
For my gourmand girls: Zadig & Voltaire This is Her (jasmine, chestnut and whipped cream) and Sol de Janeiro 71 (caramel, white chocolate, macadamia nut, and salt). £108 (left), £24 (right).
What is really key to finding your signature scent, whether that be for a lifetime or just for a season, is identifying which notes hop out to you. My nose typically scans for vanilla, patchouli, ylang ylang, and bergamot to name but a few. My no-go’s are usually heavily citrus based scents, or those a little too heavy on the musk or leather accords (Tom Ford Ombre Leather, I’m looking at you). I’ve almost turned into something of a sniffer dog since my heavy involvement with perfume. Walking through busy, congested Oxford street, I’m usually hit with thick clouds of Parfums de Marly Delina (gorgeous), Tom Ford Black Orchid, and Creed Aventus hovering above fellow shoppers. All of the popular big-shot scents. Aroma’s of strong ouds also permeate the air, and I love that depending on the area, the most common scent changes.
On dates, I enjoy working out what my suitor has spritzed on for the occasion, and in department stores, I’ll always make time for the perfume counter. I still dream of a particular perfume I tried at Fortnum & Mason last December by a small French perfumer, Plume Impressions (notes of strawberry, magnolia, musk and caramel, j’adore!). Though I am focusing on women’s perfumes, I do also enjoy men’s. For men, I still enjoy sweet ambers, but with much heavier woody notes and spiced, smoky elements. Some of my favourites for men include, Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Elixir (a boozy benzoin scent with lavender, tonka bean and honey), Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb Extreme (a concoction of vanilla, tobacco, and bourbon, yum), Armani Acqua Di Gio Profondo Parfum (the latest from the Armani line, think the salty yet sweet breeze of a summers day by the sea), and Maison Margiela Replica By the Fireplace (chestnuts roasting on an open fire in a bottle). Now men are out of the way, its time for the girlies! Below are my handpicked, tried and tested favourite perfumes, selected specifically for the season. I’ve split them into my top favourite fragrance families: Amber, Gourmand and Floral.
Amber
Vanilla
A surprise category, but it just felt right given it is the current ‘IT-girl’ of perfume ingredients as of autumn 2023. There are so many vanilla perfumes out there at the minute, and TikTok will have you buying every single one of them. Below are my current favourites out of the many I’ve tried!
Floral
To cut through the sickly saccharine, below are some great wintertime florals.
Gourmand
For the sweet-tooth havers, my 3 top-tier gourmands that don’t have the dreaded cloying effect nor come off as cheap and hyper synthetic.
So there we have it, my top amber, floral, gourmand and vanilla scents for the winter season. If fragrance families and olfactory notes interest you, I recommend Fragrantica. What Letterboxd is to movies and Wikipedia is to trivia, Fragrantica is to all things perfume. I’m always on there as soon as I get news of a new perfume release. If you’re reading this to get a head start this gifting season, then I hope you have found a perfume or two that you know would make your loved one happy. And if not, then I hope you have found something for yourself to indulge in. Whether you need a new scent for evenings out (now its officially going ‘out out’ season), want to impress a date, or need a pretty pick-me-up, give in to the enticing aromas of a delicious new scent.
What’s your favourite scent?
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