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Friday, January 22, 2016

Top Winter Perfume Picks- Selected (Mostly) By The Husband


Winter top ten perfumes are always the hardest for me to pick. Part of this is because I dislike this season so much. Another reason is that what many consider "cold weather perfumes" are among my most favorite to wear all-year-round, so it feels like all the leathers, heavy gourmands, and smoky fragrances have already been mentioned. I was lamenting this to the Blond who seemed unfazed by my plight. He's slightly more seasonally-directed than me in his perfume choices, or so it seems, and is far less likely to wear anything named "Cuir" in August or a citrus cologne in the dead of winter. "Just write about what you've been reaching for most often these last couple of months", was his suggestion. "What about you? What have you been wearing more frequently?", I challenged him. I've noticed that he has been quite focused on several bottles lately, not necessarily his old standbys,  while barely touching others.  Therefore, the first part of this list is The Husband's top picks for the season, He only had six, which made it easy for me to select the four perfumes I've been wearing a lot lately.

His top perfume picks for winter:

  • Undergreen Gold. Ginger and smoky incense. Quite a bit of ginger has been consumed in our house lately, so this perfume just goes along with our food. 
  • Terre d'Hermes (edt). That's a surprise, actually. I'm usually the one wearing it (and more often in summer), but something in the flinty orange composition has been calling to him lately. That, and the fact he's never visited Basenotes' male fragrance forum.
  • L'Artisan- Dzongkha. I finally got him (us) a full bottle of the stuff, so he's been naturally drawn to it. And, of course, iris and vetiver are his jam.
  • Parfumerie Generale- Querelle. Exactly the same reasons as above, minus the iris.
  • Chanel Egoiste Cologne Concentree (vintage). It's sandalwood and spice, utterly delicious and cozy. His scarves and coat have absorbed a good amount, shielding him from the cold.
  • Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777- Soleil de Jeddah. Funny: this was included in my summer favorites, because I found it to be juicy, and yellow, and all that's good and sexy about long summer days. On his skin the leather is very pronounced and there's no trace of mango. Skin chemistry, go figure.
And mine:
  •  Raghba by Lattafa Perfumes. This is both a guilty pleasure and a cheap thrill. It's a sugar-coated oud, with smoke and vanilla in the background. For under $30 it could have been a lot more tacky (it probably IS quite tacky), but I wear it well. Neither cats nor husband object.
  • Chantecaille- Kalimantan. There has to be a serious patchouli in this mix, and Kalimantan with its dry and formal ways is one of the more interesting takes on this theme. 
  • Parfums MDCI- Les Indes Galantes. It has all the makings of  a classic Christmas/Holiday season perfume: orange, clove, cinnamon, and vanilla. Just add cheer. 
  • My vintage pick for the season is Cabochard de Gres. It's all the coats, hats, and handbags I wish I owned , right out of an old French movie. In black & white, of course.

What are your winter picks? Have they changed since last year?

Please visit my friends at Bois de JasminGrain de Musc, and Now Smell This for more winter perfume picks.


Image: A winter scene by Chéri Hérouard for La Vie Parisienne, 1923

21 comments:

  1. I don't have a clue what my hubby has been wearing. I'm out the door before he spritzes and it's long gone by the time he gets home. He's a light sprayer anyway. I'll have to find out if his choices are somewhat seasonal or not. I'm like you, I wear the traditional winter perfumes year round. I don't wear summery ones in the winter too much though. Lately Noel au Balcon, Chergui, and Ambre Sultan have been in heavy rotation for me.

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    1. Dear Poodle, you just made me crave Ambre Sultan. I haven't worn it in weeks and weeks, so it's time. And I do kind of need a Noel au Balcon bottle. I finished a decant a while ago.

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  2. Right now my favorite for winter are:
    Serge Lutens Fille en Anguilles
    Serge Lutens Cedre
    Guerlain Oriental Brulant
    L'Artisan Parfumeur Ambre extreme
    and my best layered combo are Annick Goutal Myrrhe Ardente with Serge Lutens Un Bois vanille

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    1. Valerie, I'm going to try your layering combo this week. It makes sense, and I've been layering Goutal +Serge tends to work nicely. Thank you for the idea!

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  3. That concentration of Egoiste is the bomb.

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    1. I know, right? It was an antique store find (yes, I love how stuff from my twenties pops up at antique stores), sealed and all. The Husband never smelled it before, but it quickly became a favorite.

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  4. Great list. How is it I always forget about Kalimantan? And I'd never even hear of Lattafa perfumes. Raghba sounds like a brilliant comfort scent and truly irresistible at that price point.
    Anna

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    1. Anna, some of these Arabian perfumes are brilliant cheap thrills. Al Rehab Dalal is another one. It reminds me of Venezia.

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  5. I'm still a fledgling fragrance lover, so my cold weather scent wardrobe consists of 1 solitary bottle of Montale's Vanill Absolu. BUT, in my recent frantic sampling I did fall very much in like with Atelier Cologne's Santal Carmin, so a small decant lives with me now. I would happily add Naomi Goodsir's Bois D'Ascece but my husband is not a fan.

    I am adding Gold Undergreen to my list of scents to sample, too.

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    1. I like both the Montale and Santal Carmin. Must go and dig out a sample.

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  6. My hubby loves SL's Diam Blonde, Ambre Sultan and EL's Azuree in winter.

    My choices for winter are the same as the hubby. I'd add Dior's Dune, Balmain's Ambre Gris, Chanel's Coco, Fendi's Theorema, Lancome's Sikkim and Magie Noire and Laura Mercier's Minuit Enchante.

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    1. I can't get enough Theorema all of a sudden. Thankful for the backup bottle more than ever.

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  7. Its summer here so I am pretending its winter.
    My husband does not wear scent/aftershave etc. but ... he MUST have Brut deo. wearing it for years and believe it or not - it smells good on him! Thank God!
    I found Brut Shaving foam for him this Christmas and you would have thought I had given him the very coveted Guerlain Iris Ganache! LOL Overjoyed!
    So for me ... of course my Gaia's L'Ombre Fauve. I have a new perfume for winter now ... bought it on Ebay for half price and my husband picked it up from the husband of the lady who bought it in Dubai and did not like it and sold it to me - Guerlain's Rose Nacree du Desert.Can you just imagine two old boys exchanging perfume for money in a parking lot.... and they threw in a Jimmy Choo body lotion too ! LOL

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    1. I'm laughing at the perfume exchange scene. We're junkies. And so glad you love L'Ombre Fauve!

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  8. Oh, you don't like winter much - You MUST be just loving today in NJ!
    My husband would only wear Acqua di Gio, but I finally got him to try Habit Rouge edt which is like turning a giant freighter! No seasons for hubby. More like decades.
    I must be wearing 3 scents a day now to get all my faves in. Boxeuses, La Myrrhe, Vol de Nuit, Fille de Aiguilles/5 Gigembre, Ambre Sultan, Un Bois Vanille, Mon Precieux Nectar. Last night doused in Paloma Picasso. Can barely see anything from my window.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. That mega snowfall did not make me happy. We still have snow banks here and there, and they're not going anywhere with temps deep below freezing.
      Habit Rouge is fantastic. The husband and I share a vintage bottle from the 60s. At some point I'll have to get a new one.

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  9. I wish my husband would wear a scent! :)

    But while I was shoveling out the cars yesterday, I was wearing SL Datura Noir (I know you hate this one). I am obviously trying to deny the state of 2' of snow all around me by dreaming about something tropical.

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    1. When I met the husband he had to be reminded to wear deodorant every day. Now... I've created a very lovable monster.

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  10. I live in Singapore so there's nothing like winter here at all (summer all year round). But I was in NYC just last month and I wore all my favourite fragrances. If I ever get to experience another winter, the below would be making their cameos again:

    1) Parfums de Marly Herod --> cinnamon, vanilla and tobacco = PURE WINNER
    2) Phaedon Tabac Rouge --> why TF Tobacco Vanille when I have this
    3) MDCI Chypre Palatin --> I only have a tiny decant of this but after wearing it once, I tell myself I have to have this!

    I love winter fragrances, and it saddens me that I live in a country that has tropical climate all year round...

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    1. Right this moment I'll take an all year round tropics. But ask me again come spring and I'll tell you that NJ is the most magical place on earth.

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  11. what is the feedback about roberto cavalli tiger oud, fancy trying this as I love all things woody would I like this?

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