Today we’re helping Lindsay, who recently moved from Kentucky to Turkmenistan. She’s got a trip to London coming up, and she wants our help deciding what fabulous perfume she should buy while she’s there. She’s looking for something “that is evocative of winter and/or is a good cold-weather scent”, and she’s willing to spend up to $200.
Here is what we know about Lindsay:
She’s in her early 30s, and is a kindergarten teacher and mother of twin boys.
Lindsay says she is artistic, and she enjoys fashion, reading, and lounging. Her look varies from severe (monochrome and sleek lines) to bohemian (maxi dresses and scarves), but she always tries to look (and smell) interesting. She picks her daily fragrance to go with the weather and her mood.
Lindsay likes notes of iris, vanilla, civet, incense, tobacco, rose, honey, hay. She already has some great hot weather scents, including Bourbon French Voodoo Love, Annick Goutal Songes, Chanel Gardenia and L de Lolita Lempicka. Other fragrances she owns and loves include Guerlain L’Heure Bleue, Molinard Habanita, Bois 1920 Real Patchouly, Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere, Lanvin Arpege, Jean Desprez Bal a Versailles and Miller Harris L’air de Rien. She also has Balmain Jolie Madame, and does consider it a great cold-weather fragrance.
Lindsay does not like citrus, “fresh”, most men’s colognes or fruity florals. Perfumes on her “no” list include Jean Paul Gaultier Ma Dame, Yves Saint Laurent Elle, Lancome Hypnose, Chanel Cristalle, Guerlain Mitsouko, most Estee Lauders and most Diors. With the exception of the Estee Lauders, all of those seem “shrill” to Lindsay. Here are a few perfumes Lindsay has already considered for her new scent:
Guerlain Apres L’Ondee: Very close to what she is looking for, but too short-lived.
Guerlain Vol de Nuit: This will be Lindsay’s standby if she doesn’t find anything else.
Serge Lutens Fumerie Turque: she has tried it and it is a definite possibility, but she is hesitating because it’s so similar to two scents she already owns, Molinard Habanita and Bois 1920 Real Patchouly.
What say you? And if you already know what store in London might carry the perfume you’re recommending, do include that information in your comment.
Note: image is 6:45 pm by Jam Adams on flickr; some rights reserved.
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Just a few thoughts to start:
Lindsay might find Ellena’s homage to Apres L’Ondee, Frederic Malle’s Eau d’Hiver likable and longer-lived. And for notes of rose, honey and hay in one winter package, she might try Chergui by Serge Lutens. Because she’ll be in London: Ormonde Jayne.
Mmmm. If you’re going to explore the Ormonde Jaynes, Ta’if might just do the trick.
Chergui was the first thing that popped into my head, too.
Have you tried Chanel’s Cuir de Russie or Coco? Cuir de Russie is a great leather and Coco is a good warm and spicy scent. I’m also currently falling in love with by Kilian Back to Black – a great pipe tobacco, labdanum and honey scent. It’s very comforting and has a sweet edge to it without smelling gourmand to me. For a cheaper scent, I love both Brit Red and Kenzo Amour in the winter. Lempicka Fleur d’Corail is a great cooler weather scent, too.
Back to Black sounds lovely to me!
Sadly, I think that this may be the by Kilian that sucks me in – I had vowed not to fall for their overpriced packaging, but I may have to spring for the travel set.
My one recommendation would be PdN’s Sacre Bleu, as it has vanilla and incense and I’ve heard people compare it to L’Heure Bleue, which she already has and loves. I think it’s a great cold weather fragrance, really beautiful.
Second the Sacrebleu
Hi Lindsay, just a few suggestions for you. I like very strange cold weather scents, and one of my favorites is Eau d’Italie Sienna l’Hiver, which is very earthy and grounded-y, and sharp. It puts me in mind of stepping outside in early morning in November, in a deserted place with bare trees, moist earth, and a light fall of snow on the ground. I’ve never smelled anything like it, and I love it.
Another one that you might like is Onda by Vero Profumo, which I hated when I first tried, and now can’t get enough of it. It’s an animalic kind of incense which on me turns very spicy and wonderful, and is the kind of thing you want to smell on your scarves the day after you wear it. (My husband unfortunately hates it with a passion, so fair warning, the people around you may not like it!)
Finally maybe you should try Friedric Malle’s l’eau d’Hiver–that is one I myself have not tried but have heard good things about and is on my list of samples to get. From what I have read about it, it might invoke the kind of feel you are going for.
I’m wearing Vol de Nuit today myself, so the smell of that is inspiring my picks for you today. Good luck!
My first thought was Harrod’s for Her by Bond No. 9 because you can only get it there. I’ve never smelled it, but the notes suggest it might be too citrusy. They include nutmeg, tuberose, leather, sandalwood, amber, chamomile, mandarin orange, clary sage, vetiver, and neroli (from Fragantica). I have no idea how that would come off, and the Bonds are a little too expensive to buy for novelty’s sake, but it might be worth a sniff.
I think Harrod’s has a Caron boutique, and I highly recommend Tabac Blond for a smoky leather scent. It is one of their urn fragrances and I think you can get it there. How fun to pick your own bottle and have it filled with the beautiful Tabac Blond!
Hi Lindsay, you “almost-but-not-quite” picks tell me that you’re looking for something big & bosomy. Things which come to mind:
Serge Lutens Chergui (leather, tobacco, honey & mint gorgeousness)
Ormonde Jayne Tolu (incense-y, balsamic, hyperfeminine lush oriental)
Gucci EDP (oriental filled to the brim with thyme & heliotrope which smells waaay more expensive than the price tag would betray – not to be confused with the new-ish Gucci by Gucci EdP)
Have to second the Tolu!
I third the Tolu!
Hello all! Thanks so much for all the recommendations! I’m going to print this your suggestions for my sampling excursions.
Julia, I have definitely considered Tabac Blond, and I do like the idea of the Bond one, although I haven’t liked any of the Bonds I’ve tried.
Chergui sounds like a definite one to try as well.
Honestly, I haven’t either and goodness knows I’ve tried. I have a gazillion samples from the Bond line, and I’ve even purchased a couple of FBs then had such a bad reaction to after wearing for a couple hours I took them back (I love the SAs at Saks). They start off so nicely, but then they become cloying and seem to go on and on forever. One of them even made my husband’s eyes water and he told me it was burning his sinuses. I’ve read that Tabac Blond isn’t what it used to be, but what is? I have a large decant of the extrait and it is heavier on the carnation than I remember, but I still love it. I also I love the idea of having it decanted from the urn just for me. Someday….
Hi all,
I’m way late to the party, but thought about recommending Aromatics Elixir by Clinique. It’s reasonably priced, lasts forever, one spray does the trick. Very unique scent. Notes are sage, chamomile, geranium, jasmine, rose, ylang ylang, vetiver, patchouli, oakmoss.
I also second the VdN by Guerlain-one of my faves, and also Jicky by Guerlain, it’s got herbs in the top notes, and civet/patchouli in the drydown.
Kentucky to Turkmenistan, eh? With twin boys? Bless you, Lindsay, for an adverturous soul! I’d recommend Piguet’s Bandit for that wonderful leather note, or Chanel’s 31 Rue Cambon (not flowery, has leather and is soft). You say you don’t like the Bond #9..does that include Chinatown? One of my faves for cool weather, and second the Sacre Bleu.
Keep us posted!
Second the Rue Cambon! It doesn’t necessarily have the notes you’ve listed, but it is similar in “feel” to some of your almosts, but with a more modern feel that is different enough from Habanita to justify purchase. Plus it’s gorgeous stuff!
A few thoughts: POTL’s Luctor et Emergo is a nice, warm, incensey and strange scent that suits her creative side…and the infamous “Play-Doh” note works well for a K teacher.
Andy Tauer’s Incense Rose for the incense/rose combo, or Stephanie de St.-Aignan’s Berberiades for a warm spice-fest.
I love the play-doh note–I’ll definitely have to try this.
Go to Liberty and Les Senteurs, and there is a fabulous L’Artisan store on Marylebone High Street. I’ll have a think of specific perfumes to try, but those are my favourite stores and that have the most range…….
Ah – I forgot to mention ……. there are a few great perfume shops very nearby in London – Dover Street Market on Dover Street has the full Commes des Garcons range, and in the next street is Ormonde Jayne in The Royal Arcade on Old Bond Street. The nearest tube is Green Park. There is also a Chanel Store on Old Bond St which has the Exclusifs range. AND…..an Etro store too!
I recommend Coromandel at Chanel, so wintery and warm. Etro has two fab incense scents – Shaal Nur and Messe de Minuit. Ormonde Jayne has some lovely winter scents – Tolu is heavy and resinous and slightly sweet, and Ormonde Woman is so unusual it has to be sampled – also, their masculine scents are worth giving a go, Ormonde Man especially. Commes des Garconnes have the great Incense range which are worth trying.
I’d also recommend visiting the Roja Dove boutique right at the top of Harrods in Knightsbridge. It is an Aladdin’s Cave for perfume lovers and the SA’s are knowledgeable and enthusiastic. They have wonderful selection – I recommend trying, for Winter, Caron’s Tabac Blond and Nuit de Noel (both in pure parfum). Both are utter classics. Also, Bandit by Robert Piguet is a great winter scent – Roja Dove has it in all three concentrations.
Ooh, thank you for the shop recs!!!
Absolutely should try Ormonde Jayne, and for somebody with that list, I think OJ Woman would be a good scent to explore. (There’s something about a nose that embraces Songes, L’Heure Bleu, and Vol de Nuit that makes me think this rich but greenish scent would be good for Lindsay.)
Fredrick Malle is a good stop, not just for L’Eau d’Hiver (which I love and understand why people are thinking of it), but also En Passant, Giacobetti’s reminiscence and extension of Apres L’Ondee. That one is interesting on me, in that it keeps disappearing and then reappearing, which when I was teaching was actually a kind of fun thing. A bit of a pleasant game of peekabo to both bring little bursts of happiness but not overwhelm while at work.
Isn’t En Passant fun? I love your description! One doesn’t really “wear” this fragrance in the normal way. I do think of it as a spring fragrance, but you have me thinking I’d enjoy it on a winter day.
OMG, teaching in Central Asia? Been there. I think my pefume of choice was called “whiskey”, but then, I was never a very good teacher.
L’Eau d’Hiver is gorgeous and peppery (I actually sneeze every time I spray it, but it’s real wrist-sniffer).
How about The Different Company’s Jasmine de Nuit? I’m not sure if it counts as wintery, but it’s gorgeous. Rose Poivre is also rosey and civety, but I have to admit, might even be a bit too skanky for me. Their Bois de Iris is stunning, too, if you like that kind of iris.
“Vodka” is a far more budget-friendly option than whiskey here in the former Soviet Union!
Hi Lindsay! I hope you have a great time sniffing around London. You should try and get to smell Miller Harris Rose en Noir which is only sold at Liberty’s in London. It is gorgeous deep dark rose and patchouli/woods fragrance. Very unique and hard to get!! It will speak to your bohemian side!
And then you should try and smell the rest of the Miller Harris line which should be available at any good shop in London. The Geranium Bourbon & Fleurs de Sel are very good.
And I love Vol de Nuit too, so if that’s what you get, that’s still really excellent! Do some research on Guerlain batch numbers before you go shopping so you will get an older bottle of it – they’ve reformulated it very recently and it doesn’t smell quite the same!
Oy, and I forgot to mention.. if there are any shops there that sell the Beihl Parfumkunstwerke line, you should sniff out the MB 02 which I think smells very much like Apres L’Ondee and Paris (YSL) got mixed up with some light crushed pepper. It is very pretty.
Saying ‘hi Lindsay’ from back in Kentucky! Several of my favorites are already on your list so I’ll recommend my all time winter favorite – Guerlain’s Spiritueuse Double Vanille.
Also, I’m not sure which strength of the Vol de Nuit you’re considering, but the parfum is much richer and warmer for winter than the edt.
Good luck!
SDV has been on my to-try list for a long time!
Don’t let the name fool you – it’s not “just” a vanilla. It’s very deep, rich and multi-faceted, with shades of rose, wood, booze, spices and tobacco with the dark vanilla.
Hello Lindsay, and all the best with the move. Kentucky to Turkmenistan? Wow. That’s quite a climatic and cultural leap!
I would say, because you have a nose for the French classics, to stay with them. They will, I think, give you the most familiar reassurance on short, dark days closer to the North Pole. (I’m from Vancouver, and even here it gets dark early.) Chanel Cuir de Russie and Coco, as have been mentioned, would keep you luxuriously cozy, You might also try Coromandel while you’re at Chanel: Chris Sheldrake from Serge Lutens and Jacques Polge collaborated on it, and it is a dense, warm, velvety scent with patchouli and amber over a vanilla, woodsy, incensy drydown.
You will be lucky enough in London to find all of the Guerlains, so I encourage you to drop in and try some of the newer stars. I would say that the ones that might keep you the warmest would be Bois d’Armenie (I love, love, love: all honeyed benzoin), Attrape-Coeur (ditoo; you’ll find it beautifully complex and womanly), Cuir Beluga (creamy orange, immortelle, amber, leather, vanilla, heliotrope) Iris Ganache (iris butter worked like white chocolate, with cinnamon and ambery vanilla) and Spiriteuse Double Vanille, a smoky, complex incense vanilla (notes of vanilla, frankincense, benzoin, rose, ylang, pepper, bergamot.)
I’m sure you’ll find your time “up north” a fascinating time in your life.
“Up north” in a figurative sense; I looked up Turkmenistan and see that it’s north of Afghanistan. If you’re in the higher elevations, it could be very chilly!
We’re close enough to the mountains to have the lovely view, but not actually in the mountains. It does get surprisingly cold here, though!
I would suggest some recent favorites that include several notes you mention on your “I like” list…
!!!
Bois d’iris by Van Cleef and Arples: a slightly powdery and spicy Iris on the most wonderful bed of woods, myrrh, vanilla and amber.
Bois d’iris by The different company: an earthy Orris got lost in Serge Lutens Petit Livre de Parfums.
L’artisan Parfumeur Havana Vanille: bozzy vanilla with ahy and tobacco undertones
L’amoureuse, by Parfums del Rae: well it is just one of the most beautiful honeyed perfumes I know. You must LOVE honey, though….
Good Luck and have fun! I envy your trip to London
Oh, I had forgotten about Havana Vanille; that’s one I’ve wanted to try.
It sure sounds promising!
Frederic Malle Noir Epices is definitely a cold weather scent and also Lexington Avenue by Bond No. 9. Have a great time in London!!
If you like rose, incense, civet, vanilla, then Parfum Sacre by Caron might be perfect for you. It’s a warm, complicated oriental, seductive and full of vintagey charm. I love it in the winter, when its richness is the perfect antidote to cold weather.
I have and love this one! It is great for cold weather!
Also you might like L’Artisan’s wonderful Dzongkha, which is a perfect scent for those clear bright blue skies days in winter.
When I hear “winter scent” I say “Bois 1920 Sushi Imperiale”. Sparkly cold-but-happy ginger. Fire-sparks on snow. So I wanted to just get that reflexive response out there.
The discussion of incense and Fumerie Turque makes me think of Serge Lutens Serge Noire, which I think would be compatible with the “monochrome and sleek lines” look. I envision it as the smell of fine black volcanic dust. Serge Noire is _wildly_ different between topnotes and drydown – in my opinion, you haven’t tried it until you’ve had it on for about three hours. I almost dislike the beginning, but I love the middle-to-the-end so much that it’s still one of my top five fragrances.
Lorenzo Villoresi Yerbamate? To me, it’s as if you mowed a fragrant field of grass, meadow flowers, flowering herbs, and a little tobacco, dried it all over just a little smoke, and distilled it into a bottle. Before a couple of days ago I would have thought that this was a summer fragrance, but I found that the resinous notes and the fact that most of the greenery smells dried makes it work for winter. I’d say that it would appeal to the tobacco, hay, and maybe the incense cravings.
Le Labo Patchouli 24? It may be too close to the patchouli that you already own, but to me it’s a very “different” patchouli. People seem to feel that it smells more of birch tar than patchouli – not knowing birch tar, I can’t say.
And another vote for Chergui. And Dzongkha.
I have Sushi Imperiale, and it is lovely!
Do you find SI to be a bit “high strung”? I am trying to enjoy its warmth and sweetness but I do find a sort of tinny, acidic note in there as it dries down. Love the bottle but the juice just aint working!
(
I don’t know that I find it tinny or high strung, but I definitely wear it more in warmer weather. It doesn’t feel comfortable at all–more sparkly? I’m being vague and unhelpful; it’s hard to describe accurately. . .
I find it pretty much perfect, but I can see that just a tiny shift – certainly within the range of skin chemistry differences – could turn it “off”.
I highly recommend sampling the Amouages, particularly Ubar, Jubilation 25 and Epic woman. Good luck and have fun!
I forgot about the Amouages earlier – I haven’t tried Ubar, but I heartily second the Epic Woman and Jubilation 25 suggestion – both of them make me swoon with delight upon application.
Une Rose Chyrpee is another great spicy scent, as is CdG Carnation.
A few things to try at Liberty–Lubin’s Idole and Vetiver, Malle’s Une Rose, AG Mandragore Pourpre, Etro’s Shaal Nur, and Le Labo Poivre 23, Rose 31 and Iris 39.
And of course the Ormonde Jayne shop is a must!
Hi there…similar tastes…a bit of a chameleon/artistic
all great recs above
i love fumerie turque, yet it feels a little thin for winter. borneo feels heavier,more wintery and less sweet than cherugui..
my two most used winter frags are
1st bois de isle…a second skin…(you can spray the exclusif eau de toilette with great abandon)
2nd attrape coer….and i have a great love for a vintage shalimer eau de toilette..its new, so icannot say it it becomes a most used!!
good luck and good smelling
If it’s the violet you like in Apres L’Ondee, you might enjoy The Unicorn Spell by LesNez. It amps up a similar violet theme but with a good dose of something animalic in the base. I like to think of it as a ‘dirty Apres L’Ondee’… Some people find it too green but I think it’s a mysterious scent, like walking in a moonlit forest. It has terrific longevity too. (esp. compared to ALO).
Thank you everyone for all your suggestions! I am really excited about my trip–especially now that I have some direction in my sampling plans!
Sounds like you have a great perfume wardrobe already under way! I’m hard pressed to come up with anything new after all of the excellent recs you’ve gotten (Shaal Nur is one of my own HG’s), but one thing that occurred to me when you said you always try to look “interesting” would be Comme des Garcons 2. I love its oddness, it’s cold-warm, and although “sumi-e ink” sounds like it should be offputting it is surprisingly lovely. To me this is a great cold weather scent.
Another one that is more easily gotten & not to chase down on this trip, but eventually? Have you tried Bandit? Inexpensive, and if it works for you it’s like nothing else. It’s another one that smells edgy and really lovely in winter.
Bandit is one that seems like a scent I should love. I *want* to love it. However, it smelled like burning rubber and acid on me.
Perhaps the tester bottle had gone off? I hope that’s the case, because everyone else’s descriptions of it sound so wonderful!
Gemini, that may be the case. I loved it when I sprayed some on myself, then took a tester home and hated it. And then, as some on here already know the story goes, I apparently ordered some before said tester incident. I brought it home yesterday and tried it again–guess what? I love it. So it may be worth re-trying. I’d be happy to send you a sample. (Same name on MUA, message me there.)
Thank you so much for the offer!
Unfortunately, there is no reliable mail delivery service here, and it would cost at least $50 to send a package that may or may not arrive. So I’ll just retry it when I’m in London.
You might like to try Bois Farine by Lartisan, which is a creamy wood scent. Different and unique in a non-jarring way, very comforting and should definitely be appealing to those preschoolers! Some of the other suggestions are great too, such as OJ Woman, Iris 39 and Chinatown.
Lindsay, from reading your introduction, I agree with the suggestions to try Ormonde Jayne Woman, Tolu and Ta’if, The Different Company Rose Poivree, Etro Shaal Nur, and Lutens Chergui. And looking at your favored notes list… if you run across Parfumerie Generale fragrances, I urge you to try Felanilla, Iris Taizo, and Bois Blond. Have fun!
Felanilla is one that interested me in the past, but I had forgotten about it. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to try it out!
Hermes Caleche (vintage) ?
Hi Lindsay, recommend a visit to Les Senteurs, the shop is really cute and offers a fabulous sample service (free if you make it to the shop, £2.50 per sample if they have to send it). if you want any help in finding Les Senteurs, OJ’s shop etc. or just fancy company on your sampling tour, I would be happy to show you around. All the best for your search!
Hi Lindsay, i recommend citizen queen by juliette has a gun (lucky scent has a lovely velvet boxed purse bullet set, very cool ) & that wonderful rose guerlain nahema. Cold weather certainly seems a long way off here in adelaide south australia (41 degrees celsius today & tomorrow) but 2 of my go to cosy winter scents are barbara bui (incense & rice pudding) & parfumerie generale aomassai 10 which has an absolutely scrumptious honey note.
Thank you all so much! I am so looking forward to this trip, and it is great to have some definite ideas for testing.