Winter 2024/25 – The Candy Perfume Boy
I’m a firm believer that fragrance should be approached much in the same way as fashion. You would not dream of having only one outfit for every single occasion or season, so why would you do the same with your scent? There is literally a fragrance for everything and I always try and match my scent to my outfit, whatever it is I may be doing, and the season of the time. For these reasons I’ve got into a cycle of curating a seasonal fragrance wardrobe which sits on a lovely little marble tray in my bedroom. I’ll be sharing this selection with you every season (whether you like it or not….)
Winter 2024/25 has been a very busy season life-wise and a mixed season for me from an olfactory perspective. I’ve focused on warmer scents (understandably) but have also craved freshness. I’ve leaned into the gourmand quite often (quelle surprise) and have worn a mixture of new launches and classics. There have even been one or two rediscoveries of things in my collection that I’d completely forgotten about. It’s been an exciting time fragrance-wise, so here’s a quick round-up of what I wore over the last few months.
I always have time for roses and this winter there have been three in my rotation. Mostly I’ve been basking in the glorious trail of Edition de Parfum Frederic Malle’s resplendently rosy (and also fruity and dark spicy) Portrait of a Lady – a scent that grabs attention by the neck and refuses to let it go. Perfect for those days when you need people to know that you mean business which, I find to be most days.
For softer moments I’ve been enjoying Molton Brown’s Rose Dunes, which is billed as a rose-oud, but to me is more of a fresh, yeasty rose with hints of saffron. Think rose water with a bit of warm oomph underneath it. Then for my gourmand fix (I told you I’d been leaning gourmand) Elie Saab’s Essence No 1 Rose has really been hitting the spot. It’s a fruity, raspberry rose with oodles of vanilla that evokes Rochas’ Tocade, but if Tocade had been made in the kitchens at Ladurée.
Of course I’m always diving into something new and with any season I’m always building new launches into my wardrobe. Some will stick around longer than others but one that has really hung around for me all winter is Ganymede(EDP) by Marc-Antoine Barrois. OK, this isn’t a new launch but it is new to me (I’ve been out of the loop for a little while, don’t forget) and I’ve been completely enthralled by its fascinatingly unique take on immortelle and Akigalawood.
Then there’s Opal, the £900 (yes that is the correct number of zeros) fragrance from Boadicea the Victorious. Opal is a beautifully rich (as it should be for the price…) iris-rose with a twist of coffee and patchouli. It feels powdery and diaphanous like slamming an old book shut and breathing in the dust. Then there’s Purpose 50 from Amouage, which has been a new entry in the rotation. I’ll be reviewing it in full soon but I enjoy that it’s a unique essay on frankincense that uses intriguing materials. It’s a big compliment-getter too, if that’s your bag.
Personally, I think Lanvin should have me on some sort of commission with the number of bottles of Arpége I’ve “influenced” over the last month or so. Every time I wear it I will inevitably have someone ask me what it is and when I tell them that it’s £30 for 100ml they immediately buy it. The same has happened when I’ve posted about it on instagram. I adore Arpége in the winter. That sparkle of soft aldehydes with the sweet warmth of jasmine over the woody vetiver base. It’s just so effortlessly chic in the best way (and also perfect as a modern masculine, if you ask me). I love it and I’m almost sad to think that it will get less of an outing in spring/summer.
In any season it’s pretty much guaranteed that there will be at least one Guerlain in my wardrobe. In Winter 2024/25 there have been three, two of which are classics. Often in winter I crave freshness and Guerlain’s Vetiver always hit’s the spot. There’s something so comforting about it, perhaps due to the contrast of citrus and spice, against the aromatic vetiver and warm woody notes. Whatever it is, Vetiver usually comes through for me in winter.
When I want something effortless though, I go reach for L’Instant Pour Homme which, controversially, I prefer in the EDT concentration (in comparison to the more popular EDP Extreme). L’Instant is the perfect “I don’t know what to wear” scent. It’s soft, powdery woods with a chocolatey undertone, all supported by fantastically bright and high quality citrus notes up top. A modern classic that’s perfect for winter.
My friends Nick and Pia over at Eau de Boujee really excelled themselves with Gilded. Yes, all of their fragrances are brilliant, but Gilded feels especially so. It really does capture the scent of cold gold and incense. It’s the scent of whispers in a Cathedral and smoke trapped in the stone walls over centuries. So wonderfully evocative!
Less wonderful and more weird is Comme des Garçons’ Black, which is a smoky, tarry, and dare I say, meaty, scent that ticks the boxes of everything I should hate in a perfume, but somehow is so subtly done it just works. I love this on the coldest of days – it’s one of those scents that begs to be wafting up from a big chunky scarf and wafts it does, with beautiful wisps of salty sweet smoke. Delightful, even if it is giving barbecue…
Finally we have the rediscoveries. There were three fragrances that I had in my wardrobe this winter that I hadn’t worn for quite some time. Angélique Noire, Guerlain’s odd take on vanilla that blends fresh greenery with a powdery, old book vanilla was a scent I loved when I first got about but promptly forgot about. Mugler’s Alien Man I entirely overlooked when it launched but have since come to love for its unusual, sporty-fresh (and osmanthus-fruity) take on leather. It’s creamy, cold and strange. Such a shame it is now discontinued. Then, finally, La Religieuse by Serge Lutens is an example of something I dismissed as boring until I reached for it one cold day in January. Ever since I’ve been revelling in its icy cold, jammy sweet jasmine blooms. It’s very Nosferatu if he’d had a makeover and none of the rotting flesh….
Disclaimer
Images are my own. The following were gifted (many of which a long time ago): Essence No 1 Rose (Elie Saab), Rose Dunes (Molton Brown), Ganymede (Marc-Antoine Barrois), Opal (Boadicea the Victorious), Purpose 50 (Amouage), Vetiver (Guerlain), Gilded (Eau de Boujee), Angélique Noire (Guerlain), and La Religieuse (Serge Lutens). The following were purchased and paid for by me: Portrait of a Lady (Frederic Malle), Black (Comme des Garcons), Arpége (Lanvin), L’Instant de Guerlain (Guerlain), Alien Man (Mugler)