Holiday Scents

Thanksgiving is over and the Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanzaa/Yule season is nigh. If the weather would ever get cold around here in Maryland (it's been in the 60s for the last month or so), I'd be breaking out my cold weather scents and spraying them with abandon. What I'm really looking forward to is wearing the perfumes that remind me of Christmas....

Fendi Theorema
Notes: nutmeg, pepper, orange, rosewood, rose, ylang-ylang, carnation, cinnamon, labdanum, patchouli, sandalwood, benzoin Siam

I fell in love with Theorema at first sniff. It was August 1998, in Seattle, and a friend and I were exploring the fragrances at Nordstrom. Theorema was brand new, and I was enchanted by its warm spiciness, reminding me of gingerbread with a hint of orange.

I still have a few ml left in my original bottle. Even twelve years later, the scent is still gorgeous and Christmassy. I also have a back-up bottle that I was lucky to grab from a perfume discounter as soon as I heard it was discontinued. Why do all of my favorites come to an early end? Of course, Fendi is weird. They recently discontinued ALL of their fragrances (at least in the US) and brought out the very generic-smelling Palazzo. Methinks they have their heads up their butts.


Etat Libre d'Orange Noel au Balcon
Notes: tangerine, vanilla, honey, orange blossom, apricot, red pepper, patchouli, musk, cistus, cinnamon, nigella, amber

The title of this one makes it pretty obviously Christmassy. Like Theorema, it's a warm scent with citrus, but this one is more honeyed than spicy, with a light amber-y vanilla background. I think it's really quite delicious, and Christmassy without being too spicy.

Annick Goutal Encens Flamboyant
Notes: three types of frankincense, black and pink pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, fir balsam, mastic

This is a much more "church-y" fragrance than the two above. It reminds me of Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, in a church full of fresh fir trees that lend their scent to the air and mingle with the smoky fragrance emanating from the priest's censer. The Frankincense aroma isn't exactly the way I remember Catholic church incense, but it's close enough to create the illusion.


So what are your favorite scents to wear around the Winter holidays?

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Fragrance Wish List

Hermessence Ambre Narguile
by Hermes

"Amber, the Western expression of Eastern fragrances, has a warm, enveloping, almost carnal smell. I wanted to imbue this idea of amber with the memory of the East I love where tobacco - blended with the smells of fruit, honey and spices - is smoked in narguilés, or water pipes, and where swirls of smoke diffuse a sweet sense of intoxication."

-Jean-Claude Ellena

That pretty much sums it up. This fragrance is warm and cozy, with lots of honeyed fruits and an ambery tobacco. It was love at first sniff. Unfortunately, my wallet can't afford the $235 for 3.3oz.

10 Corso Como
by 10 Corso Como

While I can better afford this gorgeous sandalwood and oud scent, my darling husband does not like it. I believe he compared it unfavorably to a male relative of his. It's probably not a good thing for a wife to smell like a dead male relative, huh?


Tilda Swinton Like This
by Etat Libre d’Orange

One would think that a scent named after an iconoclast such as actress Tilda Swinton would be somewhat unusual. Maybe even weird. But Like This, with its combination of pumpkin, immortelle (smells like maple) and musk, smells warm and delicious and actually quite conventional.

Cadjmere
by Parfumerie Generale

A delicious combination of snuggly vanilla and soft woods, this scent is as cozy and warm as a cashmere sweater. But not quite as expensive, nor is it as susceptible to moth damage.

If a generous benefactor would like to purchase one or more of these fragrances for me for Christmas, the last three are available at Luckyscent.com. The first can be procured at Hermes boutiques worldwide.

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The Angel Giving Tree Online Program

The Salvation Army and jcpenney have teamed up again this year for The Angel Giving Tree Online Program, which allows customers to adopt a needy child or senior and then shop for gifts for their angel this holiday season. Every user can adopt their angel based on location, sex and age, and then choose items off the child/senior’s list to give them for the holidays. In collaboration with UPS, Angel Giving Tree gifts purchased through jcp.com can be shipped free of charge to a local Salvation Army collection center.

A new addition this year is the option for users to adopt angels in groups. So if you and a group of friends or perhaps your co-workers all want to join in to adopt a group of angels, you can! To learn more about the program and to adopt an angel yourself head here: http://jcp.com/angel

To kick things off, Thanksgiving will be National Adopt an Angel Day. For each online Angel adopted on Thanksgiving Day through jcp.com, jcpenney will donate $50. Additionally, a $25 donation will be made for each Foursquare check-in on Black Friday. The store that has the most check-ins on Black Friday will earn a special party on Dec. 17th. So encourage your friends to visit their local jcpenney on Black Friday to contribute to The Salvation Army AND work together to get a party for your local jcpenney!

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What I Want for My Birthday

My birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and Christmas is a little over a month after that. Gift-getting giving season! I thought I would be helpful and share a few things that I really really like.

I love the nature-inspired jewelry of Michael Michaud. Mr Minx bought this lovely gingko necklace for me last Christmas, and now I want some companion pieces.

Water lily necklace

Quaking aspen bracelet

Sage earrings

gingko bracelet

Rosemary earrings

I can find a couple dozen more...gorgeous stuff!

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