Tuesday, November 29, 2011

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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