I love the light and sweet scents of the summertime, but there’s something about warm sultriness of gourmand scents in the cooler months that make me so excited about fall and winter perfumes. In this blog post, I’ll be recommending my favorite perfumes for the upcoming months.
As with most beauty products, I’ve always had a love of perfume. I constantly have to hold myself back from buying more, since I seem to take FOREVER to go through each bottle. Perfumes have a way of attaching themselves to memories, which I love. Certain scents remind me of certain years of my life – for example, I wore Prada Candy a lot as a sophomore in college and, while I ran out a while ago, I’m still transported back to being 19 and getting ready for college parties whenever I get a whiff of it. I can picture exactly where it sat on my standard-issue wooden dorm desk.
Most of my picks are slightly sweet scents, but all of them are totally seductive for winter time. They are all great nighttime perfumes, but can easily be worn to the office if using a light hand.
A relatively new perfume to my collection is Guerlain’s Mon Guerlain. I picked this up last winter after running dry of my sample from Sephora, and I absolutely love it! It’s a sweet scent without smelling like a cupcake or candy – think sweet but sexy. Its top notes are bergamot and lavender, the middle notes include jasmine, and the base is made up of iris, vanilla and sandalwood. I definitely smell a lot of vanilla in this, but the other notes add a bit of floral and a bit of spice. My one gripe about this perfume is that I don’t find it to last long on me.
While I’ve never owned a full-size bottle, I’ve gone through countless sample sizes and a purse size from Yves Saint Laurent’s Black Opium line. The original Black Opium has notes of coffee, white flowers and vanilla, while Black Opium Nuit Blanche has pink pepper, basmati rice, orange blossom, peony, vanilla, coffee, white musks, sandalwood and almond milk. Don’t let the tacky packaging fool you – both are intoxicatingly good, but Nuit Blanche definitely has a bit more of a unique scent. Plus, since almost everyone has heard of Black Opium, wearing the Nuit Blanche version will set you apart from the crow.
If you want a fragrance that will get you attention from the guys, try Lancome’s La Nuit Tresor Eau de Parfum. This was my nighttime fragrance of choice during my senior year of college, and I’ve never had more guys come up to me to compliment me on the way I smell. It’s described as a gourmand woody oriental scent, and the notes of vanilla, raspberry and rose really show through. It is a bit strong (although very long lasting) and the memories attached to it made me stop wearing it once I graduated, so I actually ended up giving this one away recently. Definitely worth smelling if you can find it at a department store!
Viktor&Rolf’s Flowerbomb is a cult favorite among fragrance lovers. I’ve run out of this, but I wore this scent during my semester abroad in London. It’s very long lasting but also very strong, so a little goes a long way (which is great considering how steep the price tag is). This is probably the most floral scent on here, but the floral is broken down with patchouli and vanilla base notes. It’s floral yet sweet, and definitely more of a nighttime or fall and winter perfume than a summer one.
Tonka bean is one of my favorite notes, and it’s prevalent in Carolina Herrera’s Good Girl Eau de Parfum. I received this from Octoly and love it, although I’ve been holding off on wearing it until fall and winter. You’ve probably seen this before – it comes in a huge bottle shaped like a shoe with a golden stiletto heel. I actually think the bottle holds me back from wearing it more often, as it’s a bit awkward to hold and spray. I’d much prefer it in a normal bottle, but it smells fantastic. With notes of jasmine, tuberose, almond, tonka bean, cocoa and coffee, it’s perfect for the fall.
The priciest perfume in my collection is Maison Marigela’s ‘REPLICA’ Lipstick On, which is definitely an unsung hero of the range – I so rarely hear people talk about it. It seems they’ve stopped carrying it in Sephora stores, but it’s still available online. This is a powdery floral fragrance that works year-round thanks to a tonka bean note and the aroma of vanilla bourbon. It’s a very feminine scent, floral yet sweet, and is meant to be reminiscent of “night blush and rice powder” in 1952 Chicago. If there’s one fragrance on this list I suggest you buy blindly, it’s this one. It’s incredibly unique, has the BEST scent (especially once it dries down and has a chance to linger on your skin), and the bottle is huge. If you don’t believe me, watch MakeupbyTiffanyD rave about it on YouTube here.
One of my favorite affordable fall scents is a new buy: Philosophy’s Fresh Cream Warm Cashmere Eau de Toilette. I purchased a mini bottle of this from Ulta and it’s the perfect winter fragrance. It reminds me of the holiday season with notes of cashmere wood, vanilla bean and sandalwood. It has just the right amount of musk to ensure it’s not overly sweet. The full size, 2 ounce bottle is only $42. The mini size that I own is $20 for half an ounce – not exactly cost effective, but great if you already have a collection of perfumes and don’t need a full size!
Glossier You is a fabulous year-round scent. Comprised of three notes, ambrette, ambrox and musk, this is a creamy, musky fragrance that adapts to your personal scent for a unique, warm and inviting smell. It’s only $60 for a bottle, and I highly suggest trying it. You can use my glossier link here to get 10% off your order! Note: Juliette Has A Gun’s Not a Perfume has a very similar scent. I have a sample of it and love it!
Honorable mention: I haven’t yet tried this (or even smelled it!) but I’ve heard so many people rave about it, and judging by the name, it’s got to be perfect for fall. Maison Marigela’s ‘REPLICA’ By The Fireplace is described as a warm and sweet gourmand with notes of clove oil, chesnut accord and vanilla accord. Brb, running to Sephora to smell this.