Ginger: 4 posts

Winter arrived sooner than I expected. I didn’t want it to come. I resisted its pleasures. Yet, the other day I woke up to a ballet of snowflakes in the air and I decided that I might as well derive small joys from this cold season. Wearing a warm perfume is one such delight, and I always recall how my mother would dab a tiny bit of Lancôme’s Magie Noire on my wool scarf “to help me stay warmer.” I still associate the spicy-mossy scent of this perfume with snowy days and New Year’s Eve preparations.

For my selection of festive fragrances today, I decided to pick perfumes that evoke the scent of fir trees and gingerbread. Some of them are abstract, others are more realistic. You can decide how far you want to take the fantasy and make your pick accordingly. As always, I would love to know what festive fragrance you like.

One more note: all of the fragrances on my list are suitable for both men and women.

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If you were to open my fridge and avoid having some unidentified jar fall onto your foot, you will always find fresh ginger. I’m addicted to its vibrant flavor. The twisted rhizomes covered with pearly, beige skin taste less of the earth from which they are dug out than of citrus zest, crushed lemongrass and green orange flowers. Ginger shares aromatics with all of these ingredients, and although the first impression when you pop a sliver in your mouth is an explosive freshness, the flavor soon becomes more complex. I add ginger coins to sauteed greens and fish soups. A few pieces also end up in my tea. Since I love the scent so much, any perfume promising a blast of ginger piques my curiosity.

One of my ginger favorites is Origins Ginger Essence. Introduced in 2000, it can even be called a classic, especially in comparison to so many launches that vanish after a couple of seasons. Ginger Essence is not a perfume masterpiece, and if you want the perfume equivalent of an epic novel, then don’t waste your time on it. It’s simply a ginger cologne that feels refreshing and uncomplicated. Since one can’t read only Dostoevsky nor wear only Guerlain (at least, I can’t), its happy simplicity is a pleasure.

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Âmes Sœurs (Scent of Soul Mates) is citrus-musk perfume oil created by Joya as a response to the novel The Book of Lost Fragrances by M. J. Rose. Author Rose wrote the book—a “novel of suspense” centered on reincarnation and a recipe for an ancient fictional perfume by the same name—while frequently burning Joya candles.

Joya is a Brooklyn-based “creative collective specializing in fragrance” designed by Frederick Bouchardy.  Joya Studios makes candles, perfumes, and decorative amulets. Âmes Sœurs created by perfumer Rayda Vega comes in a handy 10 ml roll-on, priced at $28.00.  It’s this latter that has been sitting in my bag for the last few weeks, making an appearance whenever I feel as if I might want a fragrant kick from this thoroughly enjoyable perfume oil.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Although many Serge Lutens fragrances are based on a similar oriental accord of balsamic amber, violet and pale woods, I cannot resist yet another new interpretation of Lutens’ trademark exoticism. Five O’Clock Au Gingembre fashions the darkness of amber and patchouli into a piquant morsel by building the composition around the classical gourmand notes—chocolate, honey, vanilla and sweet spices. In any other hands this would have resulted in tooth numbing sweetness, but perfumer Christopher Sheldrake (who created most of the Lutens fragrances) manages to strike a balance between oriental amber fantasy and gourmand richness. Dark and rich, Five O’Clock Au Gingembre nevertheless remains effervescent from top to bottom.

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