Although winter in Florida is often sharp with sun and steamy with humidity, each year I envision a cooler northern climate dressed in icy snow as white as a glacier and brushed with evergreen boughs and red berries.  In this fantasy landscape I smell pine and fir and chestnuts; moonlight takes on a brief hint of peppermint and pale winter sunshine smells of lemon slices in water. Overlapping shadows of trees and animals moving among them leave traces of fur, civet, and bark. The smoke from a neighbor’s chimney trails wisps of oak through the night air. Winter murmurs rather than shouts in my imagination.  It is a more delicate time of year than is summer, when things are so enormous, hot and huge, that they crowd one another out.  My winter perfumes are my favorite ones and are often more environmental than are the scents I wear at other times of the year.

Here is my top ten for winter, in no particular order of preference:

Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles:  Pine is my favorite note, in or out of a perfume.  My home is decorated with pine cones I have collected in the great forests of North America and I burn pine candles year round. Serge Lutens melds his pine to an un-iced gingerbread house that wafts incense smoke from its chimney.  The opening reminds me of rubbing pine sap between my fingers and inhaling the fresh, wintry aroma.

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Jimmy Choo is launching its second fragrance, Jimmy Choo Flash. Created as part of a collaboration between Jimmy Choo’s new creative directors Sandra Choi and Simon Holloway (Tamara Mellon is no longer part of the company) and perfumer Christine Nagel, Flash is inspired by the stylish, urban women of New York, London and Paris.

“The fragrance opens with pink pepper, tangerine and strawberry, for a fresh, sparkling introduction. As these glittering top notes evaporate, heart notes of strong, exotic white flowers, with a tuberose signature enriched with notes of jasmine and white lily, reveal a heady, sexy character. A base of white, powdery woods gives a lasting impression that is both seductive and sensual, but never too much. “As a brand, Jimmy Choo is so resolutely feminine that the perfume had to have a sensual background. I used white woods, a contemporary note that gives a feminine, sophisticated touch but maintains luminosity,” says Nagel.”

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L’Artisan Parfumeur unveils Caligna, its newest fragrance inspired by Provence. Caligna means to “flirt” or “court” in the local Provençal dialect, and the perfume “evokes a warm breeze blowing over the land, a sense of freedom in the wild open spaces, a lightness of being with laughter echoing into the distance.” Caligna was created by perfumer Dora Baghriche-Arnaud.

L’Artisan Parfumeur, together with perfumer Dora Baghriche-Arnaud, honours an emblematic but less well-known ingredient of the Grasse region: the clary sage. Fresh and sensual, green and woody, fruity and ambery, the highly-faceted clary sage was the starting point for this perfume, and is married to, and enhanced with notes of fig and a jasmine marmalade accord, with all the natural richness of this iconic flower, resulting in an incomparable freshness and luminosity. The warm woody effect of the perfume’s base comes from the resinous depth of lentisk, a native plant of the maquis, and from pine needles, redolent of Mediterranean hillsides.

For the first time in L’Artisan’s history, a fragrance will have a spokesperson, Gudrun Ghesquière, a classically trained dancer. The ad is shot by American photographer Michael James O’Brien. Continue reading →

I’ve never seen such well-dressed, beautifully groomed women as in Tokyo. At Harajuku or Ginza, two high-glamour areas with distinctly different vibes, you will see one impeccably coiffed beauty after another tottering in her impossibly high heels, looking as if she’s ready for a magazine cover.  Beauty is big business in Japan, where the sales of cosmetics make this country the world’s second largest market after the US. You can find entire magazines devoted to nothing but color cosmetics, with the kind of attention to detail that is downright astounding. I flip open the makeup magazine, Biteki, to find technical illustrations, sophisticated instructions and comparison charts on topics as straightforward as the application of lipstick or as complex as anti-aging skincare.

By comparison, perfume is not represented nearly as well . Walking through the glittering halls of the Mitsukoshi or Takashimaya department stores, you won’t find the endless expanse of fragrance bars that you would see at Neiman Marcus or even Macy’s. This is not to say that there isn’t an interesting selection of both prestige and niche lines in Japan. They are available, along with detailed technical explanations on how your fragrance was made and how you are supposed to enjoy it. Have you ever received a brochure describing how to apply fragrance from your local perfume store? At Mitsukoshi, that’s exactly what would wind up in your bag, along with an exquisitely wrapped bottle.

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Yesterday, when reviewing Valentino Valentina Acqua Floreale, Kenzo Amour I Love You, and Juicy Couture La La, I promised three more sheer spring roses.  The fragrances chosen today, Cartier Eau de Cartier Goutte de Rose, Balenciaga L’Eau Rose, and Van Cleef et Arpels Féerie Spring Blossom set rose into a frame of woods and amber. In contrast to yesterday’s selection, this group is crisp and sharp, rather than soft and romantic.

Cartier Eau de Cartier Goutte de Rose

Quality is never an issue at Cartier, and with Eau de Cartier Goutte de Rose you’re getting a well-made woody rose. The floral accord that feels rich despite being crystalline and luminous is superimposed on the dry amber base. The original Eau de Cartier is a peppery cedarwood with a wistful leafy note, and Eau de Cartier Goutte de Rose retraces some of its austere form. A touch of sweetness from rose is an interesting touch. Even vanilla feels crisp and crunchy in this perfume.  Of course, you can find many great amber roses at a lower price point, such as the fabulous Yves Rocher Rose Absolu, but Eau de Cartier Goutte de Rose is a worthwhile option. Continue reading →