December 2016: Absolutely Magazine: Christmas Message In A Bottle

When it first launched in 1994 I had never smelled anything quiet like Etro’s Messe de Minuit. Although it includes one of the oldest perfume ingredients known to man, I had never before experienced frankincense being used so prominently in a scent. Used mainly in the base of a fragrance to anchor and add longevity to the blend, anyone who has ever attended Catholic or High Anglican Midnight Mass, will identify frankincense as the smell of Christmas. A few years earlier in 1991, in a similarly devout vain, Caron released Parfum Sacré; this time tinged with floral top notes rather than Etro’s citrusy opening. La Liturgie des Heures by Jovoy is one of the most successful of this ecclesiastical oeuvre; with its fresh green top notes and the incense full-bodied and smoky in the middle. Comme des Garcons launched its series of perfume projects; Parfums Series, in 2000. In 2002 Series 3 Incense was devoted to the world’s religions’ practice of burning fragrant resins. Comme des Garcons: Series 3: Avignon conjures the 12th century Catholic cathedral of the city and is a celestial masterpiece by genius perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour who makes use of dry vanilla and chamomile that add a notion of comfort and safety one might associate with, or experience within, such a building.

Rose may not be a smell overly associated with Christmas, and despite appearing in the top and middle of the scent, the name of Byredo’s Rose of No Man’s Land actually refers to the nurses who worked in the trenches of the First World War. It is these trenches that we often recall at this time of year when we remember a particularly extraordinary episode in military history. Late on the evening of Christmas Eve 1914, as verified by the Imperial War Museum, British troops on the Western Front heard German soldiers singing carols, as the sun came up both forces met in the middle of no man’s land and exchanged gifts, took photographs and played a Christmas morning game of football. A poignant moment in history that seems fittingly marked by this fragrance.

Sadly, the ‘official’ smell of Christmas seems to have become a sugary soup of cinnamon. clove and orange, a pretty disastrous medley to my mind. Oranges, however, have to figure highly this time of year. All of us are too young to remember that the original Christmas stocking would contain just an orange and a few pennies if you were lucky, oranges were exotic and a treat. Throwing the pithy fruit on an open fire and releasing the richly bitter aroma of the oils evokes very seasonal emotions. Cologne Bigarade by Jean-Claude Ellena for Frédéric Malle is, in my opinion, one of the most successful fragrances ever made. Using all parts of the orange tree; the blossom, the fruit, the leaves and the wood it is a true triumph of a perfectly perceived and expertly executed scent. Cologne Bigarade is a fragrance you will fall in love with. Hermès Eau d’Orange Vert by Françoise Caron is a beautiful bitter orange which which also recalls the fruit forever associated with festivities. Equally delicious is Naranjos by Ramón Monegal, the Barcelona based perfume brand. However, this particular scent is rare in the UK even by rare perfume standards. The Ramón Monegal line is exclusive to Harrods in this country but the store does not carry Naranjos, now you know what to bring back from your next trip.

Walking through a winter wonderland was never more perfectly olfactorily explained than by Sarah McCartney in her 4160 Tuesdays’ scent Doe in the Snow. Made for the winter wedding of perfume aficionado Lizzie Ostrom – AKA Odette Toilette - Doe in the Snow has all the crispness you would expect from such an icy sounding scent with a little fruity glamour and wisp of winter woods. 

Finally, if you are looking for a true fireside scent, the dark glowing embers, rather that the searing flames, seek out birch as an ingredient. The tar-like quality of birch adds a blackness to scent that is almost visible, this is described perfectly by Leo Crabtree in his Cœur de Noir by BeauFort London. City on Fire by Imaginary Authors is another great tribute to tar as is Burning Barbershop by DS & Durga.