My perfume obsession always goes into overdrive in the colder weather as I love to wear musky, oriental, sweet, heavy scents which seem out of place during the summer. I'm not much good at describing fragrance notes, so I've included their 'official' descriptions from their websites. Most of these scents are vaguely similar and definitely from the same family of notes. If a perfume doesn't feature Vanilla I ain't interested!
Dior Hypnotic Poison EDT
If I could only wear one perfume for the rest of my life, this would be it. I loved it for ten years now when I'm normally very fickle and get fed up with perfumes before I'm even 15mls into a bottle. However I will always have a bottle of HP on the go. It's very strong, heavy and sweet and to me smells like wearable Amaretto! It wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but for me it's sex and femininity in a bottle and there's nothing else like it!
Here's what Dior says:
The mystery of Dior’s legendary forbidden fruit lives on in a magical, modern philter that blends femininity with boldness. Four contrasting facets – intoxicating bitter almond and carvi, opulent Sambac jasmine, mysterious Jacarandra and sensuous vanilla and musk– make for a compelling, bewitching fragrance fusion. Intoxicating and extravagant.
Click HERE for more. For a great review on it, and a host of other fabulous perfume descriptions check out Katie Puckrick on YouTube.
Dior Addict EDP
I started wearing this Dior Addict about five years ago before I discovered Hypnotic Poison and they are from the same family of scents. It's very strong and actually gives me a stomach ache if I spritz it on first thing in the morning on an empty tum. I don't like any of the children that it's spawned as they're just pale imitations. I have 'teflon' skin to which scent slips off within an hour, but Dior Addict does cling for a good few hours, and if sprayed on clothing lasts for days. When I've used up a lot of the perfumes I have sitting around I'll be repurchasing Dior Addict.
Again, I'll let Dior do the description honours:
Again, I'll let Dior do the description honours:
Click HERE for more.
Gucci Rush
To me, Gucci Rush is very similar to Dior Addict and in the same family as Hypnotic Poison. It brings me back to the A/W of 2002 when I started uni (for the first time) and it is Christmas in a bottle. It is an spicy oriental vanilla and features top notes of bergamot, peony and freesia, middle notes of violet, jasmine and carnation and the base of the fragrance is orris, sandalwood and vetiver.
The only thing I don't like about it is the hideous, incongruous, un-sexy packaging.
The only thing I don't like about it is the hideous, incongruous, un-sexy packaging.
Dolce & Gabanna The One EDP
The One is much lighter than the previous three fragrances and doesn't smell out of place in the summer months, but there is something comforting about it when worn on a cold morning. It contains notes of mandarin, peach, jasmine and my old favourites make up the base of vanilla, amber and musk.
Ted Baker's Divine range at Boots is a pretty good dupe for the scent. Click here for my comparison with The One.
Victoria's Secret Sexy Little Things Noir EDP
Victoria's Secret describe it as:
At once elegant and playfully provocative, it's an enchanting blend of sparkling nectarine, sultry amber and exotic cattelaya orchid.
Top notes: nectarine, juicy apple, sparkling citrus, pineapple, guanabana, mouthwatering pear, red fruit, bergamot
Middle notes: cattelaya orchid, muget, cyclamen, jasmine petals, plum, vanilla, dewberry, cassis
Low notes: golden amber, velvet musk, sultry woods, tonka bean
They also describe it as a fruity floral but it's actually so much more than this, a really complex scent with a delicious vanilla, powdery dry down.
The only drawback is you can only pick it up in the UK at airports with a Victoria's Secret concession, and on me, the scent lasts literally minutes before disappearing into the ether :(
Hugo Deep Red EDP
I don't actually own Deep Red but it's been on my radar for years and I've been making do with a dupe of it from Next called Ruby, sadly discontinued now. It's something along the lines of a calmer Gucci Rush and it always seems to be on offer in Boots so if you're looking for a strong, sexy winter fragrance definitely give this one a sniff.
Top notes: Clementine, Blood Orange, Blackcurrant
Middle notes: Freesia, Pittosporum, Ginger Flower
Base notes: Sandalwood, Cederwood, Vanilla
Top notes: Clementine, Blood Orange, Blackcurrant
Middle notes: Freesia, Pittosporum, Ginger Flower
Base notes: Sandalwood, Cederwood, Vanilla
What's your favourite Autumn/Winter perfume?
I like Dior Addict a lot, but it reminds me so strongly of an old friend that I can't wear it! Not because I don't like her, it's just 'her.'
ReplyDeleteFor wintery scents I like Paco Rabanna Black XS and my favourite is Alexander McQueen My Queen. I love perfumes with notes of patchouli and pepper/woody notes for winter, although I normally have a day/night perfume as opposed to summer/winter. I'm all out of perfume atm, I really hope Santa brings me some because I am skint!
I really want to try Sexy Little Things Noir but I can't find it anywhere except on the internet and I want to try it on before I buy the perfume.
ReplyDeleteMy current favorite wintery smell is Paco Rabanne Black XS. Sometimes, I use Kate Moss Velvet Hour but it's not very lasting.
I used to wear Armani Mania because it's so cozy but I ran out of it.
I just got The One for my birthday, and I love it! I have a terrible habit of going on perfume buying sprees so I might take some of your recommendations to heart. Great post!
ReplyDeletexx,
Delilah
Oooh, nice post! To be honest I'm always really nervous about trying new perfumes. The only one above I've used myself is Dior Hypnotic Poison. I generally go for seriously sweet scents no matter what time of year it is! Dull I know, but I cant help myself :)
ReplyDeleteWhile my all-time favorite are these two, D&G Light Blue and Elizabeth Arden Green Tea!
ReplyDelete@Robyn - Oooh I'd never heard of Black XS but I must give it a sniff next time I'm in Boots, I tend to have day-work/night perfumes too, but gravitate towards strong scents, so I use them at any time of the day!
ReplyDelete@Noir - Yes I wouldn't recommend buying a perfume without testing it first as things never smell like how you imagine even if you know all the notes. I actually have a solid perfume stick of Sexy Little Things Noir and a small bottle of about 10mls each which only cost about £7 each so I suppose you could order one of those and see if you like it, without having to break the bank. I'm not a huge fan of VS scents normally, but SLTN and Wish Pink are lovely.
@ I'm the same, in the last year alone my perfume collection doubled, but I've cut back as the stuff goes off. I have half a bottle of JPG Classique that's gone bad and it's such a waste :(
@All Made Up - I love trying new ones, I can't walk past a perfume counter without dousing myself with about 6 different ones!
@Justine - I have huge love for Light Blue too, I'm on my 3rd or 4th bottle of it, but mainly keep it for the summer days :)
Kat x
Hypnotic Poison is also my all-time favorite scent and one I always have around! Thanks for that post--I'm always looking for perfumes with a similar vanilla base to it, so your other selections will give me some new scents to sample! :-)
ReplyDeleteI have my eyes on Womanity! It smells gorgeous!!
ReplyDelete