What Does Winter Smell Like? Five Perfume Notes for Winter Fragrances
By Emmanuelle Moeglin, Founder & Perfumer
Winter smells of woodsmoke and leather, warm resins, roasted and sugary treats, and the spices of mulled wine, with a twist of bright citrus to cut through the cold.
In perfume, five families of ingredients create that feeling: leathery and smoky notes, ambery notes and sweet woods, vanilla and edible notes, warm spices, and bergamot.
The fragrance we choose is closely tied to the season. Smell is wired to memory and emotion, so when the days shorten we are naturally drawn to warmer, more enveloping scents. Here are the five ingredients and accords I reach for to build a wintery atmosphere in a fragrance, and the materials behind each one.
1. Leathery and smoky notes: vetiver, patchouli, birch and cedar
A long walk in the forest, then a warm fire.
What feels more like winter than smoky, earthy notes? Think of a warm fire after a long walk in the forest.
Vetiver and patchouli essential oils are the natural starting point, because they are woody, warm and earthy at the same time. Leather builds on them. A leathery note smells of smoke, skin and burnt wood, and it can go two ways. It can be soft and creamy like suede: Suederal gives that gentle, glove-leather effect. Or it can be dark and smoky, built from styrax, Atlas cedarwood, birch tar and powerful leathery molecules such as IBQ (isobutyl quinoline), so intense that it is used in traces.
The Art of Blending
Two Essentials, one Blend
2. Ambery notes and sweet woods: labdanum, guaiac and sandalwood
Balsamic and ambery materials are the core of what perfumers now call the amber family, once labelled “oriental”. Labdanum, the sticky gum of the cistus shrub, is balsamic and leathery. Benzoin is sweet and vanilla-like. Heliotropin adds a powdery, almondy softness. Together they feel warm and comforting, while staying very grown up. For the full story of the amber accord, and of the resins, musks and vanilla that make a scent feel snug, read our guide to cosy perfume.
3. Vanilla and edible notes: caramel, chocolate and almond
Hot chocolate on a cold day: the edible side of winter.
Edible notes take you straight into a winter wonderland. Perfumers build them from a handful of molecules, each with a very specific job:
Caramel:
maltol and ethyl maltol, which smell of cooked sugar and candyfloss.
Sweet, cakey vanilla:
vanillin, or the stronger ethyl vanillin.
Chocolate:
cocoa accords, built rather than extracted.
Almond:
coumarin and benzaldehyde, the smell of marzipan and bitter almond.
Milk:
a trace of diacetyl, for a buttery, milky softness.
Combined, they create the smell of hot chocolate and roasted chestnuts on a cold street.
The Art of Blending
Two Essentials, one Blend
4. Warm spices: cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon and clove
Green cardamom: the coolest of the four winter spices.
Mulled wine and Christmas candles: warm spices are the smell of winter. Because we know them from the kitchen as well as from their warming scent, spices feel instantly familiar and comforting.
Cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon and clove are the classic winter quartet. Cardamom is the coolest of the four, fresh and almost eucalyptus-like, while clove and cinnamon bring real heat. Perfumers also work with the molecules eugenol, the main component of clove oil, and isoeugenol, which carry that spicy clove facet. In Cardamom Moss, cool cardamom plays against the depth of cinnamon, with ginger and turmeric over mineral moss.
5. Bergamot: why a winter fragrance needs a fresh note
Bergamot: one of the woodiest citrus notes.
If too many warm scents feel overwhelming, bergamot is the answer. It is the fresh, uplifting touch that keeps a winter fragrance from feeling heavy.
Bergamot oil is the scent of Earl Grey tea, a national favourite, and it is citrus-fresh, woody, spicy and aromatic all at once. It is one of the woodiest citrus notes, with a scent reminiscent of lavender and black pepper. That lavender facet is chemistry: both oils are rich in linalyl acetate and linalool.
Earl Grey: the teacup accord bergamot brings to mind.
Learn how we recreate that teacup accord in how to create the smell of tea in perfume. Or wear bergamot followed into the shadows: our Bergamot Incense Essential opens luminous and zesty, then turns resinous and soft as warm frankincense and iris absolute rise from underneath.
How do you create a winter fragrance?
Pick a warm base from the first four families, then decide how much light you want on top. A smoky wood with bergamot feels crisp and outdoorsy. Amber with spice feels like a candlelit room. Edible notes with leather feel indulgent and a little decadent. The simplest way to try this is blending: wear two fragrances together and let them become a third. Our guide on how to blend a fragrance explains how, and the Creation Set Journey, exotic and warm, is made for exactly that kind of cold-weather experiment.
Learn the materials
Try this at home
Take one warm note and one bright one, a smoky wood and a bergamot, and smell them together on a blotter, then on your wrist. I never decide on a blotter alone: I wear it and come back to it over a few hours, because winter notes open slowly and their real character only shows on warm skin.
Winter perfume notes at a glance
Note · Find it at EPC
What it smells like · Key materials
Leathery and smoky
Cedarwood Absinth
Woodsmoke, skin, burnt wood, suede
Vetiver, patchouli, styrax, Atlas cedarwood, birch tar, Suederal, IBQ
Ambery notes and sweet woods
Amber Iris
Balsamic, powdery, milky, glowing
Labdanum, benzoin, heliotropin, guaiac wood, sandalwood, frankincense
Vanilla and edible notes
Tonka Sesame
Caramel, hot chocolate, marzipan, warm milk
Vanillin, ethyl maltol, coumarin, benzaldehyde, diacetyl
Warm spices
Cardamom Moss
Mulled wine, Christmas candles
Cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, eugenol, isoeugenol
Bergamot
Bergamot Incense
Fresh, woody, spicy citrus, Earl Grey
Bergamot oil
Keep exploring
More from the Journal
Frequently asked questions about winter perfume notes
What does winter smell like in perfume?
Smoky woods and leather, ambery resins and sweet woods, edible notes such as caramel and chocolate, warm spices like cinnamon and clove, and a bright twist of bergamot to keep it fresh.
What are the best perfume notes for winter?
Vetiver, patchouli, cedar, labdanum, guaiac wood, sandalwood, vanilla, cardamom, clove and bergamot are all classic choices. Most winter fragrances combine a warm base with one lighter note.
Why do warm scents suit cold weather?
Cold air slows evaporation, so a fragrance projects less. Woods, resins and spices still come through, and they echo the smells we already associate with the season: fires, spiced drinks and baking.
Can a winter fragrance be fresh?
Yes. Bergamot is woody and spicy as well as citrusy, so it sits naturally with winter woods and resins and keeps a warm fragrance from feeling heavy.
What is the difference between guaiac wood and palo santo?
Guaiac wood oil comes from Bulnesia sarmientoi, a tree also called palo santo in South America. True palo santo is Bursera graveolens, a different tree with a fresher, more citrusy smell.
Can I make my own winter perfume?
Yes. Blend a warm fragrance with a brighter one and wear the pair for a day, or start with the Creation Set Journey, an exotic, warm trio designed for blending.
Emmanuelle Moeglin is the founder and perfumer of Experimental Perfume Club. Classically trained at ISIPCA, with 20 years in the fragrance industry, she is a member of the French Society of Perfumers, a multi-award-winning creator and a public speaker, and teaches perfumery from our central London lab.
Ready for colder days? Explore our Warm & Sensual collection, discover all nine Essentials, or take the Fragrance Finder.
