Perfumes of Christmas Past, Present and Future+ Dickens A Christmas Carol Draw

First Edition A Christmas Carol  1843

"He was conscious of a thousand odors floating in the air, each one connected with a thousand thoughts, and hopes, and joys, and cares, long, long, forgotten…" Charles Dickens – A Christmas Carol

Once upon a time, I loved reading the dark novels and short stories of Charles Dickens. As a child, his ghostly take on the holiday season, “A Christmas Carol”, especially fascinated me.  I no longer celebrate Christmas and I find myself all too easily resonating with the character of Scrooge. "Bah! Humbug," I say! But no matter how hard I try to fight the holiday spirit, the story of Scrooge and his spiritual redemption loom large. This Christmas, in addition to revisiting mid-Victorian novellas, I will be hoping for a holiday redemption of my own as I revel in  perfumes of Christmas Past, Present and Future:

Illustration by John Leech

Christmas Past

.Ellen Covey of Olympic Orchids'  Art and Olfaction award winning fragrance Woodcut begins as a bracing, outdoor cedar board scent associated with new fences and carpentry.There is no gradual transition to the next phase but simply an immediate and sudden shift to a dense and dark sap, recalling the brooding woodcuts of the artwork of John Leech, the original illustrator of the Dickens's Christmas Carol.

Joel Grey as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Patrick Stewart as Scrooge in the 1999 TV movie adaptation

The heart of Woodcut, sadly, brings to my mind the scent of tree blood from the destruction of the forest behind our home in the dark winter of 2013.  As Olympic Orchids Woodcut shifts again,  I find coziness in the caramel and vanilla surrounding a resinous balsam, and rest in a cozy, warming perfume that lasts all day and well into he night. Woodcut amazes as it brings to life three distinctly different personas of trees and woods: The bracing quality of cut cedar-boards, the dark sap of the heart and the caramelized comfort of a resinous finish. Notes: Fractional distillations of pine and cedar, oakwood absolute, tolu balsam, olibanum, caramel, burnt sugar, vanilla.

Painting by P.J.Lynch©

Christmas Present

"…External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him." – Charles Dickens.

 Both Scrooge and I are in need of a fiery fragrance to warm our cold, cold hearts. Aether Arts Perfumes  Sacred Fire, created by Art and Olfaction Award winning Amber Jobin for  2017 Burning Man Festival. Sacred Fire begins with an immediate sensation of a slow burn guaranteed to take the chill off even the most frozen soul. The spicy rhythmic trills of woody, vanillac cascarilla bark  (familiar as a flavoring in Campari and Vermouth) gradually heat up as elements of nutmeg, pepper and allspice add fuel to the sacred fire.Soon, this spicy tinder begins to light and dance with smoke, leather and the resinous aromas of a bonfire burning with incense and sweet woods. The resulting flame jumps and flares briefly and then smolders close to my skin for four more hours creating a subtle haze of woody incense and cedar, floating like sparks over embers of rose and delicate amber. Aether Arts Perfumes Sacred Fire recalls the scent of smoke, the color of flame, the blaze of passion, the incense of inspiration and the rebirth of new life from the ashes of the old. Notes: Cascarilla bark, spices, gulab and shamama attars, Choya Ral, incense notes and precious woods.

via deviantart.com

Christmas Future

"The time before him was his own, to make amends …everything could yield him pleasure." – Charles Dickens

Cured of the sickness of greed and parsimony by the terrifying vision of Marley's Ghost, Scrooge at last comes to realize that sentiment. This fall I was fortunate to sample two of 2017 Art and Olfaction Award Winner, Pissara Umavijani's of Parfums Dusita upcoming 2018 releases, Erawan and Fleur de Lalita. I fell in love with both, but found Parfums Dusita Erawan was particular soothing and comforting as I recovered from illness. I was reenergized by an opening of petitgrain and clary sage, comforted with the sweet breath of liatris and lily of the valley and warmed with an ethereal vanilla and grounding vetiver.  I know that perfume can't cure the inevitable afflictions of the winter season, but this preview of Erawan was able to sustain me with its calm beauty, offering a respite from illness and distracting me with a marked sense of well being and wet woody comfort. The Thai god Airewan, the namesake of this beautiful fragrance, was responsible for bringing healing waters to the earth. As I wear Erawan I can imagine the sounds and sights of falling water, the clarity of still, blue pools, the smells of overhanging trees and surrounding tropical forests and I look forward to strength and well-being and to fragrant relief and respite from the chill of Christmases Yet to Come. Notes: Paraguayan petigrain, lily of the valley, Haitian vetiver, hay, clary sage, liatris, cedar, oakmoss and vanilla.

Disclaimer – Many thanks to artisan perfumers Ellen Covey, Amber Jobin and Pissara Umavijani for the generous samples and travel sizes of their fragrances.  My opinions are my own.

Alastair Sims as Bob Cratchett holds up Tiny Tim (Glyn Dearman) on Christmas morning in A Christmas Carol 1951

May the spirits of beautiful perfumes of Christmas Past, Present and Future bring  joy, peace and  scented happiness.

"God Bless Us Everyone-Tiny Tim

Gail Gross – Senior Editor

Art Director: Michelyn Camen Editor-in-Chief.

There is a Perfumes of Christmas Past, Present and Future draw for three registered readers worldwide. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE LOG-IN  TO REGISTER FOR OUR SITE IS RIGHT BELOW OUR AWARDS ON THE UPPER RIGHT  

Worldwide: Thanks to Ellen Covey of Olympic Orchids for 15 ml of Wood Cut

Ellen has a  20 percent sale off every perfume on her site with the code: NOFRIDAY

Worldwide: With Gratitude to Amber Jobin of Aether Arts Perfumes we have a 5.5 m bottle of Sacred Fire

Aether Arts Perfumes has a 20 percent off sale site wide through December 26

Worldwide: Merci tres chere Pissara for an avant premier of 7 ml of Parfums Dusita Erawan

Please leave a comment with what you thought of Gail’s scented version of the Christmas Carol, where you live and which you would like to win, list as many as you want.  Are you a Scrooge or a Tiny Tim? What is your perfumes of Christmas past, present and future? Draw closes December 25, 2017

We announce the winners on our site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our site feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume

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26 comments

  • Richard Potter says:

    I enjoyed Gail’s article, especially her description of Woodcut. I am 2/3 Scrooge, 1/3 Bob Crachitt. I have long wanted to own Woodcut. Happy Holidays!! USA

  • Vahagn says:

    I really enjoyed Gail’s reviews- very rich and impressive. This article made me to try find a wat to test that perfumes. Mostly I impressed by description Sacred Fire- “spicy rhythmic trills of woody, vanillac cascarilla radually heat up as elements of nutmeg….add fuel to the sacred fire”. Nice!!!
    I find it difficult to answer am I Scrooge or Bob Crachit!
    I’d llike to win Wood Cut, Sacred Fire and Dusita Erawan.
    from Armenia

  • tiffanie says:

    I had to smile as I read Gail’s words, they are timely and welcome. Last night my favorite classical radio station broadcast a recording of Patrick Stewart reading A Christmas Carol. It was a treat to listen and think on Scrooge and Tiny Tim and their meaning.

    Gail’s description of the layers of scent in Woodcut is tantalizing. I am in the US and would most like to smell Woodcut, though Erawan and Sacred Fire sound equally interesting. Thank you for the beautiful words and the generous draw.

    I am a Tiny Tim, especially at the holidays. Years ago when my work first took me into NYC during December I was thrilled to see the store windows and The Tree. My colleagues repeatedly told me that the grin on my face was a giveaway that I was not a native! I smiled at strangers anyway, and still do.

    My perfumes of past and present are, respectively, Eau des Merveilles, a holiday gift from a few years ago, and L’air du desert marocain, a new-to-me scent this December. It perfectly captures the holiday season in perfume form. I do not know what the future holds, but my wish is for all good things for all good perfumistas everywhere.

  • rodelinda says:

    A Christmas Carol is still my favorite story, despite the fact that my interest in the holiday is purely secular at this point. The sadness of Christmas Past is the journey that resonates the most with me (poor forest and poor child Ebenezer!), but as far as prizes go, I would choose Dusita Erawan from Christmas Yet to Come. I’m a Scrooge because I like to remind myself that it’s never too late to be a better person. Thanks and happy holidays! I’m in the US.

  • Zofia says:

    Erawan sounds lovely — sentimental choice for me, as our only child currently resides in Thailand.

    Must watch the Alastair Sim’s version of A Christmas Carol every year just for nostalgia’ sake … and love to read a Thom Hardy novel, every winter for the same reason… his descriptions of life in the country in the late 19th century are so evocative, and so antithetical to how we live currently, it jolts me to my senses — just as a beautiful scent.

    Thank you

  • Alen says:

    A great article. Christmas Carol is a really nice story. For me that Erawan from Dusita sounds wonderful. I live in the EU, thanks for the chance and ofcourse, HAPPY HOLYDAYS!!!

  • esz says:

    You know I’ve never read any Charles Dickens. My favourite format now is audibooks so I ought to add some to my wishlist. I think Dickens would be an amazing author to have read to me (as opposed to reading on paper).

    I have had a very quick sniff of Woodcut at a fragrance meet the other week. It was very realistic. The name makes me think not of cutting wood, but woodcut prints.

    As for Scrooge or Tiny Tim – I am most likely a Scrooge. I am a non-traditionalist in every way. I don’t want to get married. I don’t want to have children. I don’t care for the milestones that mark a human life, I do my own thing. Not that I begrudge other people their joy! And I love a break over Christmas because its summer in Australia and its a good chance to go swimming and enjoy the warm weather.
    So yeh, Bah Humbug!!

    I would love to enter for all three prizes, but I am most keen on Erawan – because I have not smelled Dusita before and I have a soft spot for Thailand as a nation.

    I am in Melbourne, Aus 🙂

  • Carol Webb says:

    Very interesting to compare past, present, and future to the different scents. All of the notes in the perfumes seem like they would be perfect to wear this Christmas season.
    I don’t know that I could choose one of the three – If chosen i would be happy to receive any of them.
    Unfortunately, I think this year I’m being a Scrooge. I took the day off work and wrapped gifts, but have done little else. Work has gotten the best of me lately and won’t let up for several months so I am finding it hard to get into the Christmas spirit. However my family is healthy, happy, and will spend Christmas with me and my husband, and I am very grateful for that.

  • peppermoon says:

    I live in the US and I’d like to enter for all of the prizes – Woodcut is on my to-try list because I love sappy scents, and Erawan is on my list because I want to try this Dusita house that everyone is talking about but their samples are so expensive in the US!!

    I’m loving all of the woody scent love in this post! And I relate with the sadness of losing trees – the trees behind my apartment just got clearcut to make way for a shopping center and the earth looks so bare and wrong there now.

    My picks –
    Christmas past: DSH Gingembre
    Christmas present: Sonoma Scent Studios Winter Woods
    Christmas yet to come: Hermes Cuir d’Ange

  • Fern says:

    So creative to scent this classic by Dickens. I really enjoyed the connection to each fragrance and the writer’s own life. My Christmas past perfume is shalimar because it reminds me of my grand momma. I like all of these fragrances but erawan by dusita would be my choice
    I live in the US
    I am more Tiny Tim I just love everything about the holidays

  • NiceVULady says:

    These all sound truly wonderful. I’m mostly Tiny Tim. Very little about me is Scrouge. I’d love Erawan by Dusita, Sacred Fire, and Woodcut. Thank you for the draw. I’m in the USA

  • aurora_ru says:

    Gail’s reviews are always so emotional and honest, they touch my soul so deeply, this time it was the story about the tree blood. Also this: “(Wood Cut) brings to life three distinctly different personas of trees and woods: The bracing quality of cut cedar-boards, the dark sap of the heart and the caramelized comfort of a resinous finish.”
    My pick is Wood Cut Olympic Orchids.
    Thank you, Happy Holidays to all, especially to all Scrooges out there! 😉

  • marcopietro says:

    Nice review! And it’s so nice the idea to add a fragrance to each portion of the story. I am undoubtedly a Scrooge. I’d llike to win Wood Cut or Sacred Fire.
    I live in EU.
    Thanks and Merry Christmas to all!

  • Timea says:

    I think I’m a Tiny Tim. Hahahaha! 😀 Very good review. I really enjoyed to read it. If I would as lucky to win. I would chose Wood Cut. Thank you for the draw. I live in Europe.

  • BostonScentGuy says:

    Love these reviews and choices! Especially erawan based on how it sounds and the selected quote…seems like a healing scent. I’d like to think I’m tiny Tim but scrooge is probably more accurate. My choices? Past: apres l’ondee, present: avignon, future: jicky. If I were to win Erawan would be choice 1 with wood cut second place. Thanks for the draw! I’m in the US.

  • Claudia says:

    Every Christmas I watch several versions of a Christmas Carol. It is an absolute Favorite. So I really enjoyed reading this. I am not sure who I would be…..but I would love to be the Ghost of Christmas Future. Thank you kindly for this draw.

  • Mim says:

    Thank you for the giveaway and the writing–I thought this was lovely! I don’t identify much with the characters of A Christmas Carol but always liked the three spirits part.

    To me, the past might smell like old smoke, snuffed candles, cut wood, spices, a set table…Tea for Two has some nostalgia to me, or O Alquimista. The Carons all feel pretty retro to me too, especially Parfum Sacre and Poivre.

    The idea of a spicy warm present and an ethereal promise-of-spring future is quite appealing to me.
    For sheer living-in-the-moment OJ Woman grounds me most in the present.
    The Gobin-Daude line hits the spot for future–Seve Exquise and Nuit au Desert. Dark Passage also feels like walking through a long dark tunnel in the barren earth which is even now nurturing spring.
    USA
    Top choice is Sacred Fire, followed by Erawan and woodcut

  • Old Herbaceous says:

    I liked Gail’s inclusion of my favorite version of A Christmas Carol, the one with Patrick Stewart! I’m a Tiny Tim, definitely not a Scrooge. I love Christmas. Scents of Christmas past and present for me would be the scents of fir trees and balsam wreaths, but also food-related scents, like the glugg my mother used to make and I now make every year. Christmas future’s scent? Who knows — I keep pondering something like Fille En Aiguilles or Nuit Etoilee.My top choice would be Erawan, then Woodcut, then Sacred Fire. Thank you for doing this!

  • Elizabeth T. says:

    Oh, this was a fun read! Such a creative article, Gail! I am more of a Tiny Tim myself, but always enjoy this book and whatever movie interpretation is on if I run across it (though usually I don’t run across it, because a book is open here far more often than the tv is on!). I’d choose Erawan, and I’m in the USA. Thank you for the great read, I really enjoyed it!

  • Cynthia says:

    I enjoyed Gail’s quotes and perfumed matches with A Christmas Carol. The one that appeals the most is Erawan. I liked the description of the fragrant healing waters. I haven’t smelled this yet but I know Dusita’s past work and I’m sure I will like this one. Merry Christmas!

  • Vicki says:

    Erawan has so many of my favorite notes I would love to win it. My perfume of Christmases past was frequently Ciara, sometimes Magie Noire, or anything with warmth and a hint of spice to it. I’m enjoying Esscentual Alchemie’s Christmas and Cookies and really wish Gorilla would bring back that unicorn Snowcake. I am probably 1/2 Scrooge 1/2 Tiny Tim and would be all TT if I had more at Xmas to lavish on loved ones. Thank you and merry Christmas Cafleurebon.

  • doveskylark says:

    I believe that perfume does have healing qualities and I like that Gail’s choice for the perfume of Christmas Future helped her heal when she was ill. The notes of Erawan, described so beautifully, sound healing and sustaining.
    My perfume of Christmas Future would be something natural, earthy, redolent of this sweet earth we live on. I look forward to exploring more natural and independent perfumers in 2018, to try to discover a fragrance for the future. I have hope, so I am definitely more of a Tiny Tim.
    I’d love to win Erawan, Woodcut, and Sacred Fire.
    I live in the USA.

  • Ginny M says:

    I adore A Christmas Carol, so Gail’s version was right up my alley! My Christmas-past scents are also my Christmas-present scents (esp. Karan’s Black Cashmere in the original pebble-shaped bottle), but my Christmas-future scent is a Christmas present to myself that will be delivered by London friends on December 27. (Corps et Ames Apaisante by Parfumerie Generale!) I’m a Scrooge because the commercial trappings of the holiday are so over the top, but I’m Tiny Tim on Christmas Day. (For the first time in memory we have a TRUE white Christmas here in Seattle!!!) All of the prizes sound amazing. I’d love any, but, because I have a decant of Woodcut, my preference order would be Erewan, followed by Sacred Fire and Woodcut. I live in the U.S. Thanks!

  • jrwlovescologne says:

    I really enjoyed reading Gail’s version of A Christmas carol. I am a scrooge. I woke up to this morning to a bottle of Costume National Homme, a wonderful fragrance.
    I would like to win Wood cut
    USA resident

  • mihaela_i says:

    Really enjoyed reading the description of Dustin Erawan, it’s the perfect suggestion for a hopeful future. I live in the UK.

  • Symbian Pandora says:

    Hreat writing by Gail, as always. I own 2 of those reveiwed, Woodcut and Erawan, and Gail was spot on! Never tried anything from Aether Arts, but that just may change!!
    The last couple of Christmas Days I have worn Musc Ravageur. I have a 100ml bottle from around 2009, 10, that still is 3/4 full!!
    The scent to me is very Christmasy!!
    Anyone would be fine with me.
    I am in the USA.
    Thank you for the draw!