10 Best Winter Fragrances 2023 @redolesssence

At the time of this posting, we are in the middle of winter, although you would never know it from the higher-than-normal temps in NYC. As in Part 1, we recommend winter fragrances that are deeper and richer often with notes of oud, coffee, tobacco and resins. Here are the final five of the co-curated 10 Best Winter Fragrances 2023 that Video Content Creator Steven Gavrielatos aka Redolessence and I put together for the season in no particular order. –Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief

Xerjoff Tony Iommi Monkey Special (Chris Maurice) is a 2021 collaboration with  founder Sergio Momo’s friend British-Italian guitarist Tony Iommi, who co-founded the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band’s guitarist, leader and only continuous member for nearly five decades. Iommi was ranked number 25 in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”. Notes include: Bergamot, rum, geranium, passion fruit, cinnamon, patchouli, leather, sandalwood, vanilla, caramel, labdanum, musk-Steven Gavrielatos and Michelyn Camen

Nicolai Parfumeur Createur Cuir Cuba Intense (Patricia de Nicolai): One of the most interesting and inspiring perfumers I have interviewed as Editor-in-Chief of ÇaFleureBon is Patricia de Nicolai, who I always refer to as “The First Lady (Boss) of Niche”. For those not familiar with her lineage, Madame is a grand-daughter of Guerlain’s founder, Pierre Guerlain, and a niece of Jean-Jacques Guerlain. Here is what she had to say about one of my personal 10 best winter fragrances: ‘Although I hate smoking, I have always loved the scent of tobacco leaves used in the making of cigars.’ explains Mme de Nicolaï. ‘When I was a child, at my parent’s, I appreciated when I was asked to go and collect the cigar box’. What a pleasure to open it and to smell these scents…It was a fragrance that really transported me! Many years after, I have found this scent in my lab thanks to the tobacco leave absolute, starting point of Cuir Cuba Intense’.

There are plenty of fragrances that can evoke refined leather and a slightly cigar-like aroma. This is NOT one of them. As Steven says in his video it’s INTENSE. Composed of 90.9 % all natural ingredients. Notes: Aniseed, Liquorice, Sicilian lemon, Spearmint, Sage, Lavender, Pelargonium, Ylang-ylang, Magnolia, Coriander, Tobacco, Hay, Patchouli, Cedar, Musk, Civet. -Michelyn Camen

For The Scent of It Oud Café (Michael Schrammel) 2022: If you are a regular reader of CaFleureBon, then you know how talented we believe Michael Schrammel is; he’s a new-on-the scene artisan perfumer from Wisconsin (I awarded his brand For The Scent of It Best Discovery of 2022). Oud Café is unique and doesn’t smell like any coffee or oud perfume I have ever tested. This isn’t the scent of bitter black coffee grounds, think of a café latte, creamy with a toasted nuttiness brought in by the black walnut.  Got oud? Chances are in most fragrances you don’t. Michael uses real oudh which is not animalic and is blended with vanilla and tonka, giving it a sophisticated vibe. It’s one smooth operator. Top: Espresso, White Pepper, Black Walnut, Bergamot. Heart: Oud, Coffee CO2, Iris, Bulgarian Rose, Oak. Base: Sandalwood, Labdanum Resinoid, Vetiver, Tonka Bean, Musk -Michelyn Camen

Amouage Material (Cecile Zarokian) 2021: As I wrote in my top ten perfumes of 2021, Cecile Zarokian has created the vanilla of the decade. Dark and resinous, I want to bathe in all its benzoin glory as swirls of frankincense twirl and entangle me in a web of fine honeyed smoke. Notes: Elemi, Patchouli, Madagascar Vanilla, Absolute, Benzoin, Guaiacwood, Oud, Osmanthus, Frankincense Resinoid, Labdanum, Tonka Bean.-Michelyn Camen

Parfums de Marly Layton Exclusif (Hamid Merati Kashani) is a more intense version of the cult favorite Layton. Here’s where the notes and thus the composition differs: at the top is almond, mandarin orange, and bergamot and the base includes oud, vanilla, coffee, and sandalwood.  The brand markets it to men, but for me it is gender-fluid. I also smell something more animalic in Exclusif. This is a great winter fragrance and transitional scent… into spring for the evening, or more formal occasions. – Michelyn Camen

All of Steven’s and Michelyn’s 10 Best Winter Fragrances 2023 Part 2 have exceptional longevity and sillage.

Disclosure: Fragrances from our personal collection or given for review for best winter fragrances of 2023 part 2; opinions our own

10 Best Winter Fragrances 2023 Part 2

Thanks to Michael Schrammel  we have a draw for a 30 ml of For The Scent Of It Oud Café for a registered user in the US ONLY To enter the draw, you must be a registered reader. 

Mille Mercis for 100 ml bottle of Nicolai Parfumeur Createur Cuir Cuba Intense USA, EU and UK ONLY

 With gratitude to Fine Fragrances Distribution, the USA distributor of Parfums de Marly. there is a 75 ml of Layton Exclusif one registered reader in the USA & Canada. 

Thanks to each of the above THREE BRANDS ONLY (AMOUAGE AND XERJOFF ARE NOT INCLUDED) we have a reader’s choice for one of the10 Best Winter fragrances  Part 2 to a registered CaFleureBon reader and  Redolessence subscriber in the USA ONLY. To be eligible, YOU MUST REGISTER and leave a comment on this site with your choice should you win, what you thought of BOTH MICHELYN’S AND STEVEN’S REVIEWS and where  you live.  If you want your comment to count twice, please follow us on our new Instagram page @cafleurebonofficial. Draw closes 1/16/2023 but will be announce within 2 weeks thereafter.

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