The holidays are here...
I’m sure everyone has been waiting with bated breath for my holiday edition of Middle Notes but I’ve been waylaid by a sinus infection, holiday parties, procrastination, and end of year deadlines. But here we are, and thank you for reading this, it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while so I appreciate everyone who reads and I can’t believe some of you have even paid for it. Happy Holidays <3
What I’ve Been Wearing to My Holiday Events
I got so sick a few weeks ago and rotted away on one side of my couch for a week, so my holiday season has been a bit abbreviated in terms of events. But when I recovered, it was time to bust out some delicious new scents, most of which I got in Paris. Remember Paris?
Matiere Premiere Vanilla Powder
I’m not a big gourmand fragrance girlie, so I’ve been surprised by just how well the Matiere Premiere Vanilla Powder works (and werks!). I mentioned it in a previous newsletter, but while the fragrance is vanilla forward there’s also coconut powder and palo santo and white musk in there as well which adds more depth to the scent. Wearing it you can distinctively smell the vanilla and it does have a bit of a powdery air about it but there’s also a deep richness that makes you want to smell it so deeply that it envelops you.
Officine Universelle Buly Indian Cucumber and Syrian Mint
Wearing mint could evoke lots of things like toothpaste, gum, peppermint stick ice cream (my fav) and it’s a scent that’s so associated with the holidays that it feels too obvious to wear.
The Officine Universelle Buly was one I got in my Paris travels and I like it because it has mint in it but doesn’t smell like it in the way I’d traditionally feel like it should smell. What makes it different is the Indian cucumber which gives it a green scent that’s almost slightly floral and has a light touch of mint. What I like about it is how wispy it is. Wearing it feels like wearing a dress that’s constantly slipping off one shoulder or a shirt worn into oblivion. It’s airy but earthy.
Mark Buxton Wood and Absinth
This was something I would have never likely looked at on my own, but was a sample I got after my Nose shopping in Paris. I despise licorice in edible forms, so I wouldn’t really think about absinth as something I’d look for in a fragrance. I know it says “summer twilight” in its copy, but I feel winter vibes with it. This is absolutely delicate and sultry—you can get a bit of an anise scent but having jasmine, vetiver, and cedar in it expands the scent. Honestly, if someone smelled like this or a place I went to smelled like this, I would either want to sleep with them or try to find someone to sleep with at said establishment.
Need a Last Minute Gift? Buy a Discovery Set
While I do have a boatload of full bottles of perfume, I honestly prefer samples, roller balls, and my all-time favorite: the discovery set. I really think it’s honestly the best way to purchase perfume.
Maybe one of the things I like about perfume is there’s a slight danger to it. I know, I know, hear me out. It’s a bit of a Russian roulette—you can read all about the notes and know what you like smell wise whether it’s a rose or an amber—but putting it on yourself is an entirely different matter. The alchemy of fragrance is fascinating to me how the body can like one thing through smell and then it morphs it in an entirely different way once it’s put on the body.
This is a big reason why I’m a huge advocate of the discovery set so you can sample multiple scents and then if you want to invest in a bigger bottle you can. It’s also a great way to try a brand you’ve been excited to try without committing to a full bottle. I think it’s a perfect holiday gift for anyone in your life whether they are super into fragrance or curious about it.
Here are a couple recs that would make great presents for others or yourself.
January Scent Project
I honestly need to re-up my sample kit of this. I got one ages ago when Twisted Lily still had a brick and mortar location in Brooklyn (RIP to my favorite pastime of Grand Army happy hour and then fragrance shopping). For $40, you can get nine fragrances and each has a cool postcard size poster for each fragrance. My personal favs are the Selperniku which is a mix of milk, salt, and fruit (!) and the Smolderose which has roasted seashells (!) in it alongside Damask rose and frankincense.
Memo
SOUND THE ALARM! Okay, I’m not going to lie, I immediately bought this. Memo is a favorite of mine—I think Marfa is an all time great fragrance but for $310 a bottle not remotely in my lifestyle. A discovery set for 7 of Memo fragrances for $33 is a complete steal. Get ready for future Memo reviews in upcoming newsletters.
Andrea Maack
My Icelandic queen Andrea Maack is a personal favorite—I’ve previously written about Solstice and I have the since discontinued Cornucopia ready for the colder months. This is a great way to try her fragrances including the cult favorite Coven which many cool ladies I know adore. It also has Lightsource in it, a newer fragrance of theirs, which is a bright citrus scent that I really liked.
D.S. and Durga
D.S. and Durga is wildly popular for a reason. I’ve written about my favorite Bistro Water before, but to be honest I’ve only tried a few. I think that their Greatest Hits set would be a perfect gift for someone exploring fragrance outside more mainstream brands. It includes Debaser, of course.
Santa Maria Novella
A fragrance friend introduced me to Santa Maria Novella earlier this year and I was embarrassed I had never heard of it. The Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella can be traced to 1221 where Dominican friars founded the Santa Maria Novella convent and grew a garden which years later expanded to include cosmetic products including perfume. I love that there’s so much history behind the brand and the Tobacco Toscano is an absolutely killer fragrance.
Perfume Ad of the Week
I’m loving the holiday cheer of this commercial but I do have to admit that the masculine presenting bears are in Bushwick drag and I don’t love to see that. Also what do these bears do when they are driving what looks to be a vintage Alfa Romeo? Are they in tech? Are they crypto bears? Also, to be giving only Ralph Lauren presents for Christmas has to mean they are loaded. Are they on Raya?