It might seem a strange concept that certain scents are suited to certain seasons. In perfumery there’s a notion that lighter florals and citruses are better for the warmer months while woodier, smoky, heavier notes are suited to autumn and winter. As always, hard and fast rules are made to be broken - but there is a logic to wanting a scent that makes you feel cosy and comforted when it’s cold outside. It might be the notes in the fragrance that give the sense of warmth, or the fragrance itself might transport you to a hot, sunnier place and reconnect you with a favourite holiday memory.
There’s so many ways to approach this, and scent is a deeply personal thing. Here are some fragrances suited to winter, but if you have a favourite perfume that makes YOU feel good, then you should wear it - whatever the weather.
The Best Men's Fragrances For Winter
![Chanel - Bleu de Chanel (Parfum)](https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/media/6009/68cd/fd9a/8073/529c/25e3/bleu-de-chanel.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
Chanel - Bleu de Chanel (Parfum)
The 'Bleu' family from Chanel is one of the most popular male fragrances on the market. What's different here is a more refined concentrated blend for the parfum, using premium ingredients. The fresh citrus top notes give way to the main players of sandalwood from New Caledonia and tonka bean. This gives a creamy richness that is incredibly elegant. It's a perfect choice for someone who likes something that doesn't smell mass-produced, but is from a well-known brand.
![Atelier Cologne - Musc Imperial](https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/media/6009/6ae9/3612/b086/01fa/dc97/Atelier-Cologne.jpeg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
Atelier Cologne - Musc Imperial
Parisien brand Atelier Cologne launched 12 years ago and is well known for its colourful, unpretentious fragrances. Their USP is creating scents with a higher concentration oil formula that give the freshness and elegance of a cologne, but with the long-lasting power of a pure perfume. Musc Imperial leads with a gorgeous musk accord as well as Italian bergamot and cedar wood. It's available in a handy 30ml size with a travel case, perfect for the days when we might travel again. It also comes in larger sizes and as a candle.
![Ulrich Lang u2013 Anvers](https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/media/6009/68cf/fd9a/800a/d09c/25e4/Ulrich-Lang-New-York.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
Ulrich Lang – Anvers
Ulrich Lang New York uses contemporary photography as inspiration for its fragrances. Belgian Roger Szmulewicz is the face and muse Anvers (which is the French word for Antwerp). Anvers is a fresh fusion of green notes and woods creating a bracing scent that works perfectly for the colder months. Hero notes are bergamot, lime and basil in the heart with classic florals of violet and jasmine in the heart of the fragrance. The warmth and body of Anvers comes from the leather, warming amber and precious woods that reside in the dry down.
![Molton Brown - Juniper Jazz](https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/media/6009/68cd/b778/5572/4790/e23f/molton-brown-juniper-jazz.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
Molton Brown - Juniper Jazz
Juniper Jazz from Molton Brown celebrates the crisp juniper berry - a hero note that mixes and mingles with mint, guaiac wood and sandalwood. A tribute to the jazz age, this is a gin-based cocktail of fine things. The same fragrance also comes as a body lotion, shower gel and a candle. Juniper Jazz evokes the era of Duke Ellington and dancing the night away at The Cotton Club. It's extroverted, fun and a real (kitchen) party starter.
![Shay & Blue - Oud Alif](https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/media/6009/68cd/29c5/c017/0ab2/27f2/shay-blue.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
Shay & Blue - Oud Alif
This rich, deep scent from British brand Shay & Blue utilises oud agarwood with a chocolate note as well as leather, saffron and patchouli to create a smoky, reassuring fragrance as the nights draw in. The whole effect seems well suited to a grand study with leather chairs, dusty books and a rather fine port.
![Sunspel - Oak Wood](https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/media/6009/68cc/fd9a/8001/399c/25e2/sunspel-oak.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
Sunspel - Oak Wood
What would be an ideal scent to accompany a classic crisp, white t-shirt? Lyn Harris (from Perfumer H) may well have created just such a thing when she delivered her debut scent for British clothing brand Sunspel. She came up with Oak Wood a beau-tiful, clean fragrance that has her signature quiet sophistication and class. It opens with bergamot and neroli which is then combined with angelica seed and a lovely, subtle chamomile accord. The base brings out the wood notes - cedar and sandal-wood as well as oak moss, amber and frankincense.
![19-69 - Female Christ](https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/media/6009/68ca/3612/b0d3/2cfa/dc6d/female-christ.jpeg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
19-69 - Female Christ
Nineteen-Sixtynine is a Swedish fragrance house from Johan Bergelin, heavily influenced by late 1960s counter-culture (it was also the year he was born). The unusual name of the perfume comes from an incident in 1969 (there it is again) when a naked woman walked through the Copenhagen Stock Exchange carrying a cross. It was a performance piece she called 'Female Christ'.While 19-69 perfumes are decidedly unisex, the woody, earthy notes here will certainly appeal to men. There's a lovely note of rhubarb, which may sound unusual but it's such a rich, fragrant note in perfumery, perfect for this time of year. The Sixties influence can be smelt in the patchouli and the whole thing dries down with warming vanilla, amber and cinnamon bark accords.
![D.S. & Durga - Amber Teutonic](https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/media/6009/68cd/29c5/c04c/39b2/27f1/DS_Amber_Teutonic.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
D.S. & Durga - Amber Teutonic
One of D.S. & Durga's co-founders is David Moltz, a musician and self-taught perfumer from Brooklyn. Each of its fragrances is sparked creatively from songs, imaginary landscapes, art and myths. David describes them as "an invisible soundtrack you carry on your body". The 'soundtrack' for Amber Teutonic is Austrian composer Gustav Mahler, working high up in the Alps. The perfume itself is a masterfully woody composition of alpine cedar, larch, mandarin, geranium with Austrian pine, bark resin and musk in the base. One spritz and you can be transported to the snowy Alps. It's not a cold scent though, the woods give it a pleasing warmth - as though you're sitting by a roaring fire.
![Tom Daxon - Riven Oak](https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/media/6009/68cd/29c5/c038/8ab2/27f3/tom-daxon-riven-oak.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
Tom Daxon - Riven Oak
Tom Daxon is consummate perfumer, making elegant clean fragrances. Riven Oak unsurprisingly uses oak as the main key note. Tom refines and polishes the wood until he says "it's like a Riva yacht in fragrance form." Bergamot and pimento berries add some fruity cut-through to the scent and winter warmth is provided by notes of rum, amber and vetiver. It's beautiful.
![Miller Harris - Vetiver Insolent](https://images.bauerhosting.com/legacy/media/6009/68cf/fd9a/80df/3d9c/25e5/Vetiver-Insolent.jpg?auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
Miller Harris - Vetiver Insolent
Miler Harris is a British perfume brand founded in 2000. It has a select number of physical stores as well as a web offering selling perfume, home fragrance and bath and body products. Vetiver Insolent is another fragrance perfectly suited to the chiller months, offering a smoky warmth yet with a fresh profile. Vetiver (the roots of a grass from India and Haiti) gives a green earthy tone, whilst the freshness comes from bergamot and cardamom.
Top tips:
Aftershave and scent is designed to be kept upright and still. If you shake the bottle it can let air in and reduce the quality of the contents.
Your fragrances should ideally be stored away from natural daylight as it can break down the fragrance and the perfume oil. If you like to display your bottles, it’s a good idea to keep them in their boxes.
What to read next:
Haydn Williams is a self-confessed fragrance addict. He consults for a number of brands, as well as running his own website on the subject. Follow his olfactory adventures on Instagram