Cold cold fragrances

Our mind associates the concept of cold with snow and ice, with delicious, crisp mountain air. We also think of so-called cold colours: light blue, white, grey, purple. Perfumers follow the same codes and craft for us perfumes with rather evocative names and notes that make us go brrr…

Kilian presented some time ago in Moscow, Vodka on the rocks. This woody, unisex eau starts with cool spices and aldehydes, for a “frozen effect”. While The Demeter Fragrance Library carefully created an eau de cologne named Snow, reminiscent of new snow, of fresh snowballs… and of childhood.

The feeling of cold is perfectly carried by some notes: mint, of course, which you will find as peppermint and absolute in Géranium pour monsieur by Frédéric Malle or in Luna Rossa by Prada, as spearmint and combined with bitter orange; but also ginger, that found its way into Burberry’s Burberry Sport Ice (Man and Woman), where it is made even fresher by marine notes.

Woody accords are very present too. Their dry, fresh quality, make for instance Grey Vetiver, by Tom Ford a refined, multi facetted fragrance with a silver shine.

Other perfumes, because they are fresh, seem to wrap their soothing softness around us: try Lumière Blanche (Olfactive Studio), round, heartwarming and simply dazzling, or L’Instant Magique (Guerlain). This flanker* made a name for itself next to its famous parent, L’Instant, thanks to its innovative formula: it is the first fragrance to include bitter almond, here combined with white musks.

Finally, what could be better than a hot vs cold duel to reveal and intensify these sensations, always clashing and yet both essential to aesthetic, physical and spiritual balance? La Nuit de l’Homme Frozen Cologne by Yves Saint Laurent and Bloddy Wood by Liquides Imaginaires are excellent examples. The former with icy and citrusy top notes for a woody, musky, warm trail. And the latter first exudes cold and metallic notes, while bottom tones are woody and chypré.

What about you, which scents does the cold inspire you? Or the other way around!

*Flanker : a “sequel” fragrance of an existing one.

Photos: © Liquides Imaginaires, © Burberry, © Frédéric Malle, © Guerlain, © Prada, © Olfactive Studio, © Yves Saint Laurent, © Tom Ford, © Kilian, © Pixabay