What if the stars smelled like burning marshmallows?
A wintery perfume roundup + a new project talking about clothing
Every year as winter rolls around, it seems there is a certain consumeristic mindset that makes some of us want to feel like, well, a Rich Bitch.
I can’t say I’m immune to that energy. There’s something about this cold, dark season that makes you wanna get dressed up in glitter and heels, shining brightly until the sun comes back.
Fragrance is no exception to this. Winter is the time to bundle up in your biggest, spiciest, most luxurious scents, the modern equivalent of pulling on a huge mink coat or tipping your family’s private driver. I love walking past a chic lady on a snowy Manhattan street, wearing a very chic fragrance on her way to a very fancy restaurant.
But I’m not a huge fan of wearing perfumes that “smell expensive” in that traditional way. They don’t really feel like me, even when I’m wearing the fanciest things in my closet.1
I tend wear two types of fragrances in the winter: cozy warm gourmands that feel like thick quilts and warm fireplaces, and light, fresh, girly things that smell like gently drifting snow and soft fur collars. It’s not on purpose or anything—God knows I like to be a fancy baby lady. I think I’m just drawn to that type of romanticizing of the season.
From toasted coconut pralines to clean girl chic, here’s what this winter smells like to me this year.
Pilar and Lucy - the exact friction of stars:
The LA-based indie perfumery Pilar and Lucy seems to be mostly-defunct, with perfume names like "to twirl all girly" and "tiptoeing through chambers of the moon." What! We love an esoteric perfume name!!
Their fragrance the exact friction of stars was one of the first indie fragrances I ever purchased, and probably the first bottle I ever blind bought. This is one of those wintery gourmands I’ve worn for years—Maybe 15 of them?—but never seems to run out.
If you went up into the milky way to gather the scent of the stars, and the stars smelled like burning marshmallows, this is what you would come back down to earth with in your little glass flask. With notes of vanilla and “other secret ingredients,” it’s a crowd pleaser—Everyone thinks it smells good. It’s a warm, deep, and somewhat dry caramelized vanilla that gently holds on for hours, like sweet smoke from the cosmos, lingering on your skin until morning.
Penhaligon’s - Artemisia:
I cannot remember when I first bought this fragrance, but it was my daily spray for a few years in my early 20s—So much so that I had to buy a second bottle. I’m happy to have rediscovered it hiding in the back of my vanity, because it’s one of my favorite skin scents.
I like to think I have a decent nose,2 but I have never been able to pick out specific notes in this fragrance. Maybe there is some green apple in there? Definitely white flower notes, though I couldn’t tell you which. Amber in the base, too.
Otherwise, Artemisia smells… Nice. Simple. Airy. A bit sweet, in the way wildflowers can be sweet. Like tying up your freshly-washed hair with a bow and putting on your new lingerie made of white cotton eyelet lace.
It’s distinctively powdery and definitely not a “non fragrance,” yet I almost don’t feel like I’m wearing anything at all when I spray this. Artemisia is my kind of “clean girl” perfume, one that feels bright and fresh like a snowy sunny day.
Poesie Perfume - Tiny Phantom:
I’ve never read Jane Ayre so I have no idea if this fragrance is on point or not, but based on what I understand, this scent is inspired by a little Victorian lady locked in an attic!3
Anyway, I love Tiny Phantom. It’s my favorite scent to wear this winter, which totally makes sense, now that I’m thinking about it: It sits right in that intersection of the “gourmand” and “girly” fragrances I prefer for this season. With pink rose petals and marshmallow icing on a heart of musk and woods, this delicate scent brings to mind an antique trunk filled with ivoried old lace, or a pearl necklace sitting on a bureau inside a floral wallpapered room. It’s very Samantha Parkington a la American Girl.
Tiny Phantom is decidedly old fashioned, but doesn’t smell like an old lady. This is an old lady perfume blended by a Millennial—It’s how we want to smell when we are 85 and sitting in the sun with our needlepoint. Sweet and gentle and a little sophisticated, it sits close to the skin like a cozy scarf. I love to wear it behind my ears so I can smell it on my coat collar all day.
Sol de Janeiro - Cheirosa 39:
This is how I find out this body spray is discontinued?! Geez. It seemed to be a more popular fragrance by the creators of the Brazilian Bum Bum cream, who quietly rebranded their “make your big butt slimmer” lotion to a “make your big butt smoother” lotion some time over the last few years.
Cheirosa 39 used to be called Coco Cabana, named after their lotion with the same scent. The notes on the bottle are true to the juice: Coconut cream and toasted praline. It’s simple, sweet, and lusciously creamy, like brûléed coconut custard.
Personally, I keep this one next to my bed for cold nights when I can’t sleep. It’s hyper cozy and warm, like the biggest, fluffiest blanket you can imagine, transporting you to a bougie tropical island resort in the dead of winter.
I imagine them bringing Cheirosa 39 back as a limited re-release due to its popularity, but if you like the sound of it, I recommend trying out any of Sol de Janeiro’s scents. All of their Brazilian-inspired body sprays are super gourmand and delectable, and the somewhat chic packaging means you can toss one in your travel bag without feeling like a teenager.
Shopping your own closet
I developed a little shopping spreadsheet in 2020 and have used it religiously since then. Along with the freelancer-recommended app YNAB, it’s completely changed my spending habits.
Every year, I pick something new to focus on in regards to my shopping habits, and one of my goals for last year was “no new clothing.” I made it six months without a single new apparel purchase, and finished the year with a handful of new pieces, including some simple girly cardigans I had my eye on for a few years, and a new black party dress that actually fits me for a wedding I went to.4
This year, I am being a little less dogmatic about it. Last year really showed me that… Hey, I like shopping! It’s fine! I’ve built up some great habits over the last few years, and I feel like that “no new clothes” mindset has really settled into my brain in a meaningful way.
While I know enough about the industry (and my own impulses) to shop thoughtfully, I still want to do something that feels like a fun challenge.
Looking into my small pre-war apartment closet, I see so many items I adore. Beautiful garments that have stories I don’t normally get to tell. Literal decades of carefully curated items that are so meaningful to me.
So I started a new Instagram called Quinne’s Wardrobe, where I’ll do some shopping in my own closet and post about my favorite pieces: Where they came from, why they’re special, and other little love notes to the apparel industry that might make you fall in love with the items in your own closet, too.
@quinneswardrobe isn’t meant to be the ~*next big Instagram*~ or anything. I was definitely inspired by the childhood bedroom catalog my partner started when he cleared his room out, and I think IG just makes the most sense for this kind of content. If you’re into it, I hope you’ll follow along!
That doesn’t mean I’m opposed to expensive perfumes… I am currently nursing my sample of Rahak Loukoum, that I love but will never buy because it absolutely does not smell like $300
And I have almost entirely recovered from my COVID-influenced messed up sense of smell, phew
Did I get that right?
My other goals were “no new lingerie” (check!), “don’t buy anything I can sew myself” (check, except one perfectly printed dress for our engagement photoshoot that I def could have made myself), and “wait one month before making a purchase” (I give it a half check—Thrifting makes this one difficult!)