Christmas Countdown is back!

It is that time of year again! Here begins my Christmas Fragrance countdown of wonderful fragrances to make you smile, laugh, frown, scream, weep, dribble and in some sad cases, refuse to shower. Some will be old favourites, but lots will be new. Today as the cold penetrates my layers of hard-won blubber, I felt the need for a strong Vanilla Latte, which got me thinking what better fragrance for today? Spirituese Double Vanille (2007) comes from the greatest fragrance house of all time, Guerlain. They gave us the first modern fragrance, Jicky in 1889 and have been responsible for masterpiece after masterpiece. Here we have a beautiful and complex fragrance, opening with surprising fresh notes of Bergamot and a dash of pink pepper. I don't usually enjoy pink pepper, but here it acts only to provide sparkle at the top, a little something to prepare your nose for the delights to come. Next comes a faint but wonderful hint of incense smoke, I also get a little hint of freshly shaved pencil. This is a real stroke of genius as it acts as a means of giving projection and lift to what could otherwise be a cloying and sometimes linear Vanilla. Fear not, before the incense causes you to start pondering old wooden pews and confessing your fragrant sins, we get into some delicate but beautiful middle notes. We are treated to Ylang Ylang, Jasmine and a beautiful and subtle Bulgarian Rose. These do not steer the fragrance towards being floral in any way, rather they provide colour and complexity in the middle of the structure, they are wonderfully blended. In this middle we are treated to more woodsiness with Cedar, again very gently done and providing more depth and form.

Now, enough of this top and middle chat. I know we are all waiting for vanilla and booze. This fragrance certainly delivers on these counts. We have a good dose of Benzoin, which in this case gives a resinous depth, and to my nose a hint of gently peat single malt. This is coupled with a very realistic and respectful treatment of vanilla. If you have smelt the inside of a vanilla pod, you will know that as well as its sweet facet, you also have a bitterness. This combination is what Guerlain have achieved so masterfully, giving this sometimes rather one dimensional perfume note a visceral edge.The overall effect here is of warmth and comfort. The blend is beautiful and inviting, and rather like the final four chords in Poulenc's Hotel, this makes me want to curl up in a corner, lazy and contented. I also want to commend to you Cologne des Missions (pictured), as a far cheaper alternative. It is beautiful, full of that boozy and smoky vanilla, wonderfully blended, and rather good value, mine cost me £3.00. I say, it's Christmas, get both. Be warned, you will smell wonderful. Happy Smelling. J xxx