Jane's Holiday 2022 Wishlist

Published on Nov 25, 2022
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Written by Jane
Jane's Holiday Wishlist Post Graphic with Bottles of Perfumes for Desktops

We hope all of you stateside readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday! I’m sure many fragrance lovers like us are biting their nails today trying to figure out how best to take advantage of all these great Black Friday deals happening today. I think it’s a good time for a level-headed assessment of some of the fragrances that have been on the top of my waitlist for awhile, so without further ado, here are some scents on my current wishlist!

Eau Capitale - Diptyque

I kept receiving samples of Eau Capitale with my Diptyque candle purchases and I found myself enjoying the fragrance so much that I was hoarding the last drops in every atomizer. After going through about six samples of Eau Capitale, I started to feel like my life is incomplete without a full bottle. Eau Capitale is an absolute feat in the genre of modern chypres, a term I will use loosely here because if the note list is to be taken at face value, this scent is lacking the traditional oak moss. Still, this is a wonderfully familiar update on an old school rose chypre and even has some subtle aldehydic notes that lend a playful lift to its opening. I’ve always thought Diptyque does rose scents so well, and here the roses are sparkling with dew and surrounded by their green leaves. The pink pepper is subtle and the whole scent is grounded in lots and lots of patchouli, which suits a patch-fiend like me just fine. Eau Capitale is compared to Portrait of a Lady frequently, and to me they are apples and oranges. If Portrait of a Lady is an evening gown, then Eau Capitale is a sundress. While I love both scents, I find Eau Capitale much more suitable for daily wear.

Explicite - Ex Nihilo

Interestingly, even though I don’t own a full bottle of this yet, Explicite by Ex Nihilo is the fragrance I’ve received the most compliments on when I’ve worn it. This is a hyper-feminine sweet floral bomb with an irresistible vanillic sandalwood base. Think of a candy-sweet bouquet of Barbie-pink flowers passed to a blonde pop star after a killer Grammy performance. (It’s Britney, bitch!) Explicite is THAT level of girly. Spiced with nutmeg and pepper and with delicious gourmand notes of praline and vanilla, this is one of the sexiest, boldest, amber florals I’ve encountered. And as with all Ex Nihilo scents, it will make its presence known to everyone in the room…and everywhere I’ve gone with her, she’s been very popular. I’ve gone through four samples at this point.

This scent is steeped in the kind of female glamour I was always fascinated with and highly intimidated by in my adolescent years. Like seeing Mariah Carey in a halter top, or watching your prettiest older cousin apply frosted eyeshadow on prom night, it embodies a performance of feminine mystique I have never quite been able to attain myself. Maybe that’s part of what keeps me coming back for more.

Fille en Aiguilles - Serge Lutens

This is actually a scent I’ve worn for many years, and it’s one that is near and dear to my heart. Fille en Aiguilles is the closest I’ve ever come to having a signature scent and ignited my love affair for pine and incense fragrances. It’s still one of my favorite scents of all time. I’ve used up the last drops of my old bottle (Jeff helped put a dent in it too, we both love it) and I’m in dire need of a new one, so this is one on my wishlist that’s just a restock. This is one of the scents that turned me into a perfume lover, and lately I’ve taken notice that many of my favorite fragrance reviewers list Fille en Aiguilles among their favorites as well, like My World of Fragrance and Midnight Stinks. Great minds.

No 54 - Fischersund

Recently Jeff ordered this among a number of other samples from Ministry of Scent. I had reached my hand in the pile of scents like a kid grabbing for Halloween candy and applied a random sample without looking what at what I had in hand (this is the level of trust I have in my husband’s tastes). Instantly I smelled something leathery, chemically, with a boat load of patchouli. Yum. That’s my kind of cocktail. Instantly it reminded me of some of the smells that naturally live in my painting studio, so it felt intensely familiar and comforting, What had I applied? It was Fischersund No. 54, a new scent launched by musician Jónsi (and family) from Sigur Rós of all people. The note list includes varnish, asphalt, ammonia, and salt licorice, and it is as unique smelling as it sounds. It was instant love for me, possibly because it smells like a good day of hard work in my studio. The smell of diligence and creativity.

Tonkade - Laboratorio Olfattivo

Talk about addictive…Tonkade is so delicious that I wish it was a warm winter drink I could sip in a mug. Here the chocolatey-almond qualities of tonka are amped up with cardamom, dried fruits, vanilla, incense and musk. It’s the kind of scent you’d wear on an unbelievably romantic date with a promising love interest in December. Tonkade is definitely a crowd-pleaser for gourmand lovers and I’m surprised I don’t see it talked about more on perfume TikTok, where edible scents and other cozy hits like By the Fireplace receive so much fanfare. I think more people should try this scent, and perhaps if I have a full bottle to wear then I can attract some new fans for it.

The Wishlist

Photo of Fille en Aiguilles
Photo of Tonkade
Photo of No 54
Photo of Explicite
Photo of Eau Capitale

Fille en Aiguilles

 Serge Lutens

A deep moody pine scent that evokes lonely woods in the wintertime, Fille en Aiguilles is dense with greenery and smokey with lots of incense. There are dried fruit and spice notes here that hint subtly at Christmas without ever being cloying. One of my absolute favorite scents of all time and a cult favorite among Serge Lutens fans.

Tonkade

 Laboratorio Olfattivo

Tonka is an inherently comforting scent with it’s nutty caramel vanilla qualities, and in Tonkade this note is played to perfection with a supporting cast of warm spicy notes that bring out everything cozy and delicious about the bean. Spicy cardamom, amber, incense and soft cashmeran make this a scent you’ll want to save for snuggling up to someone special by the fireplace on a cold night. Absolutely addictive and smells even better the next day leftover on a cashmere sweater.

No 54

 Fischersund

Sharp leather, freshly applied paint varnish, hot asphalt, and animalic musk with patchouli. Fischersund no 54 will find fans among avant-garde patchouli lovers, and perhaps in artists like myself who relish the paint notes used here. A scent that speaks of hard work and creative diligence.

Explicite

 Ex Nihilo

A hugely glamorous floral amber scent with irresistible gourmand notes of praline and vanilla. This is a scent that is unapologetically sexy and in my experience, attracts compliments everywhere it goes, so only wear it if you’re in a mood to be noticed. The amber at the base here has the kind of scratchiness that really high quality resins have, and it plays really well with the sensual blooms.

Eau Capitale

 Diptyque

A surprisingly bright and sparkly take on a modern rose chypre. Bright with pink pepper and bergamot but grounded with in wonderfully damp patchouli, the rose in Eau Capitale evokes the kind freshly bloomed after the first rain of spring. It’s green, bright, and full of optimism and generosity. Good vibes, lots of patchouli, and the kind of rose that Diptque always does so well..what’s not to love? Many compare this cent to Frederic Malle’s Portrait of a Lady, but make no mistake, this stands on its own merit. Eau Capitale is too green, outdoorsy, and youthful to be compared to Portrait of a Lady.