Top 3 Winter in July Perfumes

By Unknown

Purchased

Beat the heat with scents reminiscent of winter!

If you live in the northern hemisphere, summer is in full swing and you might be having trouble keeping cool in the heat. But if you're living in the southern hemisphere, maybe the summer weather is just a distant memory and you're trying to stay warm in the winter. So whether you're looking for a way to cool down in July or you're already knee-deep in snow, here are my top three scents to get you in a wintry spirit.

OHWTO's Visions
of Sugarplums

Visions of Sugarplums
OHWTO's Limited Holiday Release

Sweet and fruity, with a little something ethereal thrown in for good measure. Is this real? Are you still asleep? Close your eyes again, and see. Raspberries, Strawberry candies, Sugared Violets, Tuberose, White Musk & damp Moss

According to my mother, Visions of Sugarplums smells like fabric softener. Then again, I don't trust her nose very much when it comes to perfumes.  That said, despite the yuletide name, Visions of Sugarplums is fresh and fruity, emphasis on fruity. On my skin the "strawberry candies" seem to come out the strongest for a long period of time, berry-like but not fresh fruits.

Visions of Sugarplums smells like my mother's secret candy drawer growing up - filled with little berry-flavored candies and a little floral sachet tucked into the very corner. I paid an awful lot of visits to that drawer growing up... I suspect they weren't as stealthy and undetected as I thought either. I have fond memories of sharing the spoils of my raid with my little sister one summer night sitting on the porch listening to crickets. So while it still has personal memories for me, Visions of Sugarplums hearkens to a sweeter, more innocent time but still smells "grown up" and is a fun, fruity alternative to all your summery citrus fruits.

Alchimia Apothecary's
Freezia

Freezia
Alchimia Apothecary

Fierce and powerful combination of frigid and floral. Water flows all around the tough shards of ice and pears in this blend to break away and reveal the lovely delicate notes of freesia hidden just below the surface.

I have to disagree with Erin of Alchimia Apothecary - she's so masterful with some of these blends, but I personally do not think Freezia is fierce one bit. There's a power to it, but it shimmers below the surface in waiting, and it's a gentle force. What makes Freezia such a lovely scent is that it's cool and minty but it doesn't smell like a breath mint. The floral notes help soften it and keep it light and feminine. It's sweet without being syrupy. Oddly enough, I don't really smell any pear.  This definitely wouldn't be the first mint + pear scent I enjoy - Freezia reminds me of Darling Clandestine's Mad As Birds's quiet and shy younger sibling. This fragrance doesn't do a whole lot of morphing on the skin which is fine by me. Everything about it is cool and understated. Freezia is my go-to on a hot summer evening after a shower - cool and refreshing.

Haus of Gloi's
Cozy Sweater

Cozy Sweater
Haus of Gloi

Pale skin musk, faded perfume, Egyptian amber, softly burning nag champa incense and a fine aged vanilla.

What better way to reminisce about the winter than by thinking about that snugly sweater that's tucked away and waiting for chilly days? I store my sweaters in a cedar chest and they're more apt to smell like wood and mothballs, but there's something so comforting and familiar about Cozy Sweater that has me coming back to it a lot this summer. It reminds me of Solstice Scents's Pharaoh without the sweet honey notes. It's all-enveloping and warm but not dry.

Sometimes I find scents with nag champa incense smell more like those kitschy "Asian" trinket shops, but Cozy Sweater is smoother and more sophisticated. Best of all, this isn't inherently a warm or cool weather fragrance, it's evocative of an emotional connection. I find Haus of Gloi does an excellent job blending fragrances that contain notes skin musk, maybe this is why Cozy Sweater feels so comforting because it smells like it "belongs" to me.

So while these perfumes certainly can't alleviate a sunburn or dissipate the thick July humidity, I find myself digging them out from my winter stash for a chilly reminder. (Although after this past year's polar vortex, maybe I'm viewing the winter through rose-tinted glasses!) What are your favorite wintry perfumes for warm weather?