Halloween seems to start around September, given the costumes, decorations and themed products the stocks have been stocking, but we’re not complaining. There’s something rather wonderful about indulging your darker sides in fragrant form, and with this in mind, we believe ‘spooky scents’ don’t have to saved for Halloween alone. Think of the following as fragrances to evoke mystery and magic – we bet once you’ve fallen under their spell, you’ll want to wear these weirdly wonderful fragrances all winter long…
Vyrao Witchy Woo
If you need to summon up courage and creativity, brilliant perfumer Lyn Harris has conjured this composition to aid your quest. Simmering with a spiced heart of cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper, handfulls of roses (throns and all) are stirred into the melting pot, along with oodles of powdery orris for an enchanted cloak of protection. What’s more, each Vyrao scent comes charged with a naturally sourced Herkimer diamond crystal for ectra good vibes.
£135 for 50ml eau de parfum
selfridges.com
Penhaligon’s Terrible Teddy
Dangerously beguiling, Teddy delights in contradictions. The warm pop and rather naughty tingle of pink peppercorns are set against mysteriously cold incense, with a resolutely dry cedar contrasted against a stroke of smooth leather. In the base, shadowy vetiver and earthy patchouli are swathed in a mysterious mist of musk. The kind of scent to wear that’ll set people wondering what you’re up to… trick or treat?
£215 for 75ml eau de parfum
penhaligons.com
Maison Crivelli Absinthe Boréale
Dare you follow the strangely flickering light that leads to the heart of the woods? Ice-tipped ferns brush your face, cheeks rosy from running, a lick of lavender pastilles and a swig of absinthe warm your courage. Snuggled deep within the trees, a cosy cabin awaits: cold fingers defrosted by the fire, but the shadows still tap at the window… One to wear for winter adventures ahead, we feel, when you need an extra layer of loveliness to bring you safely home (and have others demanding to know what beguiling scent you’re wearing along the way).
£75 for 30ml eau de parfum
lessenteurs.com
4160 Tuesdays Another Kiss By the Fireside
The joy of spooky season is actually the cosiness of feeling scared then comforted, don’t you think.? Here you can snuggle up by a wood fire, watch the flickering flames from a leather armchair, swathed in your favourite blanket while sipping tea and eating spiced biscuits as the scent of dried roses and lavender fill the room. From a hidden floral display, or conjured by ghost stories, shared…? Either way, you’ll love the way this wraps around you and billows, mystically, for hours.
From £25 for 15ml eau de parfum
4160tuesdays.com
After even more unheimlich fragrant fare? Might we suggest some scents inspired by poisonous plants…?
Written by Suzy Nightingale
