Written by Nick Hogan in Fragrance on the 26th November 2019

As the season’s change, your fragrance choices need to adapt. The citrus scents that served you well during the warmer months will no longer cut the mustard on a cool winter day. Winter is the season that dark and powerful fragrances come into their own, and here are my picks of the best.

Bentley Beyond the Collection - Majestic Cashmere 

I look forward all year to wearing my fragrances under a jumper, a pleasure only the die hard fragrance fan may appreciate. The body heat generated causes the scent to rise from the collar, giving you personal fragrance experiences throughout the day. Well with that in mind, what could be better than Majestic Cashmere. A beautiful combination of incense, orris, cashmere woods, tonka bean, patchouli, vetiver and labdanum. A smooth and enveloping scent that will make you feel like you’re sat in a luxury car all day long.

Bleu Nomade - Antares  

Antares is a dark, smokey and mysterious scent, with prominent notes of incense, cloves and vanilla. Incense is a note that comes into its own in the winter months, and Antares has plenty of it. The vanilla then adds a sweet warmth that lingers in the base, which is comforting on a cool day. Despite being a new discovery for me, Antares has quickly made it into my fragrance rotation, and at the perfect time of year too.

Burberry - London for Men  

I couldn’t write a list of winter fragrances without including the quintessential scent of Christmas. London for Men is a wonderful combination of tobacco, cinnamon, leather and pine and my Christmas day fragrance of choice for as long as I can remember. The bottle is wrapped in the iconic Burberry tartan, and the scent has a comforting quality, like wrapping yourself in a luxury Burberry scarf. This is a scent that shouldn’t just be for Christmas, but it certainly does shine there.

Tom Ford - Tobacco Vanille  

Tobacco Vanille is a powerhouse scent and an instantly recognisable release from Tom Ford's private blend collection. An intoxicating blend of damp pipe tobacco - vanilla and dried fruits that radiates from the skin - it’s a case of less is more with Tobacco Vanille. It’s a sensual fragrance that’s rich and comforting, with cameo appearances of cacao and tonka bean which only make the scent smoother and more luxurious. Tobacco Vanille has to be in your winter fragrance lineup!

Lalique - Encre Noire  

Encre Noire is my favourite scent for a rainy day and makes for an excellent choice during the winter months. Encre Noire is a fascinating vetiver scent that evolves to its surroundings, as worn in the summer months, its bright and lively on my skin. However worn in the Winter, Encre Noire is dark, smokey and inky. It evokes the imagery of wet leaves in a dark mysterious wood. Cashmere wood, cypress and musk complete the lineup of this winter must-have.

D.S. & DURGA - Bowmakers 

Bowmakers, a woody, leathery scent that’s reminiscent of a craftsmen's workshop, building violins and bows. With notes of violin varnish, mahogany and outdoors accord at the top, followed by notes of amber pine resin, maplewood and cypress in the mid. Then finally spiced tree resin, cedar and moss in the base. With a notes list like that, Bowmakers was always going to be a winter go-to in my collection; dark, resinous, comforting, perfect.

We feature Bentley Majestic Cashmere, Bentley Majestic Cashmere, Burberry London for Men, Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, Lalique Encre Noire, and DS&DURGA Bowmakers in our 2019 guide to the 6 Must-Have Winter Men’s Fragrances.