Finding a good perfume to me is like the equivalent of successfully aura farming. Your scent will speak without you ever having to open your mouth, and something about that is so painfully cool. And if you’re anything like me, not only is your fragrance collection massive, but you curate it by season. As such, I am pleased to present to you: My favorite festive perfumes of 2025.
When the weather gets colder and all the holiday decorations start to add some magic to the city, I want my perfume collection to reflect that vibe. I’m talking molecular scents that feel like magic, spicy notes that smell like Christmas mornings, and all the auxiliaries to match. In short, I become the human embodiment of holiday joy, and I want all of my perfumes to mirror that festive spirit.
If choosing your fragrances for the season also brings you an indescribable amount of joy, I’m sharing the festive perfumes that are currently front and center in my collection for easy access and application every day. Not only are they great for curating a sensual vibe for yourself at home, but they also make wonderful gifts that any beauty obsessive will love.
Scents That Smells Like Gingerbread
Ginger is an unexpected perfume note that is slowly rising in popularity. It’s a perfect scent for winter as it can lean more gourmand and create a gingerbread vibe, or a little more effervescent and sparkly.
On the more gourmand side of things, we have Jo Malone’s Ginger Biscuit. The slightly vegetal ginger note is tempered by the warmth of roasted hazelnut and tonka bean, which makes this perfume smell exactly like fresh gingerbread.
Fizz and fun are the names of the game with Goldfield and Banks’ Ingenious Ginger. Bright, fruity top notes are balanced with florals like jasmine and rose, before finally drying down to reveal base notes of sandalwood, patchouli, and amber. In short, this is the festive perfume for that truly cool person who loves to smell unique yet grounded.
Scents That Smell Like Magic
One of my favorite festive perfume categories is the ones that smell like magic, which, in my experience, has only ever been accomplished by molecular perfumes. The two below have completely captivated my heart this winter.
Angel Dust couldn’t be a better way to describe this perfume if I tried. Transparent woods, cashmere, and white amber blend to create the most stunning, ethereal scent trail that continues to knock my socks off. This perfume is addictive, sensual, and intimate, i.e., a magic potion for my senses.
Speaking of perfumes that blow me away, Jusbox’s Cheeky Smile does this and more. If I could capture myself in a perfume, it’d be this one. Airy and magnetic molecular notes like Iso E Super, ambroxan, amber extreme, and more create a fragrance that feels intimate and hugs the skin, yet has incredible sillage and longevity. I swore to myself that I would gate keep this perfume, but it’s just too good not to share.
Scents That Smell Like Spices
A classic festive perfume note is spice. The perfumes below take the slightly polarizing accord and turn it into sensual works of art.
Everything about this perfume is unexpected in the best way possible. From the humble price tag of 28 dollars to the beast-mode projection, and even the notes, which include accords like violet fig, musk, and woods, yet somehow smell like warm spices. This is an affordable sleeper hit, my favorite kind of festive perfume.
Scents That Smell Cozy
If anyone has spoken to me over the past week, they’ve probably heard me yap about my cozy holiday agenda. It includes achieving the ultimate level of comfort over winter break, and these perfumes will help me do just that.
Brazilian tonka bean, coconut milk, caramel, and vanilla bourbon are some of the coziest notes that I’ve ever encountered—and they’re all in Ledda’s Bourbon Brûlée. This perfume reminds me of a dimly lit speakeasy in the past that smells of aged whiskey.
Vanilla, ginger, and almond may not seem like a concoction that would make sense, but I implore you to allow this masterpiece from Louis Vuitton to change your mind. Not only is the bottle itself a work of art, but the scent feels like a faint memory of an obscure moment that brought me incredible joy in the past. The dopamine spike every time I wear it is proof.
Scents For Cold Weather
Yes, some perfumes perform exceptionally well in cold weather, and the two below are the latest loves of my life.
One of my favorite things about this brand is that it doesn’t share the notes of its perfumes—it’s an experience that is left completely up to the wearer. While it’s described as a fragrant metaphor for quicksilver (or mercury), my nose picks up on an overdose of musks and a slight metallic tang that makes this perfume an absolute star in colder weather (and a perfect gift for a fragrance enthusiast).
Another ginger-forward masterpiece comes from none other than Maison Crivelli. You may be aware of the brand from one of its most popular scents, Hibiscus Mahajad, but I implore you to take a sniff of Santal Volcanique, which I like to call its cool younger sister. It’s fresh, thanks to ginger, cardamom, and lime essential oils, but it veers into this cozy, woody cocoon thanks to others like sandalwood, cedar, coffee, and musk. If you want to ensure that no one in the room will smell like you, pick this up immediately.
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