Aqua Allegoria Winter Delice

This scent had been suggested to me as a "Christmas tree" scent. It doesn't quite live up to that -- there's wood in here, but this scent is not even close to what you'd smell when walking past rows of cut Douglas firs and blue spruces. It definitely smells like conifers, though, and I think I can sense cedar, so maybe this just doesn't match the types of Christmas trees I'm used to. I expected this to be a "cold" scent, but Winter Delice is warm and makes me think of incense (until the drydown). I don't get anything remotely camphorous or earthy. Supposedly there's some gingerbread in here, but I'm not getting any of it either. There's definitely sweetness, but it's not like honey or vanilla. Winter Delice is sweet throughout all of its stages, especially in the opening, but nothing about that sweetness is edible (until the drydown). The drydown, the drydown... the drydown is bizarre. It's absolutely nothing like the other stages; I have trouble understanding how Winter Delice could have developed like this. Unlike the other stages, the drydown seems a little cold -- not strong like menthol, but enough to be weird. There's no more incense, no more woods. The sweetness is subdued, but I'm getting... cold sparkly grape? Not wine or Concord grapes, but carbonated purple grape juice. It's not unpleasant, but... why??? This isn't a result of my skin chemistry, either -- this happened on both paper and my clothing. I'm a little disappointed at Winter Delice's weakness. On fabrics, it lasts a long time (I checked just now, and it's still faintly there over 48 hours later), but it's a skin scent from start to finish, and I can't sense it on myself at all 6 hours in. The weird grapey scent doesn't appear on my skin, but Winter Delice appears to die off on me after the heart notes. In conclusion: As far as top and heart notes go, I like this scent even though it didn't fit my expectations. It's heavy on the woods, sweet but not a gourmand, and the incense isn't offensive to my nose. Winter Delice isn't "cold"-smelling, and while it doesn't match the Christmas feel, it's good for winter and fall. The longevity and sillage are both disappointing... if only it were stronger!

Just got my FB about a week ago, have been wearing it NON-STOP!!! I LOVE *sweetnspiceys* review and that she said it smelt like freshly tapped maple sugar water!! I bought this as a way of making peace with Winter since it is sticking around so long and I do happen to love ALL of the scents of a traditional Christmas celebration. So I can see myself wearing it during the holidays, but just in wintertime in general. It is so fresh and cold yet warm and spicy at the same time. I love the scent of the fir and the pine, it is masculine smelling at first, but then sweetens up a lot on me and then OHHHH, that fabulous incense dry down, what I live for in a woody, smoky perfume like this. All in all, I would totally wear this as a signature fragrance during the cooler months!! the longevity is amazing for an EDT and the sillage is moderate.. It just makes me really, really happy and yet sad at the same time because I know it will always be a hassle to find more of it, but as much as I love it, it will be worth the struggle.

I was the weird kid who would eat the drops of resin from the bark of the pine tree. Yes, I know: it's a miracle I survived to adulthood; nonetheless, those small, golden, sparkling drops that weren't quite solid and weren't quite liquid either, totally fascinated me. And I suppose they still do. Winter Delice doesn't suggest Christmas to me -- that would require the addition of cinnamon, nutmeg and eggnog; instead, it's the scent of snow and winter moonlight. Winter Delice suggests the chill and excitement of cross-country skiing by the light of a full moon many years ago in Chama, New Mexico. The snow sparkled and the only sound in the insulated, muffled quiet I remember was the swish, swish, swishing of well-waxed skis. The stars were too numerous to count, the air cold and crisp, the moon shadows danced and the Ponderosa pines perfumed the air with the same sharp resin I smell on my skin now from Winter Delice. Fabulous.

This EdT, part of the Aqua Allegoria series and now discontinued, starts out as a mildly spicy, incensey, smoky, composition, then quickly a fir balsam note becomes the primary one. It’s not at all a “Christmas” scent, it’s more the smell of fresh resin and old incense. Even though the sillage is light, I would characterize this as dark and brooding, like walking into an abandoned, haunted chapel in the middle of an evergreen forest and finding that it still smells like the incense that was once burned there. As the evergreen notes die down, a light gingerbread note appears, breaking the spell, but the incense still remains in the background. After a few hours it dries down to a gingerbread, vanilla and musk skin scent. Overall, this is fairly long-lasting for an EdT, at least 4-5 hours. I love the opening, and like the rest of it. Too bad Guerlain stopped making this.

When I sprayed Winter Delice onto my arm, I was immediately transported to a different time and place... my imaginary cabin in the Great North-West. It is evening, and the seasons are just turning from Autumn to Winter, so there is a slight chill in the air. I return from gathering some more firewood, and the fir trees surrounding the cabin are starting to be coated with snow. The cabin's chimney is sending up spirals of smoke, and there is a warm glow in the window. How inviting! Winter Delice is so atmospheric. Yes, it is like standing next to a pine or fir tree that is leaking some sap. You smell the bark, as well. Long-lasting and beautiful. I have a decant, but soooo want a FB! WD would be perfect for a snowball fight with your love, or roasting marshmallows by the fire. But I can see wearing it, snuggling under a comforter. Lovely!

I don't have any christmas-y associations attached to this perfume, since i got in the late summer, but i love it nonetheless. My sample was old, so it opened with a horrible combination, like some grandma's perfume that had expired. Took about 15 or so minutes for this to evaporate, and then it turned into a dark fir forest, with pines and notes of resin that stayed for a few good hours. This is not some rays-of-sunshine-through-the-trees forest, this is a heavy, quiet and wild thing, and it is delightful. It finally fades to vanilla, that's also not a light careless cake-y scent, but rather fits the "dark" theme somehow. I have only two regrets about this perfume, the first is the scary opening, when you think it must have gone bad with age; and the second is that you can hardly find it anywhere.

Quite possibly my favorite fragrance of all-time. So comforting. I remember that my mom's vintage Christmas ornaments smelled just like this and I always looked forward to taking them out of storage boxes and giving them a whiff. Now I can smell this glorious scent year-round. Like a men's cologne at first (fougere? similar to Elixir des Merveilles), then the fir, pine, and sweet-spice (cinnamon-like) notes emerge and settle. I think opoponax in the dry-down gives it magic. And, I find that it actually lasts a long time (>6 hrs). I want to wear it year-round, but definitely best in the Fall and Winter. Out of all the fragrances in the Aqua Allegoria series, I'll be saving up for full sizes of this (if I can still find it) and of Pamplelune.

What a beauty this perfume is! The evergreens and sugar really pop. It reminds me of when a maple tree is tapped and this sweet water comes out, which you can drink, and which is later cooked down into maple syrup. This makes me want to go out and drink a bunch of that water, it tastes like sugar water. So this does conjure winter in a way, because of the evergreens, but it's not a spicy and heavy oriental. It has an outdoor feeling of walking through fresh air and snowy woods rather than sitting indoors by a fire drinking mulled cider. After wearing for a couple of hours, it becomes more resins and vanilla. I adore it every moment that it's on my skin.

probabilmente non è il giusto periodo per indossare questa bellezza, ma in verità qui fa ancora freschetto, sicchè un profumo "caloroso" fa bene alla mente e al corpo. trattasi, come recita il nome, di una delizia invernale, invero, con una bella giustapposizione di odore di pino, resine, zenzero e un che di dolcemente confortevole (vaniglia e zucchero) e affumicato. il risultato è un accordo che ricorda il natale, non foss'altro che per le fragranze da casa assai diffuse durante le feste. a me questi accordi di conifera resinosa piacciono sempre. bello!

I was so pleasantly surprised by Winter Delice. Normally, my skin does not tolerate resins or incense; they just come off as pure Comet on me. I think the vanilla/sugar affair in the base softens the harshness for me. Happyme2009 said this fragrance reminds her of Narnia--what a perfect description! WD has a magical quality to it that reminds me of an enchanted, sugar-dusted, Old World forest, yet, it is not at all childish or ultra-feminine. Sophisticated deliciousness!

Thank you so much, Melzy for introducing me to this via an incredibly generous sample! I am in love. This is right up my alley. Resinous, incensed, vanillary sweet, light yet intense, churchy yet wicked. Long lasting, it stayed on my skin long after the others had flown away. Recently I've been thinking I wanted a less in your face version of an incense than I usually wear and then this arrives in the post, like an answer to a silent prayer. I am on the hunt for a FB.

This is GORGEOUS! I need a full bottle of this magic! Fresh pine forest in the cold winter day, to me this fragrance smells like Narnia ( From the Chronicles of Narnia ) would smell like. Truly a work of art! Dear Guerlain, Can you please bring back these kind of fragrances, not the one's you've been making lately in your sleep while having a cold with no sense of smell and dumping it at Sephora. Let's get back to the business of art making such as Winter Delice!

The opening was a chaos, but it settles down quickly. I feel like walking down a fir-/ pineforest. I can smell the trees and the amber. It starts out like a fresh forest but it gets warmer by the minute. More amber and a bit sweet in the dry down. I think it's beautiful and original. I love it. But why did they discontinue this? It's such a precious fragrance. I only have a miniature and I would love to have a full bottle. It's a really good winter fragrance

Bought this for my mum in error, expecting Herba Fresca, what a surprise. This is incredible, talk about a Merry Christmas in a bottle, another huge success from Guerlain, it's very sweet on first spray, Vanilla, Cinnamon, fruits, then seems to dry down into spices and pine. I imagine a perfume to enjoy purely for the user as it doesn't seem to last a huge time, but what an enjoyment, Perfection de Guerlain :-) 5/5

Smelling this makes me think of a walk in a snowy Pine wood on christmas day after the morning mass! I smell Pine resin+ frankincense and something "icy" that i have no clue what it could be but it stays only for 10 seconds in the opening! It does lasts for ages and has a very good projection, differently from most other aqua allegorias! How i wish i had a huge bottle of this! :(

Opens up a bit strong, with vintage-like perfume notes... and then the magic begins. It starts to warm up. Smells like cinnamon, fur woods, leather, amber, vanilla, sweet spices. Winter evening in a cabin near the fireplace, burning pine wood and something yummy is baking in a oven.. Fabulous, rustic, rich, intoxicating aroma. I love this one. Wintertime cozy.

This remains my favorite cedar of all time, which is weird, because cedar isn't even listed as a note. As a rule, I find vanilla cloying, but here, there's just enough to give it warmth, and enough spice to balance the vanilla. But this has the cedar chest smell, as well as the sweet resin of fresh cedar sprigs. I can't find anything else like it.

This truly is the Christmas scent for the ages, one that is unbearably hard to get. It's not exactly a usual scent. It's a little bit dusty, but there's nothing about this not to like. The fir, the pine and the cinamonny Christmas cakes. Just beautiful.

The notes are wrong. Top notes are a blast of clove and fir/pine, then cinnamon then dries down to spice but with a synthetic weak, sharp edge to it; not worth $115 and lasts all of a heartbeat before you can't smell it anymore.

Une petite ressemblance avec Comme des garçons, ce parfum évoque la période de noël le sapin et les épices de noël. Plutot masculin il a beaucoup de caractère. je l'adore. je lui donne la note de 9/10 .