Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Winter Delice - Scented Review

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Winter Delice embodies the smell of a distant memory in front of a fireplace, waiting impatiently for the Holidays.

Name: Winter Delice

Brand: Guerlain

Concentration: Eau de Toilette

Year of launching: 2000/2001

Production: Discontinued/Limited Edition

Parfumeur: Jean-Paul Guerlain

Persistence: Great

Sillage: Good

Notes:

Top notes: Fir Trees

Heart notes: Scotch Pine, Balsam

Base notes: Somalian Incense, Sugar and Vanilla

*The perfume notes have been written as described on Basenotes. 

Winter-Time - Poem by Robert Louis Stevenson

“Close by the jolly fire I sit

To warm my frozen bones a bit;

Or with a reindeer-sled, explore

The colder countries round the door.”

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Winter Delice smells like a wooden log cabin filled with the smell of spicy ginger, as it is prepared for its transformation into gingerbread.  When the gingerbread is ready, fresh out of the oven all warm, it is covered with a bit of dusty white sugar. The woodsy base notes gave me this feeling of a warm smoky fireplace. After a whole day of baking gingerbread, you finally get the chance to sit in front of the fireplace and the room is filled with the smell of wood, a slightly smoky aroma fills the room while the fire is crackling and the red flames dance. Winter Delice has this certain soapy vintage feel to it as if you are smelling a distant memory from the past, a memory that might be from one’s childhood.

Guerlain Winter Delice needs to be worn multiple times and needs patience before it unveils itself. It can either smell like ginger and smoky wood or it can smell like woodsy notes with sugary notes that somehow reminded me of a watered down (lacking in almonds and tonka beans) Givenchy Pi before it was reformulated. My one problem with Winter Delice is its sillage. It is powerful and noticeable for about two to three hours, afterwards subsiding to a subtle, close to skin scent. The persistence is without reproach, it was still present after a shower but I would have loved a stronger sillage.

Obviously, Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Winter Delice was marketed as a Christmas influenced fragrance and therefore it should smell like Christmas. Personally, I cannot say I perceive it entirely as a Christmas scent or something I would wear necessarily during the Holidays or on Christmas Day. I think it smells more like the kind of fragrance I would wear throughout November and at the beginning of December, expecting the Holidays. It did add a certain Christmassy cheer to my gloomy, cold November days and I have worn it almost every day while concocting this review. For me to consider it as a full-fledged Christmas perfume it should be rounder and thicker. One could argue that after all it is a member of the Aqua Allegoria family and it should be on the lighter side. Indeed it is not necessary for Winter Delice to be so round and thick. From my personal experience with Winter Delice, it performs better during the colder months. Nonetheless, I believe one should wear Winter Delice whenever it feels fit.

Photo by Artist Joanna Malinowska (Joanna M. Foto) on Magdeleine

Let’s talk about the packaging: 

According to the beloved Guerlainophile - Monsieur Guerlain - Robert Granai has transformed the classic bee bottle into a new design for the Aqua Allegoria with a gilded honeycomb wrapped around the bottle shoulders, the Guerlain bee symbol on the top of the cap. The design has not changed, although the spray mechanism, label and box have been changed several times.

I like the Aqua Allegoria bottle, it looks simple but very elegant, I love the miniature bottle version because it is adorable. I must point out the name, a hybrid between English and French. The name makes the fragrance seem interesting as it is very catchy, Winter Delice aka Winter Delight. I find the image of the holly berries on the box to be a nice touch supporting the whole concept of Winter Scent.

In 2008 Guerlain reissued Winter Delice for the limited edition exclusive luxury coffret “Les Quatre Saisons” aka “The Four Season”. The Non-Blonde has written about it long before I did. The exclusive set contained four small precious fragrance bottles: Winter Delice, Muguet de Printemps, Quand Vient L’Ete, Brume D’Automne. According to PerfumeMaster, the reissued Winter Delice was Eau de Parfum unlike its Eau de Toilette predecessor Aqua Allegoria Winter Delice.

In this situation Guerlain actually thought it can sweeten the tea a bit by releasing a limited edition Christmas tea named “Winter Delice Le Thé De Noël En Édition Limitée” that can be found on the Guerlain Official Website and from what I noticed it seems to be available only for their native country of France but I might be mistaken. Not to worry! The rest of the world gets to enjoy a scented candle aka “Winter Délice Christmas Candle”. It is not stated on Guerlain Official Website whether Winter Délice Christmas Candle is a limited edition but one should never be overconfident.

Judging by the notes Winter Délice Christmas Candle might still have a resemblance with the original Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Winter Delice containing one singular Ginger Bread note (heart note) that might bring some comfort to the nostalgic fans, followed by Armoise/Artemisia note (top note) and Patchouli (base note).

Unfortunately, Winter Delice Le Thé De Noël does not seem to resemble at all Aqua Allegoria Winter Delice due to the following ingredients: Black teas from Assam and southern India with woody scents, adorned with orange peel, lemongrass, rose petals, and spices: cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. The ingredients have been translated from French “Thés noirs d'Assam et d'Inde du sud aux effluves boisées, agrémentés d'écorces d'oranges, de citronnelle, de pétales de rose, et d'épices : cannelle, cardamome et clous de girofle.” but have been written as described on the Guerlain Official Website. Disclaimer: I have not tried or smelled either Winter Délice Christmas Candle or Winter Delice Le Thé De Noël thus I do not find myself in a position that allows further comments.

John Coltrane - Green Sleeves

For the perfume that finally grew on me, I can only pick a Christmas Carol that also grew on me and it’s none other than "Greensleeves". I was not really fond of it but the great jazz reinterpretation by the one and only John Coltrane gave me a new perspective. Because of my deep love for John Coltrane's reinterpretation, I learned to really appreciate Greensleeves in every version I might listen to it. Like Winter Delice, it is perfect for November, as a holiday "prequel".

I ran in circles with Winter Delice as it can be a hit or a miss at first try. The debate is whether the price tag is actually worth it or not, but I can't provide you with an answer. It took me approximately four years of going back and forth for Winter Delice to finally grow on me. Olfactory Obsessed mentioned before me about Winter Delice’s devoted cult following which praise it and mourn its untimely disappearance. On the other side, reside the ones who have not been impressed in any way by Winter Delice. I find myself in the middle, I understand both sides, I grew to really like Winter Delice but I am very much content with my miniature bottle and I do not feel the need for a full bottle.

I must remind you that Winter Delice and I have shared a rocky relationship until it has somehow decided to show me its lovely and almost Christmassy facets. It is the kind of perfume one uses while waiting anxiously for the coming of Christmas. In my scented opinion, it almost smells like Christmas but it's not quite there. Smells more like late November, when you just can't wait any longer and let the Spirit of Christmas out. 

If you wish to read about another Christmas inspired fragrance you can read the review I wrote for Givenchy Very Irresistible Poesie D'Un Parfum D'Hiver.  Also if you wish to try a perfume that in my opinion smells like Christmas, you can read the review I wrote for Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum. 

Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies, Olfactory Obsessed, The Non-Blonde 

In the end, I would like to add a small advice to my Dear Reader. Perfume is like a work of art, it strikes different chords within each individual. The interpretation of a work of art is very personal, profound and unique for each and every human being. If possible, test a perfume for yourself after reading a review. Also, do not forget to Love, Enjoy and Wear your Perfume of choice Proudly.

What is your favourite Holidays inspired fragrance? Let me know in the comment section.  

Thank you for reading this Scented Review and I wish you a Beautifully Scented Day! 

Disclaimer: My own scented opinion. Review based upon a miniature bottle from my own collection.

SOURCES:

Images:

Fragrantica.com [Accessed 16th November 2017] 
Magdeleine.co [Accessed 16th November 2017] 
PerfumeMaster.org [Accessed 16th November 2017]
 Fragrantica.com [Accessed 16th November 2017] 
Guerlain [Accessed 16th November 2017] 
Guerlain [Accessed 16th November 2017] 
Poem:
PoemHunter.com [Accessed 16th November 2017]
Information:

Basenotes.net [Accessed 16th November 2017]
Monsieur Guerlain [Accessed 16th November 2017]
The Non-Blonde [Accessed 16th November 2017]
PerfumeMaster.org [Accessed 16th November 2017]
PerfumeMaster.org [Accessed 16th November 2017]
Guerlain [Accessed 16th November 2017] 
Guerlain [Accessed 16th November 2017]