Reviews of Aqua Allegoria Winter Delice (2000)
by Guerlain

I'm ambivalent about this scent. If you are a fan of Aqua Allegorias you might really enjoy it. For myself, while I appreciate many of the AAs (and am a great fan of many of the Guerlain line), I don't tend to find them very wearable.

I liked this when sprayed in the store, and there was but one left, and on sale, so I bought it. When I tried to wear Winter Delice, however, I got a strange metallic note. Not like blood, exactly, and not dirty like some metals nor particularly cold like some others. And yes, there is something reminiscent of Old Spice in Winter Delice. But that isn't a bad thing, and in fact I bought a bottle of Old Spice for myself at one point. (I don't wear it either.)

Since I should appreciate Winter Delice based on notes, reviews, and opinions I respect, I kept at it, and discovered that I needed to spray it on a bit more generously. Dabbing cautiously from a tester vial gave me the metallic odeur, but two spritzes and I could smell spices. In one of the spices I recognize something that becomes metallic when there isn't enough of some of the notes there to balance it.

All said and done, I will eventually pass my bottle on to a better home. I like Winter Delice, but I don't love Winter Delice, and I have too many other fragrances that I do love, and do reach for on the days when Winter Delice might be nice.

Pine Trees! But then, finally, far into the drydown is a wonderful warm, sweet vanilla with a touch of resinous sparkle. I like this better on my husband than on myself, and I'm also fond of it as a room fragrance. One spray in a water-filled simmer pot lasts all day. In other words, it's an enjoyable scent, but not something I want on my person. What *is* this obsession with the Allegorias that I seem to have? It's like a sickness.

I couldn't get past the fir and pine...not something I wanted to wear, but wonderful for towels and sheets and using as a homespray!

This smells exactly like Christmas potpourri to me. I like it, but I would not suggest wearing this. Unless of course you don't mind smelling like a Christmas tree. To me this scent would be better served to be marketed as room spray or linen spray not as a perfume. Because it would be great to freshen up your home during the holidays.

Kind of a cute idea for a fragrance - evergreen trees, sugar cookies, smoky fireplaces - but it's a little too novel for me, along the same lines as those appliqued sweaters that people only wear for Christmas. The pairing of heavy pines with gourmand ingredients is a little jarring and contrived to me, something of a disconnect; each category of notes has its place but together they seem strange. That's what I pretty much think of the scent - it's just a little strange. I like the briskness of the evergreen notes and here they manage to avoid feeling oily and disinfectant-like; they actually have a nice sparkling quality. And I like the base section, which is about sugar and spice - including ginger - and that smokiness from the incense. I think the base notes alone could have carried this sense, actually. It would have worked out fine. I wear it maybe once a year - guess when?! Hint: I put it on before I set out the cookies and milk for you-know-who.

I have been wearing Winter Delice for about a month. I do not find it particularly feminine; it contains no floral notes and the strongest impression seems to be one of spices mixed with frankincense and pine. My only complaint about it is that it doesn't seem to have a whole lot of punch; it would be a lot better if it were a little stronger.