Jo Malone Ginger Biscuit, Imaginary Authors Cape Heartache, Fugazzi Orange Crush and Other Best Christmas Fragrances for 2025

A Review of Holiday Perfumes for Christmas and New Year 2025

The cold season is approaching, and that can only mean one thing — the holidays are just around the corner. Little by little, everything around us begins to take on that unmistakable festive, Christmas-like charm. Markets are already bustling with aromatic mulled wine and warm pastries, while the dark streets glow with the soft light of lanterns and garlands neatly draped over trees, rooftops, and balconies.

My neighbor has already decorated the fir tree in his yard and hung a holiday wreath on the door, and shopping centers are overflowing with sparkle, color, and festive displays — all of it gently reminding us of the celebrations ahead and stirring that familiar, pleasant sense of rising pre-holiday excitement.

The end of the year always brings the feeling of finishing something old and welcoming something new. Some people write down their accomplishments and plans for the future, while others simply enjoy this strange, comforting moment of chaos and anticipation.

For me, the holiday mood is impossible without the smell of fir needles, mandarins, and mulled wine. In fact, the two most nostalgic scents — the ones dearest to my heart — are the smell of freshly cut grass in summer and the scent of a Christmas tree in winter.

Imaginary Authors Cape Heartache — the most realistic Christmas tree scent

This year, I spent a long time searching for that true, authentic Christmas tree fragrance — and I finally found it in Cape Heartache by Imaginary Authors. I didn’t fall in love with it right away: immediately after spraying, the strawberry note gives the pine a slightly damp, earthy, forest-floor nuance. But give it time — and that strawberry melts into the pine, making the fragrance feel alive, moist, and incredibly natural. As if a freshly cut tree was brought straight from a cold forest into a warm room, and as it thaws, it begins to release its real scent.

Cape Heartache barely changes during wear — it consistently delivers that same natural Christmas tree aroma. And the longevity is excellent. If you’re looking for genuinely natural coniferous perfumes for Christmas, I also recommend Lush Fresh As, Arso by Profumum Roma, and Légendes du Cèdre by L’Artisan Parfumeur.

Fugazzi Orange Crush — a juicy mandarin fragrance for winter

In Fugazzi Orange Crush, I found a bright and wonderfully realistic mandarin scent — the very one that traditionally marks the arrival of winter and the holiday season. Orange Crush also remains fairly linear: it opens with juicy citrus full of pulp and sweet juice, like a freshly snapped mandarin segment. The longevity is excellent.

Usually, I’m not a fan of citrus fragrances in perfumery, but Orange Crush by Fugazzi won me over with its simplicity and realism — it is just a true-to-life citrus without anything extra. For me, it’s one of the best citrus perfumes of the 2025 holiday season.

Jo Malone Ginger Biscuit — ginger cookies and warm milk with cinnamon

Comparison with Cave Essentials Sunset Caramel and Guerlain Tonka Sarrapia Extrait 75

Ginger Biscuit Cologne by Jo Malone — just as the name suggests — is another wonderful candidate for creating a festive atmosphere. Ginger Biscuit smells of warm milk with cinnamon and ginger cookies, with soft caramel and vanilla nuances. It is very similar to Cave Essentials Sunset Caramel, but Sunset Caramel has more coconut-milky shades and more caramel overall, giving it a softer, gentler character.

Ginger Biscuit Cologne is a limited holiday edition from Jo Malone, available on the official website, and it also comes in a 10 ml travel size. There is also Guerlain Tonka Sarrapia Extrait 75 — it smells like real cookies, or even a poppy-seed cake, but without the milky sweetness you find in Jo Malone.

Hattai Le Couvent Maison de Parfum — red dried berries, cocoa, and soft amber

Hattai Le Couvent Maison de Parfum smells of red dried goji berries, cocoa, and soft amber. I also sense a true bitter dark chocolate note, a faint wisp of tobacco smoke, and spices. It reminds me of spicy mulled wine and a cigar by the fireplace. Jean-Claude Ellena’s entire collection is built on very simple pyramids of just two or three notes, according to the official description. But who would doubt the master’s talent — his fragrances are simple and complex at the same time, and each one is a small masterpiece.

Hattai is a true Christmas fragrance and a wonderful gift option. I genuinely recommend trying it. “You smell like Christmas,” my husband told me when I applied it to my wrist. By the way, it’s unisex and works beautifully on a man.

Ode à l'Oudh and Fables d'Orient by L’Artisan Parfumeur are two more excellent fragrances for the 2025 holiday season. Ode à l'Oudh is aromatic, vanilla-saffron, with a soft hint of oud and honey. Fables d'Orient is warm, cozy, enveloping — a creamy-spicy scent with notes of nutmeg, amber, and iris.

I also wrote here about Jo Malone’s new holiday releases.

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Why do I love Christmas and New Year so much? I think it’s truly a special time — a moment when wishes feel closer, worries fade, even if just for a little while, and most importantly, a moment when something connects us adults with children: we, too, want to believe in miracles.May the 2025 holiday season surround you with love, warmth, and care.

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Disclaimer: All images are licensed via Canva and used for representative purposes only.