This holiday season, give the gift of personality in a bottle. Smell like you mean it and own your power for 2025
They say your fragrance precedes you, but it’s also the gift that speaks louder than holiday carols. Whether you’re shopping for yourself or playing Santa, these women’s fragrances are personality in a bottle. Because who needs an identity crisis when you can spritz your way to allure?
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Frederic Malle
Portrait of a Lady by Dominique Ropion
Think of Frederic Malle as the curator of an olfactory art gallery, where the world’s finest perfumers turn their visions into a locked-down, rarified set of aromatic masterpieces. The brand lets master perfumers run wild, and Portrait of a Lady is Dominique Ropion’s work.
400 Turkish roses are layered like petals on a masterpiece, with patchouli and sandalwood laying the foundation. At first spritz, you instantly smell the smoke and dryness of the patchouli and sandalwood, almost incese-like, but as it dries down notes of clove, blackcurrant, and raspberry lend their hues, balancing it with sweetness. It’s mature elegance in a bottle.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian
OUD Satin Mood Eau de Parfum
Kurkdjian is the man who made your favorite scents before you knew his name. With OUD Satin Mood, he’s turned a perfume into an all-season couture ensemble.
Imagine draping yourself in the most decadent fabric you’ve ever felt—except instead of cashmere, it’s oud wood from Laos, Bulgarian rose, and vanilla amber. When applied it starts of with notes of rose and strawberry that’s rounded out with the woddieness from the oud. The longer it sits on the skin, th amber comes making the dry down deeper and with more warmth. This fragrance lounges luxuriously, daring anyone to say you’re overdressed.
Malin + Goetz
Leather Eau de Parfum
The scent of leather might conjure up images of vintage jackets or that one musician you dated in college. Malin + Goetz captures that same moody charm but elevates it to classic status in their Leather Eau de Parfum.
Here, muted florals mimic the softness of worn leather, while rustic wood notes ground the composition like the scent of an old book-lined atelier. One spritz and you’re immediately welcomed with raw spiceness. It’s heavy but not offensive, nostalgic yet modern—like the leather jacket you’d never part with, no matter how many stories it carries. Nostalgia never smelled so sexy—or so versatile.
Bond No. 9
B9
Can’t make it to New York for the holidays? B9 is the fragrance equivalent of a first-class ticket to the Big Apple.
It’ll feel like dining at Eleven Madison Park, grabbing a rare find at Bergdorf Goodman, or humming along to Wicked on Broadway—except now in theaters. Its notes of citrus, saffron, and gardenia all blend seamlessly together, that it will instantly draw anyone who get a whiff. It also has notes of oakmoss, musk, and vetiver that gives it a gritty sophistication, making the dry down more seductive. It’s Manhattan in a bottle—glitzy, gender-free, and gloriously magnetic.
NISHANE
MANA
Nishane crafts perfumes with existential statements. MANA is their aromatic way of asking, “Who are you, really?”
Black pepper and geranium kick things off with a crisp, invigorating punch, while suede, benzoin, and sandalwood ground the fragrance with the assuredness of someone who’s already conquered their next move. It’s introspective yet visionary, ideal for anyone ready to rule 2025.
This holiday season, forget basic gift cards or uninspired baubles. These fragrances are for the woman who knows her worth—or at least has the scent of someone who does.
Photos: FREDERIC MALLE, MAISON FRANCIS KURKDIJAN, MALIN + GOETZ, BOND NO. 9, and NISHANE
