Winter 24

A rose in December is a startling sight - as though a fragment of summer has appeared, fully formed, in the heart of winter. 

This image stemmed from a favourite poem, ‘Snow’ by Louis MacNeice. A winter scene that balances a few simple, sensual details: the bubbling fire, the tangerine, the bay window and, of course, the snow and the roses. For Winter 24, we wondered if we could bring this scene to life.

As the poem layers images, we layered scents. First the central rose/snow accord. For this we landed on Rose de Mai, a pink bloom picked only in May. The petals are gathered at dawn, before they can be bruised by the sun. The resulting absolute* is incredible - floral, dewy, a touch of wood, honey-sweet and airy.

To temper the warmth of the rose we experimented with cool, herbaceous notes - peppermint, eucalyptus, tarragon, rosemary. These have a direct cooling effect on the nose and at once placed our rose in a different landscape.

We were still lacking the powdery softness of snow. After much searching we found it in palmarosa, a relative of lemongrass that nonetheless carries distinctively rosy facets and gestures to the light texture of freshest snow.

We then brought in sweet orange, lemon and bergamot, their citrus notes balancing the rose with a little sharpness. Sweet orange in particular has that scent that comes when you break into the skin of a tangerine, lingering for hours on your fingertips.

For the finishing touch, we wanted to capture the fire and the poem’s celebratory tone. This came with the spiced, wintry scents of clove, juniper and balsam fir. They brought richness to the blend, and heat, like something warm cupped in the palm of your hand.

*An absolute is the most aromatic form of natural oils, obtained from petals or plants by solvent extraction.