While I have a couple of signature scents that I wear year-round, I love the change of seasons as an excuse to switch up my perfume collection. And now the temperature has well and truly plummeted, I'm moving away from my beachy body mists and citrus scents. Instead, winter calls for cosy, comforting perfumes with one note in particular dominating my most-reached-for fragrances at the moment—cashmere. Yes, cashmere perfumes have quietly become my winter fragrance obsession, and it’s about time I shared what makes them so special.
Warm without being overly heady, and cosy without feeling twee, cashmere perfumes smell quietly luxurious. Slightly more weight than a traditional skin scent, they still have that feeling of softness and intimacy that makes them feel incredibly chic. “Cashmere is a beloved note in autumn and winter because it carries that quietly luxurious softness that we instinctively reach for in the colder months,” explains Emmanuelle Moeglin, Founder and nose at Experimental Perfume Club. “In perfumery, cashmere isn’t actually a single raw material, but a textured accord created with a blend of musks, soft woods and warm amber facets.” This combination is exactly what gives cashmere fragrances their complexity and depth—and means that no cashmere perfume smells the same.
Ahead, I’ve rounded up 7 of the best cashmere fragrances for the season ahead.
1. Jo Loves Black Cashmeran & Tonka Perfume
Key notes: Orange, ginger, cardamom, rum, tonka bean, cedarwood, cashmeran
This is a bit of a power player of a perfume, so if you love deep, sexy scents, then this indulgent blend will be right up your street. The star note is black cashmeran, which is plush, slightly woody and incredibly expensive-smelling. However, to prevent things getting too heady, there’s also a touch of creamy tonka which adds a sweet, enveloping warmth for a delightfully cocooning effect that makes this the ultimate winter warmer. Imagine nestling beneath a designer blanket on a warm leather sofa while the snow falls outside.
2. Phlur Cashmere Skin
Key notes: Almond, cyclamen, cashmere, cream, vanilla, santal, ambrette, musk, peru balsam
Forget any preconceptions you have about fragrance mists, Phlur’s offering is amongst my most worn scents and smells just as good as some of my most expensive perfumes. This new launch is the reason I started investigating cashmere fragrances in the first place, as it smells so incredible. Soft, warm, and comforting, Cashmere Skin is a blend of milky musks, soft amber and subtle vanilla that together create an almost elevated skin scent. Despite the complexity of notes, it has a freshness to it that smells sophisticated and elegant, yet with a cosy familiarity. I wear it alone, but it also acts as a brilliant base layer for any other winter perfumes that you might want to layer on top.
3. Guerlain Eau de Cashmere
Key notes: Pink pepper, mandarin, bergamot, iris, lavender, petit grain, vanilla, cedarwood, white musks, heliotrope, vetiver
While cashmere isn’t actually a note in this fragrance, the perfume itself was created to replicate the feeling of the namesake fabric against bare skin. The result is a delicate, enveloping fragrance that smells subtly expensive and beautifully understated. Fans of floral perfumes will love the delicate blend of iris, lavender and heliotrope, which gives the fragrance an almost powdery, nostalgic feel, while there’s a woody warmth from vanilla, cedarwood and a little spice from pink pepper. A classic Guerlain blend of elevated wearability.
4. The Nue Co. First Milk
Key notes: Pink pepper, almond milk, French vanilla, iris, cypriol, musk, amber woods, tonka bean, cashmere woods
Notes aside, The Nue Co. First Milk is my scent of the season as it really is comfort in a bottle. From the brand’s Nostalgia collection, this perfume harks back to our earliest scent memories which is why there are lots of creamy milk notes and subtle musks giving it a real nurturing aura. It’s soft, sweet and calming, but the amber and cashmere woods have a grounding quality too. Whenever I’m feeling even slightly frazzled, I’ve been spritzing this on as a comforting cloak of fragrance.
5. Bibbi Radio Child
Key notes: Madagascan black pepper, jasmine petals, fig leaves, cashmere woods, oakmoss, salted musks
This is the perfume equivalent of slipping into a fuzzy cashmere sweater before heading out on a crisp winter walk. It definitely feels like a modern interpretation of a cashmere scent, though, for while it has all of the classic comforting hallmarks—like cashmere woods and salted musks—there’s an earthiness to this too. The addition of fresh fig leaves and verdant oakmoss lends the whole thing an almost fairytale woodland charm with a lovely earthiness that soothes the soul.
6. Who Is Elijah His|Her
Key notes: Bergamot, violet leaf, cardamom, floral, fir needle, sandalwood, cashmere musk, amber, oud
The bottle really says it all with this universally-appealing perfume—spicy, woody, fresh. It’s a perfectly balanced and effortlessly cool blend of creamy woods, clean musk and a subtle skin-warmth sweetness that I deny anyone to smell and not immediately want to douse themselves in it. And like a great pair of jeans or a perfectly cut sweater, it manages to feel both pared-back and luxurious. This isn’t a perfume that shouts, but one that makes it seem as if you just smell innately good.
7. Le Monde Gourmand Fleur de Blonde
Key notes: Pear blossom, ambrette, violet, pink sugar, carrot seed, white amber, cashmere wood, musk
A beautifully fresh and airy take on cashmere, this has the same kind of warmth as sun-drenched linen but still retains a crispness that keeps it firmly in the autumn/winter scent bracket. If you love gourmand perfumes, then the additions of pink sugar and violet add an almost childlike dash of sweetness to this otherwise warm and rounded scent. It’s ideal for grey days when you want something that feels polished and joyful.
