Take a Powder: The Power of Powdery Perfumes

best powdery perfumes

Photo: Vitor Shalom © Best Powdery Perfumes

Utter the phrase “take a powder” to a fragrance lover. Rather than an invitation to vacate the premises, you will likely bring to mind the multitude of powder-based perfumes, a subject rife with imaginary conflict and drama.

Photo  of Ricky Martin by Emilie Mori©

The word “powder” to a Perfumista elicits a varying response. More often than not people will either smile, sigh and roll their eyes back in their heads with delight, or scream and run for the hills. Powdery perfumes are the perfect example of a first class olfactive love/hate relationship. Powder perfumes are divisive. Many scent lovers, especially men, treat powder as a dismissive note and mutter about “old lady scents” or “what my musty, fusty old Aunties wore!” Dig beneath the surface a bit, and very surprising are the number of people who swear by their dislike of powdery perfumes while not realizing that some of their favorite scents are powder-centric. This may come as quite a shock to many men who treat powdery perfumes as the exclusive domain of the ladies. These men might be of the “I-never-wear-powdery-scents-they’re-only-made-for-women-not-for-me” frame of mind, while liberally dousing themselves with Royal Copenhagen, Tom Ford Noir, Dior Homme,  Burberry Brit For Men, Guerlain Habit Rouge, Mugler A*Men, and so many others which are in their own ways powder-bombs each and every one.

In this era of gender-fluidity, Gentlemen, you can comfortably embrace the power of powdery perfumes and come over to the white fluffy side; you might just be surprised how terrific it smells over here. Here are three of my favorite powder-power perfumes that are not only worth discovering, but also spot-on for the entry-level powder-curious:

Shalimar cologne is one of the best powdery perfumes

Ruven Afanador for Town and Country April 2013 and Shalimar Cologne

Let’s start with one of the Shalimar fragrances by the venerable Maison Guerlain, not only for the iconic status of Shalimar itself, but because it is a perfectly constructed unisex perfume which both women and men have been wearing for decades.  Shalimar is breathtakingly beautiful; it’s vanilla, floral and powdery; women absolutely love it on a man. In 2015, Guerlain released Shalimar Cologne , and the result is a powdery perfume that is as good as it gets. Shalimar Cologne strips away much of the heaviness and “in-your-face” deep oriental notes of the original without losing that classic Shalimar feeling. What’s left is an extraordinarily lightweight and warm weather scent that you will reach for again and again. Playing up the citrus and a sheer vanilla against a beautiful backdrop of orris and musk, Shalimar Cologne is a textbook example of a stunning and easy-wearing powdery perfume.

Terry de Guzburg Ombre Mercure best niche powdery perfumes

Christian Lacroix couture, photographed at Versailles by David Sims for Vogue and Terry de Gunzberg Ombre Mercure

Terry de Gunzberg is best known for her women’s cosmetic line and her years as creative director for Yves Saint Laurent, but her own eponymous perfume range is well worth exploring, and one of my favorites is Ombre Mercure (2012). If Guerlain’s L’Heure Bleue had a wild younger sister who’s never seen without wearing her Doc Marten knee-high boots, her name would be Ombre Mercure. Like a bomb going off in the dressing room chiffonier of a chateau during the French revolution, Ombre Mercure scatters dry-as-sand violet and iris mixed with deep dark woods through vanilla scented air settling on your skin as light as silk but serious as a heart attack. If you are fond of classic French perfumes with a decidedly contemporary vibe give this powdery perfume a try.

Lorenzo Villerosi Teint de Neige  review

Game of Thrones Daenerys Targaryen Khaleesi (Emilia Clarke) for Entertainment Weekly and Lorenzo Villerosi Teint de Neige 

As they said in Episode 1 of Game of Thrones, “Winter is Coming”, and this is the bottle I want to be holding in my hand when it arrives. In broadcast weather parlance Lorenzo Villoresi’s Teint De Neige (2000) would be called “white out conditions”. It is the powder lovers ultimate Nirvana, the blissed-out “iron throne” of people who love powder-centric perfumes. It is all about the powdery notes, heliotrope, shot through with beautiful floral wisps of Jasmine, Rose, Ylang, and supported on a base of even more powder and creamy musk. It is nothing short of a minor miracle when these notes come together so perfectly and beautifully to deliver a powder bomb of a fragrance that is quite frankly unforgettable on both women and men. True olfactive magic.

So the next time you hear someone say “take a powder”, grab your nearest powdery perfume, sit back and let the compliments pour in.

–Robert Herrmann, Senior Editor

-Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

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13 comments

  • I don’t wear powdery perfumes but there’s an old school classical element about them which seems right for certain moments 🙂 It would be a different perfume world without them…and such an enjoyable review to read- OMG that photo by Vitor!! Thanks

  • I have liked powdery perfumes since I was a kid. I never understood what it is that many people don’t like about them.

  • Yes to powdery perfumes! I wear L’Heure Bleue in cold weather and it is so comforting. Years ago I wore Oscar and enjoyed the powdery feeling in its base. Shalimar Cologne was a “blink and you missed it” release. I wish I had come across it when it was on perfume counters. It sounds delicious.

  • “Powder” is such an unpredictable beast on me that I don’t quite know what to make of it. I am one of those people who say I prefer not to have it, but then a lovely fragrance that I absolutely adore will come my way, and it’s clearly powdered, so…. It’s just that sometimes powdery notes go weirdly capsaicin-ish on my skin. I mean, literally the same throat-burning sensation you get when you’ve been chopping up hot peppers. I haven’t yet figured out what causes it. I thought for a long time that was iris, but then I’ve had iris fragrances that perform beautifully on me. It’s really confounding, and it makes me wary of anything described as “powdery.”

  • This was fun to read 🙂 I’ve loved and worn some powder perfumes over the years: Rive Gauche in the 70s, Hypnotic Poison, Habanita, Barbara Bui, but some esp Teinte De Neige make me feel I’m suffocating. Then again, it’s been a long time since I’ve tried it so maybe it’s time for another sample. I love what you said about Shalimar, Robert, I haven’t smelled the cologne but my husband smells fantastic in the edc.

  • I’m an unrepentant powder lover, so I loved your mini reviews, Robert! And yes, I completely agree that powdery fragrances can be just as delightful on a man – in fact, Dior Homme is one of my favorite scents for any gender. I confess I find the Shalimar Cologne just a little too sweet, but I love Ombre Mercure and would love to get my hands on a bottle of Teint de Neige. I find Vivienne Westwood’s Naughty Alice to be a slightly more easy-to-find powder in the same vein. Thanks for the whirlwind tour of one of my favorite notes!

  • Teint de Neige is the ultimate powder bomb, however I think for those Powder lovers that the Sylvaine Delacourte Florentina and Jardins d’Armide by Oriza L. Legrand ate two fragrances not to be missed 🙂

  • Nancy Goodman says:

    Talco Delicato by I Profumi di Firenze is one of my favorite powder bombs. It’s soft and sweet, drying down to a powdery musky wood note. Good stuff!

  • Laura Keller says:

    I don’t have a problem with powdery. I wish I had bought Ombre Mercure last year when a dear friend sent me a little decant that I fell hard in love with. I can’t find it anywhere now with a few utterly ridiculously priced exceptions. Love your reviews!

  • I love powdery scents. Obviously, there are so many kinds, depending on other dominant notes that it’s blended with. Shalimar is a gorgeous scent. I can’t personally wear it but I love the way it smells on other people. Covet has a powdery note to it but it’s blended with a chocolate and green note, so it really has an interesting feel to it. It’s one of my favorites.

  • Hikmat Sher Afridi says:

    Powdery scents are adorable & amazing. I have many of them & love wearing like YSL Kouros, Guerlain Habit Rouge, Guerlain Shalimar, Geoffrey Beene Grey Flannel , Kiehl`s Original Musk, Prada Amber Pour Homme, Kenzo Flower and so many. I think the notes like musk, vanilla, heliotrope, iris, orris root and of course violet makes the perfume “powdery”.