I don’t know about you, but I deeply feel the seasons and like to immerse myself in all their cliches. In spring, I’m head to toe in pastels, and in summer I switch all my beauty products out for coconut and mango scented ones. However, it’s in winter that I truly excel in turning myself into a seasonal stereotype. My husband always knows when winter has begun for me, when he comes home from work to a house that smells like a cinnamon bun factory from all the wax melts I’ve been burning. But it’s not just my house that becomes an olafactory embodiment of winter - when the calendar turns to October 1st (OK, so it might be earlier than that, but don’t tell anyone), I change all my bath and body products to ones that smell of cosy season. Think pumpkin spice, vanilla cookie, coffee, hot cocoa, wood, amber, tonka bean - everything that makes you want to curl up with a blanket or envelop yourself in a huge cashmere scarf.
So, given my obsession with the scents of the season, I wanted to share my top 20 bath and body products that will have you feeling all cosy and pampered. I’ve also been chatting to some fragrance experts—Yasmin Sewell, founder of holistic healing fragrance brand Vyrao, and Audrey Semeraro, founder of neuroscience-driven, wellness fragrance brand Edeniste—to find out more about the psychology behind why we are drawn to smelling like the season we’re in, if only to understand my own urges if nothing else. So, sit back, relax and grab that blanket as we learn more.
Why are we drawn to smelling like the seasons?
Semeraro explains that “seasonal fragrances resonate with us because they tap into the sensory cues and experiences that we associate with specific times of the year. Coconut, for instance, often evokes memories of summer holidays and sunshine, while pumpkin spice brings us back to the warmth and comfort of autumn gatherings. These scents have become cultural markers of the seasons, creating a nostalgic connection. Moreover, we tend to seek out scents that mirror the environment around us. As seasons change, our body naturally craves harmony with external stimuli, and fragrances that reflect the season help create that sense of synchrony. It’s also tied to how our moods shift with the seasons, which is why we gravitate towards bright, fresh scents in warmer months and rich, warming ones in colder seasons.” Sewell says that seasonal scents can be a “useful tool to help us navigate ourselves as the energy of our environment shifts.” So, it seems that scents really connect with our emotions and help us to feel comfortable with external seasonal change.
How does scent connect with our emotions?
“Scent has such an ability to alter our emotions, providing instant boosts of positivity and joy or evoking memories that offer comfort and nostalgia. It has been said that 60% of our emotions are linked to scent. This is all to do with the olfactory gland (scent) being so closely connected to the amygdala gland which is responsible for memory and emotions” explains Yasmin Sewell. Audrey Semaro goes on to say that “Scent has a unique ability to trigger emotions due to its direct link to the brain’s limbic system, the part responsible for emotional processing and memory. When we inhale certain fragrances, they can evoke a sense of comfort or cosiness by activating emotional memories or calming the nervous system. For example, warm, woody, and musky notes can recreate feelings of safety and relaxation, much like wrapping oneself in a blanket.”
Now that we understand the psychology behind our seasonal scent choices, let’s take a look at the 20 bath and body products you should be adding to your basket this winter to smell like cosy season.
1. The Best Body Moisturisers:
This rich, luscious body cream is scented with Jo Malone’s Myrhh and Tonka Cologne Intense, giving warming and enveloping notes of amber and tonka bean. The myrhh is what makes it truly unique however, as it adds a bit of spice and smokiness to the mix.
This solid bar melts on contact with the skin to release all its moisturising organic butters and pumpkin seed oil. It smells just like ‘chestnuts roasting on an open fire’. Its woody from the cedarwood, smoky from the vetivert and a there’s a warm spice from the cassia oil.
Nordic Wilds is one of Space NK’s own in-house scent creations. This light and moisturising body lotion smells like an wintery forest walk. It’s delightfully fresh with juniper berry, but also deep, warming and comforting from its tonka bean and spicy black pepper.
Autumn/Winter is definitely cinnamon bun season, and if you want to do more than just eat them, you can smell like them all day long with this sweet cinnamon and vanilla scented body milk. It will give your skin a real boost of hydration and nourish dry skin.
This smells exactly like what it says on the tin – a cosy Sunday on the sofa. This comforting scent is one you’ll just want to sink yourself into. Sweet vanilla and creamy chocolate mix with cocooning musk and spicy cardamom. Not only does it smell good, it deeply hydrates and strengthens your important skin barrier too.
2. The Best Bath Scrubs & Soaks:
Vieve’s signature scent is truly indulgent and enveloping. Just what you need in the colder months of the year. Neroli uplifts the soul, amber warms, and intoxicating santal adds rich smoky, spicy notes to heat your body and soul. A blend of Himalayan and Epsom salts, this soothes tired muscles, making for a truly holistic experience.
In my opinion, Tree Hut body scrubs are the best there is. I have around 20 and love how their rich, nourishing oils moisturise so deeply, whilst also exfoliating with course sugar. Vanilla is as sweet as you’d imagine and reminds me of winter baking. There’s also a suede note, which add a warming, velvety depth.
These seasonally spicy Epsom salts have notes of cinnamon, ginger and spiced orange, to envelop you in those wintery feelings, and warm both your senses and your body. Westlab are one of the best brands for affordable and deeply soothing bath salts.
All of Rituals’ scents smell incredible and are rooted in aromatherapy and wellness. Their new The Alchemy Collection scent blend has warming and smoky myrrh and cocooning amber to create a truly captivating winter fragrance. The scrub is a mix of detoxifying black volcanic sand, purifying charcoal and kaolin clay, moisturising shea butter, and hydrating glycerin.
Who doesn’t love a hot chocolate in winter?! This moisturising coconut oil body polish smells just like a hot cocoa, making it a perfect treat at bath-time. Seriously skin-softening.
3. The Best Shower Gels:
This sweet, moisturising shower foam looks and feels just like whipped cream. It smells of comforting childhood with its sugary mix of honey, maple syrup and toffee notes. A real cosy choice!
This rich, luxurious shower gel won’t fail to heat you up and leave you feeling toasty. It has an indulgent and complex scent, combining warming amber, heady oudh, and smoky black tea. There’s also a hint of freshness from the bergamot. This is the way to do winter in style!
This shower gel is warming (are you sensing a theme here?) and smoky – just like a burning log fire, in a cabin in the middle of a pine forest. Ginger, black pepper, vanilla and cinnamon mix with woody cypress oil and fresh, earthy, oakmoss.
Another one from Rituals, this shower mousse is predominantly woody, with hints of citrus and florals. It’s a soothing cedarwood-based scent that will cocoon you in the colder months of the year. You’ll also have the softest skin you’ve ever had.
This gourmand scent smells just like freshly baked cinnamon buns. Sweet and seasonally spicy, it smells good enough to eat (but don’t). A fun treat for winter baths and showers.
4. The Best Hair & Body Mists:
This delicate fragrance smells sweet and sensual, like the skin of someone you love. There’s sugary vanilla and benzoin, light florals, comforting sandalwood and cashmere, and hints of fresh apple. Safe to spray on both the hair and body.
This body mist from cult US favourite Bath & Body Works smells like sweet winter baking, with comforting sandalwood and slight hints of fresh florals. The vanilla is the dominant scent, making it ideal for any gourmand fragrance lover.
I have smelt nothing as good as this in my entire life. At the moment, I’m dousing myself in it every morning and feeling quite proud throughout the day that I smell good enough to eat. Notes of caramelised vanilla and toasted macadamia nut give cookie shop, but the addition of addictive, enveloping tonka bean takes this sweet scent to another level.
This hair and body mist from Selena Gomez's brand Rare Beauty does indeed bring that comfort that its name promises. It's a cashmere blanket in a mist - calming, comforting and enveloping, with notes of jasmine, cashmere wood and lemon zest. It even contains biotin and niacinamide to make hair softer and shinier, and skin soothed and moisturised.
Jo Loves is the brand created by Jo Malone after she sold the Jo Malone brand, so you know the scents are going to be exceptional. This spicy, warming hair mist has notes of vetivert, cardamom and juniper berries, making it perfectly seasonal. It contains pro vitamin B5 to condition and add shine to your hair too.
