Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.

CB I Hate Perfume the Fir Tree

“Fill up the stocking,
I may be rushing things,
but deck the halls again now.…”

Last night I was at Target and I noticed that on top of the copious Halloween decorations and the random fall themed Thanksgiving décor, the winter holiday decorations have already hit the shelves. Yes, yes. I know that, in some ways, this is just another manifestation of our gross consumerism, meant to be loathed by any right thinking person. Yes, Christmas has largely been stripped of any deeper meaning of love, generosity, faith, and spirit by secular, commercial culture. I get it. Really.

But from the time I was a little girl, I have loved Christmas and truly believed it to be a magical time of year. I believe there is such a thing as Christmas magic, and even in the face of anecdotal and statistical data that suggests otherwise, I like to believe everyone is happier during the holidays. I have tons of holiday decorations and a collection of gift wrap that would definitely underline the commercial aspects. I start Christmas shopping in October every year and send out over 100 holiday cards.

One holiday staple I’ve sort of given up on though is a live tree. For years I had a tiny plastic tree to move around with. No more than two feet tall, it got the job done but couldn’t really handle full sized ornaments. Last year I got my first full sized tree as an adult, but I still got a fake one. It’s a big nice fancy fake one that retails for several hundred dollars (though I got mine much cheaper), but it’s still fake. Because it’s so nice, it looks great and avoids all the mess and hassle of cleaning up falling needles; also I get to feel better about not cutting down a tree every year and can avoid all the guilt associated with the memory of my mother reading me “The Little Fir Tree” at a vulnerable age. The one thing I miss, though, is the wonderful smell of a real tree. I love the smell of real trees. Luckily, I can count on Christopher Brosius to help me out.

The inspiration for CB I Hate Perfume the Fir Tree, which is supposed to smell like “Fir trees in the forest with a touch of frozen earth,” is described by Brosius as follows:

I love the smell of fir trees it is one of my favorite things about winter. Whether in the woods, stacked on city sidewalks for sale in December or, best yet, in one's living room, there is something so refreshing and invigorating about the smell of these trees. It's easy to understand why they symbolize the start of the New Year. Even on the hottest summer day, I can walk in a grove of Fir Trees and feel the cool snowflakes melting on my face.

You might be thinking to yourself, “That’s real nice and all, but who the hell wants to smell like a fir tree?” Apparently, I do. the Fir Tree is an artful fir, spearmint-y, fresh, light, and appealing. This isn’t a knock you down with its strength, reeking-off-a-little-scented-paper-tree-hanging-from-your-rear-view-mirror kind of fir. This is a fir scent meant to be worn with kicky holiday frocks, sprayed around the house before a winter party, or worn while cuddling next to a roaring fire with the one you love. It works well for a man or a woman, has minimal sillage and is very light, so you’ll need to be generous with spraying on the water perfume. That’s okay, though; this one is light enough that it would be hard to over do it. What a nice, cooling fragrance for the winter! Like a dash of peppermint schnapps in your hot chocolate, it’s the perfect accent for the holiday season.

You can buy the Fir Tree for $60 in either 15ml perfume absolute or 100ml water perfume, as well as a 150ml home spray for $40, direct from the perfumer. You can also get samples from the CB website or from The Perfumed Court.

“For we need a little music,
Need a little laughter,
Need a little singing
Ringing through the rafter,
And we need a little snappy
’Happy ever after,’
We need a little Christmas now.”
- “We Need a Little Christmas,” from Jerry Herman’s Mame

Try as I might, I cannot seem to locate more reviews of the Fir Tree. Too bad for you reviewers out there. It’s worth a try.

Images from Wikimedia, & Flickr.

(Note: apparently getting real trees is more environmentally friendly. Did not know that. At least I bought mine used, so I did not increase apparent demand for the fakes. Sigh.)