Perfume On The Tree: Covent Garden’s Oddball Ornaments I Want To Scent

If perfume can dress a mood, why can’t it flirt with a Christmas tree? That was my unladylike thought staring at the eccentric little universe that is Choosing Keeping in Covent Garden, where ornaments have more personality than most party guests.

First, the gasp: the Halloween Cat Cotton Doll Ornament costs serious money. It’s a spun-cotton replica in that late 19th century, early 20th century style, which explains the price and the attitude. It looks like it remembers your secrets. I’d hang it front and center just to raise an eyebrow or two.

But the one that stole my perfume brain is the Houndstooth Suit Lady Ornament. She’s chic in the old-school way and absolutely begging for Diorissimo. Lily of the valley with a crisp green breeze, satin-glossed femininity without sugar, that quiet elegance you only get from a classic. Picture her tailored houndstooth catching the light while a phantom cloud of Diorissimo twirls around her, like an elevator door opening to 1960.

For those who prefer their holidays with a hint of chaos, there’s Grampus. Equal parts folklore and side-eye, he’s the ornament you hang when cocoa feels too wholesome. I’d place him near a shadowy corner, where he can supervise the festivities and judge your gift wrap.

And because this shop has a sense of humor, there are food-shaped candles that are, hilariously, unscented. Perfume folk everywhere just rolled their eyes. Then a palate cleanser: the Cat Christmas Garland, pure delight, the kind of inexpensive whimsy that balances out the splurge pieces and makes the whole tree feel curated rather than crowded.

Confession from a fragrance reporter who has learned the hard way: I don’t spray ornaments directly. I tuck a tiny ribbon offcut misted with Diorissimo behind the branch, close enough to create a scented aura, far enough to keep finishes safe. It’s a whisper, not a fog.

If you’re shopping the unusual this season, let your tree have a point of view. A Houndstooth Suit Lady Ornament with a lily-of-the-valley secret, a watchful Grampus, a sly Halloween Cat Cotton Doll Ornament, and the purr of a Cat Christmas Garland. Consider it scent styling for your spruce, with Diorissimo as the final, flirty punctuation.