Wednesday Scent of the Day: Cake, Cocktails, and a Little Chaos

I woke up perfume-free, courtesy of yesterday’s vaccine, but Wednesday deserves better than a blank page. It’s National Cake Day and the eve of Drinksgiving, which means the air smells like frosting and poor decisions. If you’re the type who swears your gourmand is “not too sweet,” today is not your day. Embrace it.

For cut-cake moods, reach for plush vanillas and sticky confections that feel like licking the mixer. Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille still seduces with that smoky vanilla-lace, while Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille is rum-kissed comfort that melts into skin like warm custard. If you want literal pastry glow, Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Abricot delivers sunlit bakery bliss, and Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum piles powdered sugar on rose like a celebration you can wear.

Drinksgiving demands a different animal. Think clove-slick bars and mahogany tables. By Kilian Angels’ Share is apple pie spiked with barrel strength, a cinnamon nebula that announces itself before you enter. Maison Margiela Jazz Club does exactly what it promises, all tobacco leaf and ambered rum. If you want sophistication over swagger, Frapin 1270 reads like a well-curated cellar, and Nasomatto Baraonda is a mischievous pour that turns cheeks pink. Pace yourself.

Since birthdays stack the day with interesting ghosts, I played matchmaker:

• William Cowper — Penhaligon’s Blenheim Bouquet, crisp and quietly razor sharp.
• Mary Edwards Walker — Chanel No. 19, cool green steel with a spine.
• Eugène Ionesco — Etat Libre d’Orange Rien, the absurd made irresistible.
• Tina Turner — Dior Poison, big hair, big shoulders, bigger presence.
• Marilynne Robinson — Hermès Hiris, contemplative iris that whispers and lingers.
• Elizabeth Blackburn — Escentric Molecules Molecule 01, elegant minimalism with scientific precision.

I’ll nap off the booster fog, then pick my evening poison. On 11/28 I’m keeping my Black Friday list tight, more quality than chaos, with Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille and By Kilian Angels’ Share sitting on top like frosting roses. If National Cake Day must share the stage with Blackout Wednesday, at least let the encore smell like amber-lit dessert. Be careful out there, and let your wrist do the flirting.