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Scents are a powerful messenger of our personality and style. Certain scents can even affect our mood like how citrus notes are known to help perk us up and certain woodsy notes can refresh and relax us. For the fall a signature perfume should reflect the change in season and also how we’ll be dressing. Warmer, deeper notes are the perfect complement to sweater weather, and clean, bright floral notes can buoy our spirits on brisker days. Here’s our recommendation for how to find your new signature scent for fall.
1. Be Sweet
For summer the fruity notes of berries and melon are delicious to catch wafting through the air but for fall we want to transition to a different type of sweet. Think of the fall holiday desserts we look forward to sampling like baked apples, pumpkin pies, and honey-maple confections. These desserts definitely have a sweet tooth but not in the overtly fruity sense. Focus on sweet base notes like vanilla, honey, and praline like in the Vicky Tiel 21 Bonaparte 1964 Eau de Parfum.
2. Select Heavier Scents
In fall we can comfortably layer up on clothing and our perfumes can also carry some extra weight. Move away from the lightweight scents of summer, specifically anything that totes top notes of floral waters. For cooler weather we can wear heavier, muskier scents like oil-based perfumes or even use pure essential oils. Look for base to middle notes like sandalwood, amber, and patchouli.
3. Spice It Up
The sharpness of spices can be overpowering but the cooler weather of fall offers the perfect contrast to soften these intense scents. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove aren’t just for baking; they can meld into sweet and heavier notes to create a sensual and moody perfume. The enveloping scents of spices like cinnamon also help to improve focus and concentration.
4. All In Bloom
If you feel at a loss for where to start with finding your signature perfume for fall, look to the outdoors for direction. Notice what’s blooming and excuse the cliché, but actually do stop and smell the roses! The flowers or fruits naturally growing in your garden right now or the trees that are changing their leaves are good indicators of what scents are seasonally appropriate. Woodsy scents like pine and fir can add a bold note to fall perfumes.
5. Try Oriental Florals
Not every scent for fall has to be heavy-handed and dark. Oriental scents are an elegant way to still incorporate florals into a fall perfume that is balanced and clean. Bergamot, jasmine, orchid, rose, and mandarin are common oriental and white florals that work as great middle or top notes to a perfume. It will keep your signature scent bright but with the depth that fall fragrances need.
What signature scent are you drawn to this fall?