We need not cling to the last of the double-digit weather for autumn is here and there is a lot to be grateful for during the harvest season.
The leaves are changing, cosy knits and stompy boots dominate our wardrobes and summery scents with fresh floral notes and juicy citrus touches become replaced by warmer, earthy and woody aromas.
The spring and summer months are often associated with new birth and new beginnings whereas autumn represents maturity, and this is reflected in the compositions that we come to associate with this time of year.
As August becomes September, many rush to drink pumpkin spice lattes and spritz notes of cinnamon, maple, clove and sandalwood but these touches feel too closely associated with the winter and Christmas for us. Autumn is a transitional period and so too should be our perfumes. December can wait.
Instead, it is unique compositions with intimate concoctions that feel warming and alluring that are filling our scent wardrobe this season. We’re looking for fragrances that leave a lasting impression. The opening may be lively and vibrant but the dry down has woody or smoky undertones from dark and leathery ingredients like cedarwood, amber and musk.
These expert blends are in equal parts powerful and comforting, but importantly, not overpowering. We want rich and bold notes but something that is distinctive and less discernible. Mysterious depth is the order for our autumnal EDPs.
In the fragrance trend space, skin scents are showing increasing popularity – those clean aromas designed to create a personal experience in harmony with the wearer’s skin chemistry. These are base note-driven and smell different on the individual. Gourmand fragrances are trending too and are right in line with autumnal traditions. The so-good-you-can-eat-it scents reflect saccharine treats like caramel apples or homemade cookies in the combination of top, heart and base notes.
From the latest launch from renowned perfumer Francis Kurkdjian to D.S. & Durga’s recreation of rain in Big Sur, we have spritzed and sprayed our way to find alternative autumn aromas that leave a heady scent trail.
Shop below
Maison Francis Kurkdjian APOM, A Part of Me
The acronym APOM stands for ‘a part of me’, a poetic name that alludes to the inspiration behind Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s latest aroma – to leave a part of yourself with others.
The genderless scent was not so originally. The eponymous nose behind the label had two perfumes under the APOM umbrella back in 2009 at the founding of the fragrance house, a dedicated one for men and one for women, but the new evolution encapsulates the “feminine sensuality and the masculine elegant addictiveness”, as described by the brand.
The result is an amber, floral fougère fragrance that is decidedly modern. Its predecessors were based around the matrix of lavender and orange blossom and these notes are still at the core where the aromatic nature of blossoming lavender is expertly played off with the luminosity of orange blossom but enveloped in warming vanilla. The scent trail that lingers, the part of you that remains, is ylang-ylang and white musks.
Buy now £158.00, John Lewis
D.S. & Durga Big Sur Eucalyptus eau de parfum
Founded with the belief that ‘Perfume is Armchair Travel’, D. S. & Durga creates transportive aromas that send you olfactory-speaking to specific locales. Big Sur Eucalyptus is yet another embodiment of this belief and will trick your senses into believing you are on the Californian coast, no stamp in your passport required.
The scent is brimming with spicy, green notes much like the ones that will fill your nose as you drive along Big Sur’s sensation scenes. It’s crisp, fresh and aquatic to capture the eucalyptus groves that fill the state parks in the area after a rainstorm. To capture the Pacific spray, the brand’s co-founder David Seth Moltz has set touches of rosemary, cypress, cardamom and magnolia to intermingle with eucalyptus, the latter being the dominant accord.
Buy now £155.00, Liberty
Liberty LBTY. Fragrance Hera Reigns Eau de Parfum
Since the LBTY fragrance collection launched in October 2023, the luxury department store has proved its prowess in the scent space with beautiful flacons adorned with Liberty prints and sumptuous elixirs to fill them with.
New to the line-up is Hera Reigns, offering a twist on a classic oud. The opening of pink pepper provides a spicy entry to the fragrance and is set alongside gardenia and rich woods. At the heart is jasmine paired with precious oud.
Buy now £225.00, Liberty
Jo Loves Black Cashmeran & Tonka
Comforting scents suit the colder months and Jo Loves’ Black Cashmeran & Tonka can only be described as warming and comforting. It falls into the gourmand family with rich notes of ginger, tonka and cashmeran. The spicy opening elements blend with the warming named ingredients to give a dynamic, deep scent with sensual allure.
Buy now £150.00, Jo Loves
Hermès Barénia
The first chypre perfume in the Hermès fragrance line-up is known as Barénia and it encapsulates the sophisticated elegance that is synonymous with the leather goods label. The seductive scent is classic in its notes; butterfly lily is combined with the delicate miracle berry, and given depth with oakwood and intense patchouli for a captivating woody olfactory experience.
The curved flacon was designed to resemble the Collier de chien bracelet with its medor studs, which are set on the bottle and made from precious metals, encapsulating one of the heritage pieces from the fashion house.
Buy now £80.00, The Fragrance Shop
LOEWE Earth Elixir
Loewe has turned its fragrances up a notch by amplifying its eau de parfums with a more potent hit of essential oils.
One of the aromas to receive this increased concentration is the LOEWE Earth Elixir which has one of the most unique scent palettes on the market. The infusion of truffle, pear and oud are married with elemi, mimosa and violet to create a complex floral, amber and musk aroma.
You will spot the same one element throughout the fashion house’s entire fragrance collection and it’s a homage to its roots with the resinous quality of Spanish Rockrose wildflower.
Buy now £132.00, John Lewis
Le Sel d’Issey by Issey Miyake
Instead of being a simple scent note, salt takes centre stage in Issey Miyake’s new fragrance for men. Designed to mimic the smell of a fresh sea breeze, this scent will catapult you to the seaside and make you feel as fresh as the ocean air. It is a marine woody aroma that blends natural-origin marine seaweed with natural-origin oak moss – the latter which is a type of algae that migrated inland, resulting in a herbaceous scent.
This transportive ocean aroma is combined with cedarwood and sand vetiver to give it that rugged edge, making it the perfect everyday fragrance – and one that’s set to be a staple in any discerning gent’s morning routine. The top note of ginger further enhances the freshness of the salt and adds a captivating twist to an already intriguing scent.
Along with being inspired by nature, it has also been formulated with eco-conscious practices in mind. Which is why Miyake’s vegan scent is made with up to 95 per cent of ingredients of natural origin, and the alcohol used for blending with the perfume concentrate is also 100 per cent natural – derived from French beetroot, in fact.
Taking the fragrance composition’s eco-friendly credentials one step further, the bottle itself is also made from 20 per cent recycled glass, and the sleek, sophisticated, and minimal style is available in 50ml and 100ml editions, which are both refillable. The box it comes in has been thoroughly considered too, using 10 per cent upcycled seaweed to create it.
Buy now £72.00, John Lewis
PHLUR Soft Spot
Soft Spot is part of an emerging generation of fragrances designed to enhance your natural scent. Increasing in popularity, the genre includes more subtle, minimal aromas that are intimate and personal – not in the least because they are more detectable the closer you are to the wearer.
PHLUR’s new addition combines soft citrus with watery florals but to captivate the senses, the warming base of amber and velvety musk is seductive and addictive. The fragrance is clean with a musky dry down. The opening of bergamot peel, mandarin and freesia envelops to a heart of jasmine petals, waterlily and vanilla orchid. The main accord of jasmine is sustainably sourced in Tamil Nadu.
Buy now £99.00, Space NK
TOM FORD Black Lacquer Eau de Parfum
The Tom Ford fragrance wearer exudes confidence with the sultry scents that fill the collection and Black Lacquer is an extension of this. The distinctive aroma is smoky, dark and resinous. It has a deep, sensual aroma with a mysterious feel, from the black lacquer exterior with black-on-black to the elixir within. The named accord provides a smoky touch that oozes luxury and is given even more warming depth with Makassar ebony wood that brings notes of leather and birch.
Buy now £290.00, John Lewis
Jo Malone London Hinoki & Cedarwood Cologne Intense
Jo Malone pays homage to the Japanese ritual of forest bathing and the power of nature to bring balance. The hinoki tree is said to have a grounding effect and the fresh aromatic notes and woody depth of its intense cologne are designed to mimic its aroma alongside cedarwood. Céline Roux, Global Head of Fragrance for the British house explains, “‘Hinoki & Cedarwood really takes you away; to nature, to a different place. I love the idea of the serenity that comes from the immersion in the forest. The smell of hinoki reminds me of a dry, clean sauna. It’s just beautiful”.
Buy now £112.01, Jo Malone London
