As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that my love for beauty isn’t only because I love products (even though I really, really do). It's also because my makeup, skincare, and hair care products are an easy dopamine-booster and a quick way for me to add some whimsy to my day-to-day life. It’s no surprise, then, that I have fallen head over heels for some stellar fragrances over the last few years.
A spritz or two of my favorite perfume, or even my go-to layering combination, genuinely sets the tone for my day and is such an easy way to make me feel a little more confident in my skin, while putting some pep in my step as I scope out fellow commuters on my way into the office. Seriously, though, just the idea of someone getting a whiff of my fragrances of the day or even chatting about my favorite formulas provides a rush of excitement that I can’t even describe.
As any beauty obsessive does, I change my products according to the season. As my blushes and lipsticks get darker and more vampy, the fragrances that I gravitate toward become more sensual, woody, and even a little resinous—plus my long-standing love affair with gourmands returns with a vengeance.
That being said, summer is officially on its way out, so I’m looking ahead to fall. As such, I’m swapping out my collection of go-to scents for the formulas that will get me through the upcoming cold weather months. From my favorite aromatic perfume to the unisex option that makes me feel like I’m a part of the one percent, keep reading for the fragrances that are taking center stage in my (very large) collection this fall.
Gourmands Are Back
When the weather gets hotter, my beloved gourmand perfumes tend to take a back seat in favor of fresher, more aldehydic fragrances. However, as soon as the weather dips below 65 degrees, I will be bringing some of my favorite mouth-watering formulas to the front of my collection.
I thought I was over my coffee perfume phase, but I hadn’t yet smelled Bois Corsé from Diptyque. Black coffee absolute, sandalwood, and tonka bean combine to create a scent that awakens the senses (kind of like you’ve just inhaled a fresh pot of joe), but the additional ingredients round it out to avoid it from becoming cloying.
As the name suggests, Montale’s Sweet Vanilla will have you smelling like you just opened a vanilla bean pod and proceeded to dump vanilla syrup right into it. While this perfume doesn’t necessarily have the slight aromatic facet that a real vanilla pod does, it’s everything any true gourmand lover can truly ask of the note: sweet, candy-like, and a little lactonic in the best way possible.
Best Musky Perfume
To know me is to know that musk is one of my favorite notes in perfumery of all time. So, of course, I’ve gone through my collection with a fine-toothed comb to bring out (and recommend) some of my favorites for the upcoming fall.
A clean-smelling musk perfume that I recommend to anyone who will listen is Huemul from Fueguia 1833. Jasmine, tonka, and sandalwood are a few of the notes that stick out to me whenever I first smell this perfume, but it has an almost fresh quality to it that I believe may come from the fact that the musk used in the formula is plant-based. This is a unisex delight that truly is one of those scents that is timeless and can be worn year-round.
If the genre dark academia had a scent, it’d be Blindfold from L’Objet. Tobacco, saffron, amber, musk, and animalic notes are a few of my favorites in this formula, and the result is a perfume that is complex, sexy, smoky, and sits fairly close to the skin, but projects just enough to draw someone in.
Best Woody Perfumes
One thing about me? I’m going to wear a woody perfume in the fall and winter months. I love smelling like resinous sap from a tree, especially when layering with my favorite vanilla scents.
Equal parts spicy, woody, and sweet, YSL’s Babycat feels like an amalgamation of some of my favorite notes in perfumery. Pink and black pepper essence, saffron accord, vanilla, and cedar wood are a few that you’ll encounter after a few spritzes onto the skin, and the result is a sweet, heady scent that will be empty by next fall if I’m not careful.
Lemon isn’t a note I thought I’d find in a woody perfume, but Chloe’s Cedrus Intense starts with a healthy dose of the fruity profile, before settling down and revealing the rose, cedarwood, akigalawood, and more in the formula. The result is a scent that is deep and so so sexy, perfect for snuggly fall date nights in.
Best Fresh Perfume
Though I tend to gravitate toward fresh perfumes in the summer, my love for them can never truly be contained to just one season. So of course, a few of my favorites snuck onto this list, and I refuse to be judged for it.
We all know and love Baccarat Rouge 540, but Maison Francis Kurkdjian has an underrated gem in its collection, and it’s called Gentle Fluidity Silver. Juniper berries, coriander seeds, and ambery woods somehow combine to create a perfume that toes the line between feminine and masculine, but all I can think about when I smell it is fresh laundry that was washed with the fanciest detergent that I own. It’s clean, airy, and a little musky, and it feels as versatile in my collection as a white T-shirt is in my wardrobe.
Pear has become one of my favorite fresh, cozy perfume notes, so I wasn’t surprised to see it in Liis’ Studied. It’s flanked by others like carrot, orris, and ambroxan, and the result is a formula that smells like sweetened, freshly-washed skin. It’s like an everything shower in a bottle.
Best Skin Scent
A skin scent is my secret weapon for feeling sensual and sexy. Even though they tend to sit a little closer to the body, I find that the cooler months allow them to project beautifully. With how good the perfumes below smell, you’ll be wanting as many people to smell them as possible.
From the creators of the viral “Milk” perfume comes Mochi Milk, it’s cooler, more gourmand, older sister. One of my favorite notes of all time, marshmallow, is flanked by vanilla bean and sweet rice milk, making me smell like I’ve just applied my favorite vanilla lotion—except this perfume has much better lasting power.
For a skin scent that screams “I’m the coolest person in this room right now,” look no further than Eccentric Molecule’s Molecule 01. It’s comprised entirely of Iso E. Super, a smooth, woody, amber scent that adds a smoothness to any other perfume that it’s layered with. That being said, it also wears beautifully by itself, so prepare for the compliments to roll in regardless of the manner in which you add it to your fragrance routine.
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