PERFUME GUIDES
Fall Perfume for Girls Who Aren’t Into Pumpkin Everything
A case for the quieter, stranger, sexier smells of fall.
By Suzy, founder + perfumer at West Clay
FILED UNDER
I love fall. I love a sweater. I love a candle burning at 3 p.m. because suddenly it’s cloudy outside. I love buying a drink I absolutely did not need because someone put cinnamon on top of it.
But every September, fragrance seems to make one very abrupt decision: pumpkin has arrived.
Pumpkin spice. Pumpkin cream. Pumpkin pecan waffle. Pumpkin wearing a cashmere sweater while baking a cinnamon roll.
And sometimes I just…don’t want to smell like that.
There’s another version of fall fragrance I think is much prettier. Softer. A little woodsy, a little creamy, maybe slightly sweet. The perfume equivalent of opening the windows for the first cool morning after summer and realizing you suddenly want to put on sweaters and plaid again.
If you want to smell like fall without going full bakery, these are the notes I’d look for.
But every September, fragrance seems to make one very abrupt decision: pumpkin has arrived.
Pumpkin spice. Pumpkin cream. Pumpkin pecan waffle. Pumpkin wearing a cashmere sweater while baking a cinnamon roll.
And sometimes I just…don’t want to smell like that.
There’s another version of fall fragrance I think is much prettier. Softer. A little woodsy, a little creamy, maybe slightly sweet. The perfume equivalent of opening the windows for the first cool morning after summer and realizing you suddenly want to put on sweaters and plaid again.
If you want to smell like fall without going full bakery, these are the notes I’d look for.
Cardamom
Possibly the prettiest fall spice.
Cardamom is warm, but it also has this cool, almost green freshness to it. It can smell creamy, woody, aromatic, even slightly citrusy depending on what it’s paired with.
With vanilla, it feels like milky tea.
With sandalwood, it gets sexier.
With black tea, it smells like October in a very old house with chic sconce lighting.
It gives you the idea of something spiced without turning into a candle called Pumpkin Donut Explosion.
Cardamom is warm, but it also has this cool, almost green freshness to it. It can smell creamy, woody, aromatic, even slightly citrusy depending on what it’s paired with.
With vanilla, it feels like milky tea.
With sandalwood, it gets sexier.
With black tea, it smells like October in a very old house with chic sconce lighting.
It gives you the idea of something spiced without turning into a candle called Pumpkin Donut Explosion.
Skin musk
Summer skin scents don’t have to disappear just because it’s September.
For fall, I like musks with something warmer underneath them: brown sugar, vanilla, woods, suede. They still have that close-to-the-body quality, but there’s a little more weight to them.
The effect is less “fresh out of the shower” and more “borrowed sweater that still smells faintly like perfume.”
Very important distinction.
For fall, I like musks with something warmer underneath them: brown sugar, vanilla, woods, suede. They still have that close-to-the-body quality, but there’s a little more weight to them.
The effect is less “fresh out of the shower” and more “borrowed sweater that still smells faintly like perfume.”
Very important distinction.
A LITTLE SCENT THOUGHT
“You can absolutely smell delicious without smelling edible.”
Pear
Pear is wildly underrated for fall.
Everyone thinks of it as a spring fruit, but a ripe pear with vanilla, amber or woods can feel incredibly autumnal. Think pears cooked in wine, pear tart cooling on the counter, or that cold juicy first bite against something creamy and warm.
It keeps sweeter perfumes from becoming too dense.
This is especially good if you’re the kind of person who wants vanilla all year but still needs your perfume to feel alive.
Everyone thinks of it as a spring fruit, but a ripe pear with vanilla, amber or woods can feel incredibly autumnal. Think pears cooked in wine, pear tart cooling on the counter, or that cold juicy first bite against something creamy and warm.
It keeps sweeter perfumes from becoming too dense.
This is especially good if you’re the kind of person who wants vanilla all year but still needs your perfume to feel alive.
Black tea
One of my favorite ways to make a fragrance feel cozy without making it sugary.
Black tea can be dry, tannic, smoky and slightly bitter. Add steamed milk or vanilla and suddenly it’s soft. Add cedarwood and moss and it feels like an old library. Add bergamot and it gets brighter and London Fog-ish.
It smells like having somewhere to be at 4 p.m. and deciding not to go.
Black tea can be dry, tannic, smoky and slightly bitter. Add steamed milk or vanilla and suddenly it’s soft. Add cedarwood and moss and it feels like an old library. Add bergamot and it gets brighter and London Fog-ish.
It smells like having somewhere to be at 4 p.m. and deciding not to go.
Suede, cashmere + velvet
Not technically literal pieces of suede and cashmere floating around inside your perfume bottle, unfortunately.
These are fantasy notes perfumers use to create texture.
Suede can make a fragrance feel smooth, warm and slightly lived-in. Cashmere-style accords tend to feel fuzzy, musky and woody. They’re the notes that make you describe a perfume as “soft” or cozy even though smell technically has no texture at all.
Basically: sweater weather, bottled.
These are fantasy notes perfumers use to create texture.
Suede can make a fragrance feel smooth, warm and slightly lived-in. Cashmere-style accords tend to feel fuzzy, musky and woody. They’re the notes that make you describe a perfume as “soft” or cozy even though smell technically has no texture at all.
Basically: sweater weather, bottled.
This is very much Cashmere Bunny’s territory. Soft suede, smoky vanilla, cashmere and warm skin. Creamy and plush, but not sweet. The oversized sweater with the sleeves pulled over your hands.
Meet Cashmere Bunny ↗
The easiest fall perfume formula
If you’re standing in front of a shelf trying to figure out what actually smells like the version of fall you have in your head, look for some combination of:
one soft thing + one warm thing + one slightly strange thing.
Vanilla + sandalwood + cardamom.
Pear + skin musk + woods.
Black tea + steamed milk + cedar.
Amber + violet + palo santo.
Vanilla + moss + pink pepper.
That tiny bit of contrast is usually what keeps a cozy perfume from becoming too literal.
Because maybe fall doesn’t have to smell like pumpkin spice.
Maybe it smells like the sweater you forgot you owned. Milky tea steam warming your hands. Wet leaf piles in the yard. Pears simmering in spiced wine. A little wood smoke coming from somewhere you can’t quite see.
Consider this permission to leave the pumpkin to the latte.
xo
one soft thing + one warm thing + one slightly strange thing.
Vanilla + sandalwood + cardamom.
Pear + skin musk + woods.
Black tea + steamed milk + cedar.
Amber + violet + palo santo.
Vanilla + moss + pink pepper.
That tiny bit of contrast is usually what keeps a cozy perfume from becoming too literal.
Because maybe fall doesn’t have to smell like pumpkin spice.
Maybe it smells like the sweater you forgot you owned. Milky tea steam warming your hands. Wet leaf piles in the yard. Pears simmering in spiced wine. A little wood smoke coming from somewhere you can’t quite see.
Consider this permission to leave the pumpkin to the latte.
xo
0 comments