I wanted to wait a while and keep track of not just what works well in the autumn, but what I’ve actually been wearing, bar the scents I’ve worn for test or review. I knew Scent Diary would be good for something besides my running off at the mouth… So here it is the last week of October, and since I may be incommunicado for a large portion of November, working on my novel for NaNoWriMo, let’s talk fall scents now. My picks for 2009 are here.
Sonoma Scent Studio Tabac Aurea – especially in the evenings. Still a sexy-man bomb. Still a wonderful amalgam of sunny afternoons, faint whiffs of tobacco smoke, earthy forest floors, dry leaves, a worn bomber jacket and the warm skin of one’s beloved. Gorgeous. See here for an earlier post on this one.
SSS Champagne de Bois – sparkly sandalwood-and-spices. Warm, delicious, and cheerful. (Hey, two SSS fragrances making the list. Way to go, Laurie!) Here’s a link to my review of CdB along with Chanel Bois des Iles.
Smell Bent One – a sleeper hit for me. I’d ordered a small bottle unsniffed, because I thought I’d like it, plus a few other samples from Smell Bent. Turned out this was the only one I really enjoy start-to-finish; it’s a lot like Dzing! without the animal hide/dung that makes Dzing! so (fascinatingly) impossible for me to wear. Old books, spices, dry vanilla. Yum. Comfort with a side of edgy weirdness. Brief review here.
Parfums de Nicolai Le Temps d’une Fete – magic in a bottle. In the spring, the florals strike me as being more noticeable, but in cooler weather, I tend to notice the lovely base, which is a gorgeous marriage of cool patchouli and moss to warm woods, hay and narcissus. Makes me think of dappled sunlight through leaves. Here’s my review of LTdF compared to Guerlain Chamade.
Cuir de Lancome – still the epitome of “Mother’s good leather purse, with her No. 5-scented hanky inside.” I should go get another bottle right now, because it’s out of production and the only leather scent, other than vintage Jolie Madame, that I really like. When I want it, nothing else will do. Really, there’s no excuse for not stocking up while I can. I really don’t see this kind of thing coming back into style. (Besides, The CEO likes it.) Review here.
Mariella Burani – very much a comfort scent since it reminds me of my mother, and an any-occasion scent as well. It’s a friendlier version of No. 5, and I love the lightly-powdery drydown. Review here.
Others that I’ve worn occasionally, and which have been perfect on the rare occasions we’ve actually had fall weather so far: vintage Lancome Magie Noire (review here). In fact, the only time Magie Noire seems right to me is on a blustery, rainy fall day. And I only wear it when I’m going to be by myself, because a) it’s pretty loud, even a drop at a time, and b) it’s actually sort of… stinky, or at least my little bottle of vintage EdT is. It’s bitter and earthy and witchy, herbal in a magic-cauldron sort of way. It is not cosy in the least, and The CEO hates it. I have also enjoyed occasional squidges of Teo Cabanel Alahine (review here) and the lovely but discontinued (booo!) Guerlain Shalimar Light (review here), especially before bedtime. I find them very cozy to sleep in. I’ve also been wearing a number of violet scents, partly because of the Week of Violets review series, but also because I like violets in the fall: Laura Tonatto Eleanora Duse, Berdoues Violettes Divine, Aimez-Moi, CDG Stephen Jones, SSS Voile de Violette, Balmain Jolie Madame, Annick Goutal La Violette, Penhaligon’s Violetta, Soivohle Violets & Rainwater.
How about you – what scents are you turning to with enjoyment this autumn?
Photo is Autumn River by Evgeni Dinev at freedigitalphotos.net. Here’s a link to the photographer’s portfolio.
Muse in Wooden Shoes 
I love reading your scent diaries and lists! I am soooo in love with Le Temps d’une Fete. When I am not testing out my violet week scents, I have been wearing it. I have just gone crazy for green fragrances and have some samples coming I am dead excited about.
I have SSS Champagne de Bois on my wish list. Have you tried her Winter Woods? I have not tried an SSS scents yet!
Hi, JE – LTdF constantly stays on my Top 3 list, I love it so much.
Winter Woods did not work for me – it was quite smoky, and felt like a small piece of Tabac Aurea, blown up large. I’m wearing CdB today, actually, and the clerk at the grocery store just complimented me on it. (“I smell really great potpourri! Or is that your perfume?” I nodded, and she asked where she could get some.)
I think I may have missed the boat on Smell Bent One, but it sounds lovely – anything in Black / Eau Duelle territory gets my vote, and I know what you mean about Dzing! being unwearably weird, though I do like it too.
We have a lot of crossover here, for even though I have not been wearing them lately I like Champagne de Bois, Mariella Burani, Cuir de Lancome and Shalimar Light (though not the full strength thing). And I share your view of vintage Magie Noire, of which I have a small drop.
I have been wearing (though also partly testing) Etro Etra, Stephanie de Saint-Aignan Royal Palm, Bvlgari Black, Floris Snow Rose, Guerlain 180 Ans de Creation, Creative Scentualization Perfect Veil and PG Bois Naufrage. The latter two were admittedly picked to suit a Pilates class rather than the season… Oh, and Belle d’Opium, Korres Jasmine, Pepper, Gaiac Wood and Passion Fruit, Tom Ford White Suede and Ava Luxe No 23. So no real pattern then!
Wow, you’re all over the place with what you’re wearing lately, FS… I’m curious about the Snow Rose, having heard good things about it. And yes, we do share some likes, don’t we?
I can ONLY wear my vtg Shalimar pdt in certain weather, and even then one drop will do. And then I don’t want it again for weeks and weeks.
My fall scents are:
– 1740 Marquis de Sade
– Dior Poison
– Tabac Aurea
– Tabac Blond
– Wrappings
Love Mariella too, but I think she’s great all year round.
Somehow, Patty, I have yet to test Tabac Blond or Wrappings, although they are on my to-test list. I didn’t get on with any of the HdP scents I tried, and Poison still skeers me a little (I was at college in the late 80s, when everybody wore Way Too Much). I actually use the threat of Poison to get my kids to leave me alone: “I need some peace and quiet, or I break out the Wall of Smelly Death!” Hey, it gets results…
And you’re right, Mariella is good all the time, but I seem to wear it more frequently in the fall. Possibly because it’s such a comfortable weight – not too heavy, not too light.
It’s cold here, 48 degrees. I knew it was coming but it is never welcoming, I can feel the ache in my bones from the chill.
So what I’ve been wearing to soothe myself are~ URC -y’all know how I love it! It just gives me a boost , lasts for days and I pined for it so much that putting it on is sweet victory.
vtg. Miss Dior parfum-this just melds with my body ,like olfactory armor or something.I can’t explain it but it is just like me. She comes on strong , give her a chance to get to know you because she mellows, her vivaciousness turns into a whisper of green florals people can’t handle anymore, but you’ll be glad you did.
ended up being a sneaky ass and stealing my heart at church! I was cursing it’s very $$$ status while I swooned in the pews. Grr.
OJ Woman and Tolu- delicious London perfumery, I can’t get enough of these two. Woman is just magical and Tolu is ultimate comfort, chock full of resins galore.
You were spot on with Lumiere Noire , I do love it!
It’s so unusual but I keep huffing.
Divine’s L’Inspiratrice is heaven on a sweater and nuzzled in your neck. Boozy roses that turn into a gorgeous vetiver, vanilla, patch’ drydown.
Amouage Memoir
There is waaay more but last time I checked this was Mal’s blog! 😉
P.S. Last night I sprayed the rest of my FM Iris Poudre sample all over me in your honor Mals and yes it is very pretty, it was nice to go to sleep in. I don’t want a FB but could definitely see myself giving in to another decant.
Tamara, you’ve had cooler weather this whole year… wait. Back up, what was your weather like this past January-February when we had ice, snow, and weeks on end of zero-hovering temps here? Anyway, I might be glad of some slightly-cooler weather. 50s, 60s, that would be nice. URC is lovely in chilly temperatures – I’m sure you’re thrilled to finally get your bottle.
I still haven’t tried Miss Dior in any version. Tolu I have avoided because of my general skull&crossbones reaction to balsams… Woman, as I mentioned in the violet post, is allllll amber on me, and gets a little tedious. (Sigh. It could have been great.)
I knew you would dig Lumiere Noire, it just seemed So You! I think it is fabulously sexy, even more so than Citizen Queen.
I haven’t tried L’Inspiratrice either, and Memoir doesn’t even tempt me… I have enough Amouage decants (one of Lyric and one of Ubar, and they are wonderful)!
IRIS POUDRE! Gosh, I love that thing. But I have decided to just make do with Mariella Burani, which is wonderful and discounted due to discontinued status… unless a decant falls in my lap… Hmmm.
Fall scents include No.5, Note Vanille, Timbuktu, Songes, Chaos (new one), Dior Homme, Alahine plus a now and then spritz of Giselle. The cooler weather means I can return to sampling so who knows what else I’ll find!
Love the photo, BTW.
Nice things, Tiara! I still haven’t smelled Timbuktu, but my adverse reaction to mildewy notes (either my skin amps them or my nose is hypersensitive) warns me off that one. Giselle – this is the Carla Fracci, right? – I haven’t tried either.
Alahine…. love Alahine.
Isn’t that photo great? I see that I need to go fix the link, I must have entered it wrong.
Autumn hasn’t really been around too much yet in NC, but I have been trying out some Sonoma Scent fragrance samples – Tabac Aurea, Champagne de Bois, Femme Jolie, and Winter Woods. All winners! I was deathly afraid to try Winter Woods because smoke/ash smells can trigger migraines for me, but I loved this one. I doubt that I could use more than a sample spray of it because it is strong.
Others I am enjoying are Chanel Coromandel, Fifi Chachnil, Diptyque Opoponax (actually a room spray), DSH St. Valentine (I keep a decant of this one in the car because it makes me happy), LM Marrons Glaces. I seem to be craving gourmand. I need to pull out my neglected bottle of Dzing. Why can’t I smell the animalic part of it??
I am very curious about Mariella Burani. If it is a friendlier No. 5, does it resemble Eau Premiere at all? I do love aldehydes, so it could be a winner for me.
Thanks for the list.
Kathy, I’m probably not too far from you… I’m in SW VA, in the mountains, and we’re just now getting fall weather although it’s still warmer than usual. I got a whiff of dry leaves yesterday and it made me so happy.
SSS fragrances are wonderful, aren’t they? Not everything works for me (FJ and WW did not), but the ones that do… REALLY do. And they’re terrific value.
I must get my sample of Fifi out; I’ve been waiting for cooler weather. It’s funny about Dzing! – I was reading the comments at Now Smell This not too long ago, and several people said they didn’t get anything animalic out of it at all, while others said it was all poo to them. I get both the sweet-vanilla-sawdust, AND the fur/dry manure stuff, so it’s interesting but not something I want to wear. My husband doesn’t get the animalic stuff either… “Wear that one, honey.” Me: ummm, I don’t think so. Don’t you smell manure in there? “No, it just smells like vanilla. Yum.” Huh. The man WORKS with cows… I don’t geddit.
Mariella Burani is not a dead ringer for EP, but they have a lot of similarities. You might want to go read my review of MB to get a better idea, but if you get on well with EP it might very well work for you. It doesn’t have as much of that elegant Chanel iris, and there’s more musk and benzoin in the base, but it’s fairly similar up top. It’s great stuff.
I’m in Charlotte, so I’m not terribly far away. I do miss the mountains though. I lived in Greenville, SC for a long time, and it was so nice to be able to make a day trip to Asheville or Brevard. We went through the Shenandoah Valley last spring on our family road trip to D.C., and I would love to make a trip through that area someday.
I do like Fifi, but it is rather persistent on me. I think that a decant will do me. On the other hand, I have the monster 100 ml bottle of Dzing, so I will be wearing that one forever. I’m hesitant to wear it though because I am afraid that I am wafting the smell of manure though the room, and I am the only one who can’t smell it! I also don’t get any funk from PG L’Ombre Fauve, and I was slightly appalled at some of the reviews. I also haven’t been able to smell the indoles in jasmine fragrances. Weird. I haven’t tested out the really scary (to me) ones though. I got a vial of Bellissima Perfect Night – no way!
Your review of MB makes it sound perfect for me. And there’s nothing to say that I can’t have Eau Premiere AND Mariella Burani, right? EP is on my Christmas list, so we shall see.
Kathy, Kathy, Kathy… wear your Dzing! with pride and don’t worry about the dung. Not everyone is going to pick up on it. My dear L’Arte di Gucci has castoreum in it, which as my daughter says smells like her little brother when he needs a bath – which is TRUE – but I love it and I don’t care who thinks it stinks.
I’m not familiar with L’Ombre Fauve, so I can’t add anything useful about your skankometer. And anyway, I think that just varies from person to person. I never get anything dirty at all out of Amaranthine, which many people find naughty, while Patou Joy smells like dirty panties to me, utterly unwearable.
MB is very inexpensive at the discounters – I think I’ve seen the big bottle for about $35 – so why not treat yourself for a birthday or Christmas? (My husband likes for me to pick out my own gifts, which works out great for me.)
Hi Mals! I am actually weariing the most autumnal of scents today – CBIHP Burning Leaves. Oh, I love it so, especially since there are very few fallen leaves here in SD. And I am kicking myself for not getting in on a split of it that was offered a few weeks ago – I have just a sample : (
Haven’t worn too many other fall-ish scents since the weather here has just turned chilly and I had a cold last week so wasn’t wearing any fragrance. Yesterday was Eau De Merveilles, which works in almost any weather. Looking forward to wearing all my vanillas – just got a decant of TF Tobacco Vanille, so I’ve been dying to try that!
Hi, J! Burning Leaves… I have a sample of that somewhere, and it was so virtual bonfire that I put it away. SSS WW is very smoky on me as well, and so is Shalimar. We live in the country, though, and plenty of people burn their leaves or use woodstoves, so I smell woodsmoke pretty frequently. I can see how you’d long for it if you didn’t get to smell that smell very often.
Tobacco Vanille is really pretty – it was more gourmandish than I wanted, nearly all gingerbready. I only have a teeny sample left. Might get it out around Christmas, though. Hope you enjoy it! Did you like Havana Vanille? They’re not all that similar – HV is… weirder… but the vanilla is nice in both.
Havana Vanille was just OK. It was my very first split and with all the hype around it, I though it was going to be the greatest thing ever. It’s nice, but nothing I had to buy a FB of. I should get my decant out and give it some love.
And thanks to you, I just now placed a Smell Bent order! I guess the LE status of One (and your review) was enough to make me click “buy”!
Oh, good – I think I’m going to go and get another one of those travel sprays of One. 8mls ought to do me; it’s not like I don’t have anything else to wear.
SSS Tabac Aurea and Cuir de Lancome would be on my fall list too. Lately I’ve also been enjoying Belle en Rykiel, Agent Provocateur, Une Rose Chypree, sometimes Chergui, and in the privacy of my own home, the occasional spritz of Tea Rose. The homme has been wearing Philosykos, Chergui, and Clarins Eau Dynamisante, which I’ve been enjoying (on him) too.
Hi, E! Belle en Rykiel and URC are very nice! At some point I’m sure I’ll get to that AP sample… sigh. So many scents, so little time…
Curious, though: why Tea Rose only at home? Too loud for work? Too girly?
I think Tea Rose shouts ROSE so audibly it makes me self-conscious, like I’m carrying a bouquet around. It makes me smile but I know not everyone has positive associations with the smell of roses.
I tested another really nice dark rose last night: Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon. Loved it! And “classy” in a way that I think would make it work-appropriate.
Ah.
I am unself-conscious about smelling like I’m carrying around a bouquet. (“So I smell like lilies, huh? And your point would be…?”)
Have not tried the GB, although I would probably like it if I got a nostril on it.
It was really nice. A little bit like Rose d’Homme, but with less bergamot and more geranium.
The snow has melted for now, and it’s back to chilly, rainy and windy weather – which is pretty much standard all year round where I live 🙂 This time of year I crave warm, cozy and smoky fragrances, I guess they make me feel like snuggling under a blanket with a book and a cup of tea…
My favourite fall scents at the moment:
Like This, Rochas Femme (new version), Tea for Two, Etro Sandalo, L’Ombre Fauve, Montale Patchouli Leaves, Karl Lagerfeld Chloe, Dioressence, OJ Woman, Mitsouko, Douce Amere and Fumerie Turque.
Dark, sexy roses like Lumiere Noire, Amouage Epic Woman and Miller Harris Rose en Noir are also perfect fall scents in my opinion, but unfortunately I only have small samples of those. Lumiere Noire is on my wish list for Christmas 🙂
Le Temps d’une Fete is amazing on those crispy, golden autumn days when the sun is shining and the leaves are crackling under your feet!
Blankets and tea are going to sound really good to me in about a month, Marte – it will take at least that long for us to get consistently chilly weather.
Several of those on your list I have on my “find sample” list – Tea for Two, Fumerie Turque, Sandalo. I wore Chloe all through my teen years, and although it’s still wonderful, I can’t wear it anymore since it has too much emotional baggage. Sigh. I have a sample of new Femme around here somewhere, that I’ve been a little afraid to test!
Also have a sample of Epic I haven’t gotten to; enjoyed my sample of Rose en Noir but didn’t need more; LOVE Lumiere Noire – I think it is really super-sexy. Dark Roses are some of my favorites – I love L’Arte di Gucci and Citizen Queen and OJ Ta’if and (swoon) Parfum Sacre…
I’ve been sitting under blankets (yes, plural!) for weeks already 🙂
Tea for Two and Fumerie Turque are gorgeous, but quite smoky. I had to try them a few times before I fell in love. Sandalo is the perfect comfort scent, warm, spicy and quite close to the skin. I wore it every afternoon/evening last week, couldn’t get enough. But I’ve only dabbed it so far, still waiting for my decant to test it properly. Femme can be scary, especially if you are sensitive to cumin. And you have to apply sparingly to avoid monster sillage. I find it extremely sexy and comforting at the same time.
Epic has become my favorite from Amouage, it’s like a warmer, friendlier Lyric on me. I absolutely adore Lyric, but it’s moody and melancholic and I have to be in the right frame of mind to wear it. Epic just makes me smile. I want bottles of both, but I would buy Epic first.
Parfum Sacre would be perfect for the weather we have here now! Maybe I’ll wear it tomorrow 🙂
“Wall of Smelly Death”, LOL! Poison is a polarizing scent, no doubt about it. The 80s were way before my perfumista days, so I never took note of powerhouse fragrances like Poison, Obsession, Giorgio, etc. (go figure, just not paying attention I guess). I’m careful with application – just a couple of discreet squirts so as not to asphyxiate myself or anyone else!
Gosh, my kids hate Poison like, well, poison. (It’s been an effective threat.) They have NO IDEA that it doesn’t smell as frightening as it used to, either.
Although I wasn’t a perfumista then either, it would certainly have been beneficial to have not been asphyxiated by Other People’s Perfume in that decade of excess! I was being choked by Opium – and Youth Dew – in the late 70s at church and at the movie theater. In high school, it was all Giorgio, all the time (where was YSL Paris? I still don’t know why I didn’t smell that one at the time… maybe I did smell it and thought it was Coty Exclamation?). In college, though, I suffered through classes with Obsession and college-choir bus rides with Poison. Gah. People used to spray 6-8 times as a matter of course, and more if they were “going out,” so that even fairly innocuous stuff was capable of bludgeoning those nearby.
Amen for the light appliers – thanks for being one! I still hate Opium and Obsession and Giorgio (and Youth Dew), but I’m coming around to Poison. I liked Paris from the moment I smelled it, a couple of years ago – that one was an easy win.
I’m quite fickle and can never decide what to wear, but I’ve been turning to Ormonde Jayne Woman a good deal lately. Also enjoyed Ta’if recently and L’Heure Bleue, Orchidee Vanille and Chergui, all of which I think all work well in cool weather. Yesterday it got kind of warm and I turned to Gypsy Water. Today, it’s warmer still, and I sprayed Safran Troublant. A few days ago, I was interested in roses and sprayed Rose Barbare and L’Arte di Gucci…
Hi, K! I love L’Arte, though it can be a bit demanding. Ta’if is lovely as well, and I like L’HB. Orchidee Vanille got thumbs up from my kids the other day when I sampled it, too.
Hi Malsnano: I know what you mean about L’Arte which is a new discovery for me and I’m still trying to find my way with it. I’m thinking that it would be much too much in warmer weather. So, I’ll be giving is some time when it gets cooler…
K, I love L’Arte, and have occasionally worn it in the summer… but I decant into a roll-on bottle so I can control how much I’m putting on, because that does seem to make a difference. Do you have the edp or the edt?
Oh, I love your lists! I should try to get my hands on some Smell Bent One, because that sounds delightful!
So far for the fall, I’m wearing:
-Montale Attar….which has an overbearing burnt rubber sort of note in the heat, but in the cool air is a bit powdery, a bit musky, a bit sweet…like a toned down, less expensive (and a bit rougher) version of By Kilian’s Rose Oud.
-Vireo’s Ashes of Roses ….an all-natural company on Etsy that uses only handmade oils, attars and essences. I don’t usually care either way if something is all-natural or not (I love my some aromachemicals!), but Vireo’s stuff is beautifully raw and special. This one has an almost peppery, herbal quality and it stays close to the skin but lasts for ages.
-vintage Magie Noire …how can I resist? You’re so right about this one!
Hi, H! Hey, if you’re going to snag some SB One, do it NOW – it disappears on Nov. 1.
I still haven’t smelled either Rose Oud or your Montale Attar (gosh, how many Montales are there anyway??), but I did really like Aoud Roses Petals and Oud Queen Rose. I kind of like that bandaid-y smell.
Like you, I don’t have a special fondness for all-natural, but if it’s good I’m interested. I’ve always liked that color description, Ashes of Roses, even if the color itself is hideous on me.
And yeah, Magie Noire is all that. 🙂
Beautiful picture!
The last few days have warmed up from what’s so far been a chilly fall in which I had been wearing Tabac Blond, Mitsouko, old Magie Noire, Black Cashmere, and Yatagan. Magie Noire has never seemed loud to me. I always apply perfume lightly, but there are some perfumes I would definitely avoid wearing when I was going to be indoors around other people–but Magie Noire isn’t one of those.
I had been pondering Nuit de Tubereuse since it came out, and finally got some this week-end and have been wearing it since. I hadn’t previously picked up on your “mildew accord,” but I think I know now what you mean (a certain sharpness near the beginning). Fortunately, that aspect of the scent doesn’t last very long on me.
Isn’t it gorgeous, Liza? I want to go there, wherever “there” is.
I suppose if you’re used to sillage, Magie Noire isn’t all that loud. I’m just not a big fan of the Perfume Cloud… it may just be my little vintage bottle, anyway, but ONE DROP is plenty potent. Whoo. I bought it on ebay from someone whose parents had had it in their pharmacy storeroom since the 1980s, and goodness knows what conditions it had been stored under.
Nuit de Tubereuse wound up growing on me – I notice that my 5ml decant is about 40% gone already – and I’m learning to mentally bypass that mildewy stuff in the top because the rest of it is so pleasant!