I'm writing this review from my favorite beach or, more accurately, the beachside inn where I'm taking a short breather from the city and soaking up some of the last warm temperatures of the season. It's been an unpredictable month or so, both in the weather forecast and in my day-to-day activities, and I needed this sunshiny break even more than I realized at first. I also brought along a few fragrances that I've been wearing regularly over the past few weeks, since they seem to bridge the various moods of this summer-into-autumn moment.
I bought the Lush Garden box of travel sprays back in August, and initially I was focused on Rose Jam and V, since I already love the Rose Jam shower gel and the discontinued (and similar to V!) Don't Rain on My Parade shower gel. Lately, though, I've been gravitating towards Pansy. Lush describes Pansy as "a warm hug of a fragrance" that evokes "a sun-soaked stroll through a Mediterranean orchard" with notes of bergamot, orange blossom, oakmoss, rosemary, labdanum and musk. Actual pansies don't have a fragrance, but this Pansy is a bright, comfortable blend of juicy clementine orange and cottony white musk. Yet again, there's a parallel with a shower gel from Lush — I don't have any Olive Branch on hand, but I'm pretty sure the scent is close to Pansy. Available as 30 ml ($45) and 100 ml ($90) parfum at the Lush website.
I can't pull off the original Thierry Mugler Alien, but I took a shine to Alien Goddess (developed for Mugler by perfumers Marie Salamagne and Nathalie Lorson) when I tried it in a department store last month. Alien Goddess's "incandescent and generous solar embrace" includes notes of bergamot, coconut water, jasmine, heliotrope, cashmeran and vanilla. I happen to like "fancy suntan oil" perfumes, like Guerlain Terracotta, and that's what this is: coconut milk, flashes of buttery white florals (just as much frangipani as jasmine) and sheer, sharp-ish musk. Alien Goddess might also appeal to fans of Tom Ford Soleil Blanc, and it's priced much more reasonably. Available as 10 ml ($34), 30 ml ($87), 60 ml ($123) and 89 ml ($170) Eau de Parfum.
Nomenclature Minted was one of my most-worn perfumes of Summer 2022 and now I'm digging out my sample vial of Neo Rose, Nomenclature's olfactory sketch of "a rose pressed between the sheets of a suede-bound book." If you're a rose-and-patchouli fan (remember L'Artisan Voleur de Roses?) you might want to try Neo Rose's blend of black tea, rose and patchouli (with additional notes of jasmine, freesia, bergamot, pink pepper and white wood). It's very "contemporary niche" — smooth and dark and very all-gender, with plenty of sillage. Available as 20 ml ($90) or 75 ml ($175) Eau de Parfum at Aedes.
For an October evening out when there's a hint of a chill in the air, I'm spraying on some Liquides Imaginaires Fleur de Sable, "a treasure born from a breath of burning sand wind." Fleur de Sable was developed for Liquides Imaginaires by perfumer Amélie Bourgeois and features notes of "wind," eglantine and orris. (It It reminds me slightly of my old love Lalique Perles de Lalique, due to its notes of dusky rose, black pepper and cedar wood, but it's less translucent and more intense than Perles. It makes me feel like a 1930s Hollywood movie star (wearing an evening gown, of course) in some black-and-white film set near the Arabian desert. Available as 100 ml Eau de Parfum ($200).
To close with a fragrance inspired by the autumn landscape: Pourpre D'Automne (not shown), one of the historically inspired fragrances offered by the relaunched Maison Violet, is a "chypre in an autumnal atmosphere." I've never smelled the original Violet version of Pourpre D'Automne from 1923, but I like this fragrance (developed by perfumer Nathalie Lorson) —it's a fruity (even "jammy") blend of rose and violet, with a plummy iris note at its heart and some soft, sepia-toned incense in its base. Pourpre d'Automne doesn't feel exactly "vintage," nor strictly contemporary — it's a gentle floral chypre that reminds me more of certain fragrances from the 1970s and 1980s, which is just fine with me. Available as 75 ml Eau de Parfum ($175) at Indigo Perfumery.
How about you? How has your fall been going, and what have you been wearing that feels particularly autumnal, if anything? Feel free to share in the comments!
What a dreamy list! Pourpre D’Automne sounds divine to me — rose, violet and iris are all my faves.
I’ve been wearing Chanel Les Eaux Paris-Edimbourg as my fall scent. It’s herbal, piney, woody and the slightly medicinal warm base feels quite at home these crisper days.
Hello! You know, I still need to check out most of those Chanel Les Eaux…some of them sound really appealing to me. But yes! I’m always up for a rose/violet/iris bouquet!
they are quite lovely and easy to wear! the latest one, Paris-Paris is a peppery rose and patchouli, quite lovely if you enjoy that combination.
Hi Jessica, have a great and relaxing break, and thanks for the recommendations, I will investigate some of them I think 🙂 I got my autumn/winter favorite Tobacco Toscano from Santa Maria Novella up from the basement. Its just such a comforting and soft-spoken scent, a perfume for the through gentleman/woman imo. I’m not for sweet scents but here I don’t mind the touch of vanilla at all. A new one I recently got and that’s perfect for this weather is L’Envol from Cartier. Deserves more attention!
I do love SMN in general! and a touch (just a touch!) of vanilla is often a good thing. And thank you! I was a short but well-timed break!
Your holiday sounds so nice. I’ve only just started with fall scents as it has remained quite warm. I never paid attention to Pansy but your post makes me want to try it.
Someone actually recommended the Pansy body cream to me a while back (thanks, Z!) but somehow I kept forgetting to try it every time I walked into a LUSH store to grab a few things I needed. It smells “simple” but it wears very nicely and really is a mood-booster!
Great list of perfumes! It was between Sketch and Pourpre d’Automne and Sketch won out by a hair. I don’t go by seasons so a perfume either works or doesn’t, but don’t ever take notes 🤷🏻♀️.
I still haven’t tried Sketch! I do like Tanagra.
I have some year-round favorites, but some heavier things just go to the back of the cabinet in hot weather. Time to pull them forward again…soon?!
I’ll root around to find my sample of Alien Goddess. I’m one who mainly likes all my perfumes all year round, but have seen how some “bloom” more in cool weather!
It’s probably one of the less-weird Mugler fragrances, but I like it! And sometimes a tropical flower scent is even more fun in really cold weather!
Something similar to Voleur de Roses that comes in 20mLs? Tempting!
It’s not a “twin” for VdR — less damp earth, more tea — but if you love one, you will probably at least *like* the other!
Speaking of Alien, if it is too heavy for you, a good one – and very peachy – is Alien Eau Sublime. Tiaré flowers in the body, citruses and solar notes added to the top. I was just working on an article about Tiaré reminding myself of this.
Enjoying my nightcap now I am wearing Lou Lou, which I almost never touch, but with the exotic florals (tahitian gardenia included) and spice it seems to sit exactly half way between autumn scent and beachy.
Enjoy your getaway!
Ooh, that does sound nice. For a while the Mugler flankers were coming in fast and furious and I think I missed a few?!
I adore LouLou! This is a nice reminder to rotate my bottle closer to the front of my “perfume cupboard” for the upcoming cool weather…
Your mention of Lush’s Pansy reminds me of it in a previous incarnation (& bottle) – either in the very early Lush days or in the business’ previous incarnation when they were called Cosmetics To Go (mail order catalogue, one physical shop on the south coast of England & they enclosed mini chocolate bars of assorted types with your order!). Pansy came in a small, dark apothecary-type glass bottle as did one called Hay, which was apparently aimed at their male customers but which I used as perfume & absolutely adored, & which garnered questions & compliments galore. I was also a huge fan of their original Ginger, which came in a small wooden box & cost, if memory serves, around GBP 12.00 – those were indeed the days!
Wow, Cosmetics to Go! I’ve heard of that incarnation but it was already the stuff of legend when I learned about Lush in 2000-2001. I do remember the original Ginger. That was a fun one!!
Lush published a book, a few years ago now, about the history of CTG – of course I had to buy it! There was a small article dedicated to a soap called True Grit, which was my husband’s ‘go to’ product if he’d been working in the garden, with his motorcycle etc – superb exfoliant! CTG used to sell large slabs of soap in all sorts of variations – I was very popular at my then place of employment for slicing off pieces to give to various colleagues to try, many of whom subsequently became mail order customers & big fans.