Weekly Waftings: Autumnal/Fall Perfumes

It’s officially autumn and I couldn’t be happier! There are things to love about every season but hands down, fall is my favorite. With snuggly sweaters and booties to wear, fun holidays full of family and delicious comfort food to look forward to, and oodles of cozy candles to brighten the darker evenings, autumn will always be my favorite time of the year.

In the spirit of all things cozy and fall-scented, today I’d like to introduce you to eight fragrances that are perfect for autumn. You’ll notice an overlap of many notes of spices, resins, woods, and vanilla that all combine to give these perfumes that perfect autumnal vibe. As some of these fragrances are quite on the pricey side, I’ve also included links to affordable decants so you can try each scent without sabotaging your wallet!

Without further ado, here are my reviews and recommendations of a handful of perfumes that, in my opinion, perfectly create an autumnal olfactory experience and mood:

Histoires de Parfums Ambre 114

• Top Notes: thyme, nutmeg
• Middle Notes: rose, geranium, patchouli, sandalwood, cedar, vetiver
• Base Notes: amber, vanilla, tonka bean, benzoin, musk
• Available Sizes: sample, 15ml, 60ml, 120ml

Amber, amber, and more amber! For many, this beloved scent is THE traditional amber. This starts off with a sharp, almost nail polish-like essence that quickly dissipates to a more familiar and expected warm amber. About 5 minutes in, it starts to get more spicy and I sense the nutmeg and thyme. ‘Spicy amber’ is actually the perfect descriptor for this. After about an hour and a half, it fades to a sweeter vanilla-based amber with less spice and more of the warm tonka and benzoin notes coming through.

Totally unisex. Projection is on the lighter to moderate side and it is a fairly long-lasting scent. There’s no doubt that this is a cozy, sweater weather fragrance and definitely a must-try for true amber lovers! The art deco-styled packaging and box that it comes in is also gorgeous.

Find it here:

Ambre 114 1ml, 2ml, 5ml, 9ml decants, 120ml full bottle (at Scent Split)

Ambre 114 120ml (at FragranceNet)

Hermès Collection Hermessence Ambre Narguile

• Main Notes: honey, perfumer’s amber, toasted sesame seed
• Other Notes Perceived: cinnamon, rum, caramel, tonka bean, vanilla, benzoin, coumarin, labdanum, tobacco, white orchid, musk
• Available Sizes: 100ml, 200ml

The initial scent here is warm, very spicy cinnamon with honey. I also get lots of benzoin & resinous vibes and some leather. I have seen this fragrance compared to spicy apple cider and I can agree with that. I’ve also read a review where someone likened it to the scent of eating an apple fritter in a hookah bar and I can see that, too, though it’s not really a smoky fragrance to my nose. But after all, a narguile is a hookah so it only makes sense to draw that comparison.

For some, this fragrance may feel a touch more like it should be a home fragrance vs. a perfume. The projection was on the lighter to moderate side. It starts strong but fades to a skin scent in about an hour’s time. Though, it does last quite a while as that skin scent. I will say, this babe isn’t cheap! Especially for an EDT. I highly recommend checking out a decant first for these super expensive fragrances. Decants also come in various sizes and a 9ml, or even a 5ml, will last a good long time without breaking the bank!

Find it here:

Ambre Narguile 1ml, 2ml, 5ml, 9ml decants (at Scent Split)

Ambre Narguile 100ml (at Bergdorf Goodman)

by Kilian Back to Black, aphrodisiac

• Main Notes: cedarwood, incense, honey
• Other Notes Perceived: tobacco, cherry, vanilla, raspberry, almond, gingerbread, amber, tonka bean, nutmeg, benzoin, chamomile, saffron, cardamom, patchouli, French labdanum, olibanum, oak, coriander, geranium, bergamot
• Available Sizes: 50ml, 50ml refill

This one has every note except the kitchen sink! The stand-out note to me as it opens is the almond, with the cherry pretty pronounced as well. There’s also a touch of honey blossom. The tobacco note becomes more prominent as it dries down, it actually reminds me a lot of a flavored cigar. This is also very heavy on the incense note. It reminds me sooooo much of high school when artsy-little-angsty-teenaged-me would light incense almost daily, lol Powdery, sweet, honeyed tobacco/incense is the best way for me to sum this one up.

With such a strong incense note, it’s another one that I think I’d personally prefer as a candle, but it does smell very good. The projection is moderate for a parfum concentration but it’s quite long-lasting. With all of its bazillion notes, I think it could appeal to a lot of people as different folks will probably pick up on different notes. A perfect scent to wear out at night to a club.

Find it here:

Back to Black 1ml, 2ml, 5ml, 9ml decants (at Scent Split)

Back to Black 50ml (at Bergdorf Goodman)

Back to Black 50ml (at Nordstrom)

Ellis Brooklyn Bee

• Top Notes: dark rum, davana
• Middle Notes: honey, bran absolute, cinnamon
• Base Notes: sandalwood, vanilla bean, cocoa absolute
• Available Sizes: 10ml, 50ml

I told you guys that I was itching to try this new fragrance when I reviewed the Ellis Brooklyn sampler last week and it did not disappoint! Omigoodness, it’s absolutely delicious! I have been in search of the perfect honey fragrance for a while now and something has always been off: too medicinal, too musky, too much cinnamon, etc. But Bee delivers what this gourmand-lover has been in search of: sweet honey in the amber family.

It’s a lovely honey-forward scent with a slight boozy feel from the rum and just a hint of cinnamon and spice. Yummy vanilla and some light sandalwood round it out perfectly. It’s definitely gourmand but not sickly sweet. Leans feminine but a guy who loves honey and/or gourmands could absolutely pull this off. Projection and longevity are moderate. Bottom line: I’m in love and can’t stop smelling my arm!! I may have found my new favorite autumn fragrance, I’m definitely going to be wearing the heck out of Bee this fall.

Find it here:

Bee 10ml travel-spray, 50ml bottle (at Ellis Brooklyn)

Maison Margiela Replica Jazz Club

• Top Notes: primofiore lemon, pink pepper, neroli oil
• Middle Notes: clary sage oil, rum absolute, java vetiver oil
• Base Notes: styrax resin, tobacco leaf absolute, vanilla bean
• Available Sizes: 10ml, 30ml, 100ml

I typically try to keep from sharing anything I’ve already posted on the blog before in an effort to keep the content here fresh, interesting, and non-redundant. But I couldn’t help but mention this one again as it’s one of my very favorites for fall: Jazz Club from Maison Margiela’s Replica line (read my review of the Replica coffret sampler here). The initial scent is a deep, boozy vanilla with a nice pink pepper. As it dries down, I get more of the tobacco leaf, benzoin, and rum and it just melds into this yummy, smoky, boozy vanilla.

This lovely, cozy gem absolutely evokes the feel of sitting in a dark, cozy jazz club, in an old leather club chair, with a boozy cocktail and possibly a crème brûlée on the table in front of you. The vanilla has such a lovely touch of sweetness but I do not find it overwhelmingly sweet or cloying, just warm and rich. Absolutely unisex, I can easily see anyone who enjoys this scent being able to pull it off. I wish it was a little stronger projecting and longer-lasting but I’m willing to overlook that. A resinous vanilla lover’s dream, this is a deep love for me, always.

Find it here:

Jazz Club 1ml, 2ml, 5ml, 9ml decants, 100ml full bottle (at Scent Split)

Jazz Club 100ml (at Amazon)

Parfums de Marly Oajan

• Top Notes: honey, cinnamon, osmanthus
• Middle Notes: amber, labdanum, benzoin
• Base Notes: vanilla, tonka bean, patchouli, davana (artemisia)
• Other Notes Perceived: ambergris, musk
• Available Sizes: 125ml

Oajan has a very powerful opening with a strong, spicy cinnamon that’s almost toothpaste or mouthwash-like. The dry-down is beautiful, the vanilla and honey join the party and mellow out the cinnamon – it’s still there, but not as ‘mouthwash-y.’ It starts to have more of an apple pie vibe though it’s not really a gourmand. This fragrance is slightly reminiscent of the also-spicy Eleventh Hour by Byredo.

PDM markets this as a masculine scent and though it does lean a touch more masculine, I do think it’s fairly unisex. The projection is decent but for the price, I think the fragrance fades quicker than it really should. This, again, probably fits a bit more into the candle territory vs. wearing as a perfume for me, personally. Cinnamon is THE star of the show here so if you love cinnamon, trying this one will certainly be worth your while. Since this is another super pricey one, I suggest a decant first.

Find it here:

Oajan 1ml, 2ml, 5ml 9ml decants, 125ml full bottle (at Scent Split)

Oajan 125ml (at Bloomingdale’s)

Initio Parfums Privés Side Effect

• Main Notes: cinnamon bark, rum, tobacco, saffron, sandalwood, Hedione
• Other Notes Perceived: vanilla
• Available Sizes: 7.5ml, 90ml

My very first whiff of Side Effect revealed musk so my initial feeling was “uh-oh…” It does get a bit better for me, briefly, as the other notes move in. The boozy rum is very apparent and I also get a slightly powdery-vanilla feel. There’s a cozy, warm, caramel-amber impression, as well. The tobacco and cinnamon are lighter notes, but they’re there. As it dries down, it turns into almost all rum with some musk. But that musk continually picks up speed and just gets stronger the longer I wear this until it becomes all I can smell. I’m wondering if it comes from the Hedione, which is a man-made note that I’m not super familiar with. It’s supposed to be a jasmine-like note so perhaps it’s quite indolic? It’s equally musky on a tester strip so it’s not just my skin doing something weird here, lol

This fragrance is quite masculine, in my opinion. The projection is pretty strong so I would advise to go easy on the sprays with this one. This high quality fragrance is super long-lasting, as well. This would probably be a huge love for me without that musk as I love all of the other notes listed. But those who are fine with musk and enjoy cozy, spicy, rummy scents should absolutely give this a sniff.

Find it here:

Side Effect 1ml, 2ml, 5ml, 9ml decants, 90ml full bottle (at Scent Split)

Side Effect 8ml decants, 90ml full bottle (at FragranceNet)

Nicolaï Parfumeur Créateur Vanille Tonka

• Top Notes: lemon essence, mandarin essence, black pepper essence, anise
• Middle Notes: incense essence, orange flower absolute, carnation, cinnamon essence
• Base Notes: vanilla absolute, tonka bean absolute, tobacco leaves absolute
• Other Notes Perceived: basil
• Available Sizes: 30ml, 100ml, 250ml

The opening is very woodsy and clean. Some (light) vanilla starts entering the picture about 3-5 minutes in. The cinnamon, carnation, and black pepper soon take over, though, and are pretty prominent. I might call this a spicy vanilla but it’s actually pretty light on vanilla and heavy on the spice. It’s slightly smoky and reminds me a little of vanilla/clove cigarettes. There’s also a slight licorice nuance that the anise brings to it. The mandarin enters the mix about 10-15 mins in but it’s a very natural-smelling orange, not super sweet. It’s more like the scent of a holiday pomander ball.

The fragrance was moderate and lasted a good 4+ hours for me before fading to a very light skin scent. I feel the name ‘Vanille Tonka’ is a bit of a misnomer as I wouldn’t call this scent a great representation of either vanilla or tonka bean. But it is quite autumnal and reminiscent of the holidays.

Find it here:

Vanille Tonka 1ml decants, 30ml, 100ml (at ZGO Perfumery)

Vanille Tonka 1ml, 2ml, 5ml, 9ml decants (at Scent Split)

Vanille Tonka 100ml (at Amazon)

Vanille Tonka 100ml (at FragranceNet)

And there you have it, a few very autumnal-leaning scents to try this season. Which fragrances/notes lend an autumnal impression to you?? Please share your fall-scented thoughts in the comments! 🍁🧡🍂

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