- Business Insider spoke to three perfume experts about which scents are popular for the fall.
- Gourmand scents, like vanilla and caramel, are still very in this season.
- Fall is also the perfect time to try out heavier fragrances, like leather and smoke.
As something that can’t be seen — but often doesn’t go unnoticed — perfume is one of the biggest quiet-luxury status symbols.
Now that the fall temperatures are settling in, it’s time to swap out the light, floral scents for something a little more fitting.
Business Insider spoke with three perfumers about which scents are popular to wear this fall. Here’s what they said.
Leather makes for a great cool-weather scent.
Laura Oberwetter, the cofounder of Chicago-based Clue Perfumery, told BI that leather scents are perfect for the cooler weather. She recommends bringing out the notes when the temperature hits below 40 degrees.
One of her favorite perfumes that embraces leather and woodsy notes is Le Labo’s Santal 33 Eau De Parfum.
Spice up your fragrance selection with warming notes.
Marc-Antoine Barrois, the founder, couturier, and artistic director of Marc-Antoine Barrois in Paris, prefers signature scents that can be used year-round. But he admitted that clients tend to look for stronger, warming fragrances when the weather cools down.
Notes like myrrh, incense, and licorice give a perfume a nice spicy palate.
In a way, the firey scents mimic how the leaves turn to bright yellows, oranges, and reds before falling in autumn.
Cozy campfire fragrances were made for the fall.
Something about the scent of smoke billowing from an outdoor fire pit or leaves burning in a yard screams autumn. It’s instantly recognizable and often nostalgic.
“Even if it’s straight smoke, it feels like fall air,” Oberwetter told BI.
The perfumer said Replica’s popular By the Fireplace Eau De Toilette from Maison Margiela embodies this autumnal scent.
Gourmand continues to stay popular.
Emma Vincent, an in-house perfumer at Lush, said gourmand fragrances are huge right now. The category includes anything that’s meant to smell like food.
“I think it’s incredibly accessible to customers,” she said, adding that most people know what vanilla, honey, or caramel notes smell like.
The perfumer told BI that the perfume industry can seem elitist when it comes to breaking down a fragrance’s notes. But the gourmand trend makes it easier for people to ask for exactly what they want.
Coffee lovers can rejoice this season.
Building off the gourmand trend, Vincent said coffee is a favorite smell this season.
She told BI that she saw a major turn toward these cozier scents in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, and the trend is still alive this season.
Coffee scents, especially those with notes of vanilla, can offer comforting and grounding qualities — they feel like a warm blanket.
Test out a few dark, boozy scents.
You don’t have to drink to enjoy wearing dark, boozy scents with notes of bourbon, cognac, and whiskey.
Many of these fragrances also have complementing notes of smoke, sweetness, or spice.
“It’s a Venn diagram that overlaps with things people lean toward in the fall,” Oberwetter said.
Fall is a great time to lean into heavier fragrances.
Overall, Oberwetter said fragrance trends typically work a lot like seasonal clothing.
“It’s this instinct to go for something heavy and comforting and almost protective, the same way that we reach for a thicker sweater,” she told BI.
Cooler temps create the perfect environment for layering heavier notes like spice, leather, and black pepper.
