Today is the Autumn (Fall) Equinox, so I've read, the day on which we experience equal day and night. After this, it is downhill to the gloom of winter, as the nighttime hours steadily and stealthily overtake the fleeting day. On the bright side, I suppose I should be grateful that I only live 50 degrees north, rather than in Scandinavian countries, or Iceland. My wife went to Iceland a few years ago in early November, which, mind you, was still a good six weeks away from the winter solstice, and the sun was rising at 11am and setting at 2.30pm. Be thankful for small mercies...
I mention the Autumn Equinox because autumn is now more than just a hint in the air in England. The days are turning clear and crisp, with early morning mist, and the air has that slightly glassy glare that I often associate with autumn, while in the late afternoon, the light starts to fade quickly. The trees too are showing signs of seasonal shift, with more than just hints of red, gold and yellow. I haven't been to our local fruit farm recently, but I expect that the apples are close to ready for picking, although I don't think 2012 is going to be kind to the apple crop, with the cool and wet spring and summer we've had.
As autumn grows near, I tend to think of perfumes that are appropriate for cooler weather. In a way, it is more a sense of pending coolness and that faint feeling of melancholy that drives my thoughts on autumnal perfumes rather than the actual experience of the weather changing; I find that I become very contemplative around this time of year. The thought of wearing light and airy citrus fragrances right now doesn't appeal at all, yet I can't say that I have a yearning for thick, heavy ambers and orientals, or soft and fluffy comfort scents. For me, the sort of perfumes that appeal at this time of year are those that evoke the scents, smells and feel of crisp and cooler weather, or that wistfulness of passing time. So I think fragrances that smell earthy, woody, grassy or like nature really, are the ones that attract. I think any vetiver perfume would be good, particularly those that smell more like damp, fecund earth. Frederic Malle's Vetiver Extraordinaire would be perfect. I also think perfumes with a focus on patchouli would fit the bill nicely. Although I love and wear incense fragrances year-round, I feel that incense is particularly fitting for the change of seasons, with its contemplative-evoking properties. Any perfume with more than a hint of smoke and leather would also be excellent, evoking the smell of distant bonfires and woodsmoke. I don't think a gourmand or two would be remiss either, particularly those that have a touch of apple or pumpkin in. I don't personally like Ambre Narguile very much, but I think the idea of it fits perfectly with autumn, with its notes of light smoke and spiced apple.
So, what sort of perfumes do you like to wear in autumn?
Someone is bound to say "Bois des Isles" so I'll do it first, though my other choice is Baghari (No 5 with oranges and spice), also chypres,like the old Antilope by Weil which is so dirt cheap these days, and the Patou Que Sais Je which is halfway between a chypre and a gourmand.It smells of pralines and apricots over leather, sounds awful but is good actually. Liked this post by the way, you got a little Autumnal lyricism in here...
ReplyDeleteBlacknall, thanks for the comment and for the autumn choices, none of which I've tried save for Bois. Actually, apricots, pralines and leather seems rather appealing to me - is it at all similar to Lutens' Daim Blond?
DeleteQue Sais Je is sort of like Daim Blond but much more segmented, apricots and then pralines and then leather, if you catch my drift, and a lot darker and drier when it evaporates. Andy Tauer mentioned it once as a perfume masterpiece which made me go back and smell my bottle which I'd been wearing for, oh gosh, donkeys'years. I'm still not sure if it's a masterpiece but it is interesting.
DeleteI must say your description (dark and dry) really appeals to me! Perhaps I'll try and track it down.
DeleteDarn, I've been trying not to notice, but you're absolutely correct - Autumn is here already! I wore AG's Rose Splendide yesterday, but your post and today's gray misty morning makes me realize "resistence is futile" so I think I'll jump straight into my favorite Guerlains like Shalimar, Mitsouko and L'Heure Bleue and maybe play a bit with my 'difficult' child, Mandy Aftel's clove-heavy Shiso. : )
ReplyDeleteCym, Shiso is quite a challenging perfume. Like the idea of the Guerlains. Perhaps I'll be a Guerly-boy tomorrow!
DeleteIt'll be long before Autumn is really noticeable here but I also noticed that mentally I'm tuned for my colder weather perfumes. Today it felt like Chamade. Really soon I'll start wearing all those amber perfumes that felt wrong during summer - no matter how cool it was.
ReplyDeleteUndina, I don't know that much about the USA, but I suppose California, away from the mountains is fairly mild most of the time? Do you get distinct seasons there or are the changes less pronounced and more subtle?
DeleteI can't say it about California in general - it's a huge state with a variety of climat zones - but San Francisco Bay Area where I live has a very mild and ... even climat. Because of the ocean we never have a really cold and almost never experience really hot weather. A disadvantage of that is the absence of real seasons. I don't complain though: once every couple of years I drive to mountains to see a real snow and fly to Hawaii to get a week of a hot weather and warm ocean.
DeleteUndina, I've read about those Bay Area fogs that roll in from time to time! You're fortunate to live in a state that has such variety of scenery!
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