We all can get a nostalgic flashback when we smell the scents of autumn (leaves, campfire smoke, damp earth, mushrooms, cooked marshmallows, apple cider, pumpkin, cinnamon, etc.). Words like cozy, crackling, crisp and crunchy describe the season. It turns out there's a scientific reason that people have a smell inextricably linked to the season in their head: it's a confluence of chemistry, biology and psychology that can trigger different emotions like anxiety, sadness or excitement depending on your personal collection of memories associated with the time of year.
"In summer, we have just more of a mixture of scent and sort of a wide blend of scent ... we smell a lot more of everything around us," said Rachel Herz, a neuroscientist and author of The Scent of Desire. "When it gets cooler and drier, specific scents tend to stand out more — we're able to kind of pull out the scent of leaves, the scent of bark, the scent of grass in more distinct ways."
Beyond the man-made and commercial scents of pumpkin spice and apple pie, autumn has its own, much more natural smell. It’s the musty, earthy smell of dying and decomposing leaves blended with wet earth and maybe a bit of smoke from burning leaves. The dominant earthy smells are largely the product of plants hunkering down for the winter. Fallen leaves begin to decay and the sugars and organic compounds in the leaf break down, creating the classic musky-sweet smell of a leaf pile. Maple leaves, for example, have high contents of sugars and when decaying they release a pleasantly sweet, almost syrup-like scent.
You will receive a 1/2ml sample (1ml sample vial filled half full) of each of the fragrances in this sampler.
- Alkemia Pumpkin Alchemy Perfume Oil - I could not find the description for this but from reviews I found, this smells like pumpkin bread and is not a sweet pumpkin fragrance but more spicy with notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, red currant with slightly woody note in the background.
- Haus of Gloi Samhain EDP – With notes of freshly turned earth, wet leaves and a cool specter ridden wind.
- Solstice Scents Foxcroft EDP - The essence of a late-afternoon Autumn day. It is an incredible blend of wet decaying leaves, rich black soil, dry rustling leaves, fall air, woods and chimney smoke, Foxcroft is cool air coupled with fiery red, orange and golden leaves, a sweet sharp green note, fertile wet dirt and a touch of woods laced with the intoxicating smoke from fireplaces burning throughout the countryside. Foxcroft is very potent on first sniff. It smells of very wet decaying leaves but on the skin will evolve into a softer and more wearable scent with dry leaves and the soft smoke and wood notes coming out. Foxcroft features notes of decaying leaves, rich black soil, dry leaves, fall air, woods and chimney smoke.
- LizabeCo Seeking The Successive Autumns Parfum Oil – With notes of drying leaves, woods, pecans, apples, citrus, berries and cinnamon.
- Nui Cobalt Porch Swing Perfume Oil - A lazy Autumn afternoon when the sun is setting gold. Oakwood, amber, pear preserves, skin-warmed cotton, fresh rhubarb, rosemary and tea.
- The Little Book Eater Autumn Aesthetic Perfume Oil - Inspired by the magical feel of the autumn season. The perfect combination for cozy sweaters, lit candles, pumpkin pancakes, and spiced lattes!. A sweet, buttery, gourmand scent with notes of buttered pumpkin, crushed pecans and drizzled maple syrup.
