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.
- Andromeda's Curse Hex Perfume Oil - Grinning jack o' lanterns and spicy mugs of chai tea. It is a spicy gourmand with notes of chai tea, cardamom, pumpkin and vanilla.
- BPAL La Touissant Perfume Oil - La Toussaint is a scent for All Saints' Day featuring notes of falling leaves, crushed maple, bouquets of bright chrysanthemum, frankincense, white chamomile, and pale, dry wood bark.
- Haus of Gloi Samhain EDP – With notes of freshly turned earth, wet leaves and a cool specter ridden wind.
- Madam Moth's Parlour Into the Hollow Perfume Oil - Take a walk through the beautiful fields of Sleepy Hollow on a cool, crisp fall day. With notes of eucalyptus like the chilly autumn air with fresh green sage and juniper berries to bring the fields to life with earthy crushed grass and broken leaves. Just make sure to return home before nightfall...
- Sixteen92 Born Under a Bad Sign Extrait de Parfum - Inspired by the perfumer’s favorite episodes of Supernatural. This one is based on Season 2, Episode 14 and is an autumnal woody atmospheric fragrance with a subtly sweet gourmand finish. It features notes of burning leaves, yellow amber, misty woods, dry hay and roasted pumpkin seeds.
- The Little Book Eater Fall Festival Perfume Oil - Inspired by the delight of fall festivals. The perfect combination for jack o' lantern displays, hayrides, apple-flavored everything and spending time with family and friends, A sweet, spicy and earthy blend of apple cider, cinnamon, fried donut, sugar, citrus and a hint of hay.
- Zelda's Cauldron Acorn Harvest Pie Perfume Oil - An autumnal blend of rich caramel sauce, burnt sugar, flaky pie crust, vanilla cream, buttery brown sugar, toasted pecans and walnuts.
