Three Autumnal Scents To Know

Cosiness and comfort—that’s what this time of year is about as the temperature dips and we say farewell to the summer (that really only properly touched the west coast).

It also means it’s time to step away from the light and summery zests and embrace a seasonal scent that brings a sense of depth via notions of spice, woodiness and smoke; ultimately, a feeling of warmth.

And might we suggest the following trio as a strong starting point.

Son Venin Santal Super

According to the PR guff—and if you’ve ever the desire to lose 20 minutes to the overuse of superlatives then please do explore fragrance marketing speak —Santal Super is a “pure, confident, democratic and warm perfume that you want to hug”. What we will say is that it’s another standout from these impressive Norwegian outfitters, who meld a general sense of Scandinavian cleanliness to European scents—which here means a wonderful woody autumn effort that bounces across pepper, incense, cedar, bergamot and more.

50ml, approx. $200; sonvenin.com

Byredo Eleventh Hour

A firm sense of the unique lives here—thanks to the central note of ban timmur, a plant from the Nepalese highland and which is related to Szechuan pepper. But this is more than just a spicy affair— fig, bergamot, rum, carrot seed and tonka combine to create a balanced and woody “oriental” autumnal scent.

100ml, $332; mecca.com.au

Maison Margiela By The Fireplace

Margiela can do little wrong in our eyes—be it sartorially or fragrance-wise. This does what it says on the tin—a warming number that recalls colder climes and nights by a fireplace. A woody scent perfect for the coming evenings, it’s built on melded notes of pepper, clove and sweet chestnut.

100ml, $180; mecca.com.au