Are you feeling it? The drop into autumn is here and it’s the ideal time to engage with scents that accentuate that gentle relaxation out of party season into something cosier, more golden. So, as you transition from spritzes to chardonnays, from ocean swims to long walks, let’s look at some fragrance swaps to match...

Musky Magic

If you’ve spent the summer wearing anything oud-inspired, it might be time to trade up to an oil, and Ayurveda-informed Australian brand The Ayu has the most beautiful offering imaginable. Sufi is their earthiest perfume oil yet, a blend of oud, labdanum, and sandalwood that is grounding, sophisticated, and melts into the skin in a way that has to be experienced to really be appreciated. Sufi radiates a gentle energy as your skin’s warmth slowly releases the precious scent. This is will be your go-to for downtime, when you want a moment’s calm contemplation.

Bronzed Beauty

Joining the Cologne Intense Collection, Jo Malone London Bronze Wood & Leather is a rich, retro-masculine number that plays up the contrast between a bright, aromatic citrus and a sweet skin-warmed leathery accord. Juniper adds complexity and depth to grapefruit in the opening – and it’s great. What works so well against the enduring bitterness of that citrus is the refined influence of vetiver, with its blinds-drawn, sun-strobed earthiness. This kind of seemingly simple juxtaposition is what Jo Malone does so well and it makes for a very wearable, sexy leather scent that feels like a little bit of summer is still trapped inside the flacon.

Sugar Sweet

If you’re fond of substituting cake calories for a sugary scent during summer, here is your seasonal swap – or rather, your upgrade. Le Labo’s Tonka 25 does present a delicious vanilla-y note; but the feeling of being transported into the pâtisserie of your dreams is fleeting, as the more complex elements of tonka are accentuated with smooth atlas cedar and the golden, rich balsamic glow of strax (or benzoin as it’s often called). The smoky woods and amberous resin are sheered out by a perfectly-pitched musk that continues the cosy feel and creates a scent that swirls in and out of your attention over its wear. Delicious.

Crowd Pleaser

You’ve probably heard the advice that you should move to a more powerful perfume concentration as the temperature drops. Well, rules like that were meant to be broken and I love wearing more delicate compositions in cooler weather where they’re not going to evaporate off the skin faster than a rosé on a hot day. And if you haven’t tried Chloe’s Nomade yet, this new EDT could be the perfect place to start. Relinquishing the tart plum opening of the original and replacing it with a more subtle lychee note, this beautiful scent lets the spicy sweetness of freesia take over, while maintaining that incredible oakmoss base that has made Nomade such a standout. This one is a total compliment-getter

Flower Power

White flowers, whatever. There’s little to feel guilty about here – or maybe just because you’re neglecting your standard florals and replacing them with Gucci Guilty Pour Femme, a classy, well-composed lilac and violet-centred creation. Rich enough to make a statement but with a base of micro-distilled patchouli that makes it refined and eminently office-worthy, this is such an easy to reach for fragrance that sits very well under a suit jacket, despite the extra Lana Del Rey vibes of the campaign.

Night Cap

Roos & Roos, a French mother-daughter brand, has just landed in Australia with some incredible fragrances on offer. If you’ve ever worn Alien, or if you love the spicy ginger opening of Twilly, you need to try White Song. The lightest spray gives a uniquely creamy blend of warm spices over exquisite jasmine. The creators claim this scent as an accompaniment to “nocturnal escapades” and a more generous application delivers with a seductive cloud of rich golden amber, while the rich, floral almond note creates a sensation of absolute hedonism.

Story by Rosalind Thomas and photography by The Accords

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