The leaves are falling and turning brown, the air has an eerie chill, “I’ve Seen Footage” by Death Grips is pseudo-trending on TikTok— autumn has surely arrived. I don’t believe in categorizing fragrances by seasons or occasions, however the one characteristic that autumnal fragrances share is hedonism. They must conjure up a sort of shameless indulgence with a hint of primitive survival instinct. The harvest is bountiful and you can have as much pumpkin pie as you want. Here are seven hand picked fall fragrances that will string you out of your seasonal depression just enough to put your wet laundry in the dryer and leave it there for a week until it starts to grow mildew.

1. Hiram Green- Slowdive

Canadian perfumer Hiram Green serves up this resinous concoction with a heavy dose of golden honey fresh from the hive. A garden of orange and tobacco blossom greets the nose, followed by smoky miel and dried fruits. I promise I don’t just love it because it shares a name with one of my favorite bands. This fragrance is reminiscent of slurping down a sweet honey tube from your elementary school field-trip to the local bee farm. Even the colour of the perfume is an opulent shade of amber—if you close your eyes you can hear the bees humming about. Slowdive is made for those torpid October afternoons that make you want to dunk your head into a wild, thick, pot of nectar and suffocate. Best worn while listening to Slowdive of course. 

2. Lush Cosmetics- Lord of Misrule

An absolute Lush classic, offering the perfect marriage of patchouli, vanilla, and black pepper. This is the Joker’s signature scent—it’s mischievous, carnal, and schizophrenic. Think of a witch seducing you with a boiling pot of spiced cola. Like most Lush fragrances, get ready to make a statement if you wear this, because everyone within a hop, skip and a jump will smell it. The dark Sumatran patchouli oil in this blend will have your loved one longing for frisky tricks, while the vanilla nods to innocence. Lord of Misrule is a polarizing fragrance in the Lush community, with some declaring that it smells like “an herbal attack on my nostrils,” while others would trample a group of toddlers to snatch the last bottle off the shelf. Luckily, there is a whole line of Lord of Misrule products, so if you’re not into perfume, you can still indulge!

3. Maison Margiela REPLICA- Jazz Club

Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a man from Hinge in a Yohji Yamamoto 05SS jacket that overuses the word ‘delulu’ but swears he’s straight and ghosts you after inviting you to his new ‘concept store’ to wear Jazz Club. I had thought this too, until I smelled it on my female friend and fell head over heels in love with it. This perfume is DRUNK. It smells like the best night of your life. I firmly believe that it makes anyone smell completely fuckable. Jazz Club takes you on a boozy journey through thick smoke reeking of tobacco, rum, and sage. The final destination is an alluring vanilla that lingers through the haze like a woman at the bar seeking warm company. It is not for the faint of heart, but I promise the more you sniff it the more it will entice you—like a slab of 2 day old lasagna after hitting a blinker. 

4. Filigree & Shadow- My Most Meaningful Relationships

Inspired by the song that shares its namesake with The Late Cord, perfumer James Elliott bottles up the perfect moody autumn petrichor. Upon the first spritz you are hit with a cloud of a green botanical tonic, and a medium-ugly forest sprite grabs you by hand and leads you down a winding path of decaying brown leaves. It’s a drug crafted with rain water, vetiver, and rosewood. It’s peak melancholy—existing in a world where time is frozen but gray clouds still move at the speed of light and the soil never dries. Washing up on a rocky beach, biting your lip and tasting blood, taking your medicine hastily but not without dread. The earthy geosmin in My Most Meaningful will ground your agitated nervous system after the stampede of teen Depop resellers at the thrift store raid the mens sweater aisle.

5. Kilian – Angels’ Share

Like a silent offering to the gods, Angels’ Share is a breezy cinnamon-praline cognac evaporating under the light of the harvest moon. It’s a flawless autumn cocktail whose longevity will last all day and grant you many strangers compliments. This is for snuggling up in your bed and reading an esoteric book until your crippling early onset back pain kicks in and you need to lay down and stare at the ceiling. The base notes of sandalwood and candied almonds are good enough to eat. This perfume is ultra lux, it might as well be pure gold melted down and bottled. If you want to smell like a rich person, Angels’ Share will make you smell like you’re wealthy enough to buy Reddit awards and hand them out like candy. 

6. Philosophy- Fresh Cream

This perfume pulls her sweater down over her hands and draws fog hearts on bus windows. It’s freshly whipped cream, but no sugar added—just a pure, linear, fluffy dollop. This is perfect for somebody who generally dislikes gourmands but still wants to smell like a dessert. Apply before bedtime after a luxurious everything shower, or if you haven’t shaved your legs in 3 months that’s okay too. You will be swept away in a lactonic bliss, dreaming of soaring down a velvety cloud leading to a lake of heavy cream. Some people seem to despise this, many leaving reviews saying it’s either too sweet or smells like sour milk. I could not disagree more—Fresh Cream is not sweet at all, and the subtle tonka note brings everything together. For me, this ones a douser. 

7. Marissa Zappas- Flaming Creature

The smoky, night-blooming jasmine of your dreams. Based on the experimental film Flaming Creatures directed by Jack Smith in 1963, it calls upon an obscure eroticism that will have you intoxicated. It’s a pilgrimage of stanky twists and turns down the rabbit hole—wear this while you’re doing a deep dive into conspiracy theories on the web. You’re at a burlesque show and there’s a fire starting backstage because a girl dropped her cigarette butt on a silk chiffon scarf. The flowers gifted by gentlemen friends on her boudoir are going up in flames. It’s burning a stick of patchouli incense, sucking on an orange Ring Pop, contemplating if you should call your ex. The woodsy cedar/juniper combo gives autumn in the Pacific Northwest. Audrey Horne of Twin Peaks would wear Flaming Creature in an attempt to seduce Agent Cooper.