5 Autumn Fragrance Hacks

5 Autumn Fragrance Hacks

As the hot, humid days of summer transition to cooler early Autumn temperatures, this change-of-season offers the opportunity to experience fragrance in new ways. Climate plays an incredibly important role in how your favourite fragrances smell. Scent molecules shrink in cold temperatures which means you may need to add an extra spritz in the morning. And cooler temperatures enhance certain ingredients in perfumery. Here are five ways to have fun with your scents in fall.

Spritz over a body lotion

One of the biggest questions we get at Scent Lodge is how to make your fragrances last longer. And in fall, there is a very simple hack that can extend the longevity of your eau de parfum by an extra hour. Simply spritz your fragrance over a body lotion. Dry skin doesn’t give the scent anything to cling to so it evaporates much faster. By applying an unscented body lotion or better yet, a perfumed body lotion featuring your favourite scent, you give the fragrance something to adhere to. Gently massage the lotion onto your wrists and then spray the scent on top. You’ll be amazed at how well this tip works.

Add some spice

There is a reason bakers and chefs pull out the spices for fall baking and cooking. That’s because notes such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, star anise, nutmeg, clove and allspice are particularly comforting when temperatures drop. Add in some vanilla and tonka bean (smells like warm almonds) and you have a comforting aroma. Here’s the trick with spicy scents: you have to let them sit on your skin for 20 minutes to allow them to interact with your skin’s unique chemistry. Spicy scents can change the most dramatically on skin of any scent family or category. What may start out smelling one way can evolve and bloom into something truly wonderful. Try a discovery kit of spicy scents (like Mine Perfume Lab) and experiment.

Boost your concentration

The strength of your fragrance is determined by the concentration of essential oils in the formula. The higher the essential oil percentage, the stronger it will smell and the longer it will last. Eau de toilette typically contains 8 to 12% essential oils. While eau de parfum boasts 15 to 20% oils. You’ll want a higher concentration in autumn and winter.

Cozy sweater scents

When Donna Karan launched her iconic Cashmere Mist fragrance in 1994, her direction to the perfumer was make a scent that smelled and felt like slipping on a cashmere sweater. After months of testing prototypes, she found her scent, a floral-woody fragrance with notes of suede, cashmere musk, amber and vanilla. Cozy is the key word here. Good quality musk creates that comforting feeling to a scent and amber, a little warmth.

A dash of vanilla

A recent study on scent revealed that vanilla is the most comforting and reassuring smell in modern perfumery. This could be in part because it is a key ingredient in baking. And that is features predominantly in lattes and Starbucks blends. Whatever the reason, vanilla makes people feel good in cool weather.

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