The warmer it gets, the less perfume I wear, so now is exactly the right time for me to be on the lookout for new cosy scents for Fall.
I’ve to admit that I fall on the snobbish side of a fragrance lover – I just don’t want to smell like everyone else and detest flanker scents in all forms. Like with high-end, seasonal makeup collections, I find the offerings of the big players totally uninspiring and boring.
Instead, I ordered samples of some niche and high-end brands that interested me. They’ve all been around for quite some time: the common denominator is that my fickle mind associates them with Fall. I’ll review two of them in-depth below.
Waffles, and a brandy: Dries van Noten par Fréderic Malle
Dries van Noten is a fashion designer from Antwerp, and my curiosity about the fragrance peaked after visiting Antwerp this summer (a city that’s made of fashion, chocolate and diamond trade? Count me in!). It’s Frederic Malle’s VISION of Mr. van Noten, though, by perfumer Bruno Jovanovic.
Nstperfume cites Frederic Malle’s brief:
“Indian embroidery, XVIIIth century engravings, or the very graphic and colorful prints that he juxtaposes to create unexpected harmony — just like a perfumer does. I also told Bruno about the sober warmth of Flemish people — the world that Dries comes from – the softness of their cuisine and specifically of their desserts like waffles, speculoos biscuits or sugar tarts.”
Notes
When I first tested it in the heights of summer, I couldn’t stand it. Too cloyingly sweet for 30°C. Now, with rain and temperatures like 12°, it’s a wholly different story. Rich, sweet, smooth – yes, to all of this, but nevertheless this one wears very close to the skin and doesn’t project through a whole room.
The classification would be ‘woody gourmand’. The official notes are:
- Top note: bergamot. Middle notes: saffron; sandalwood; vanilla; sacrasol. Base notes: white musk.
What does it smell like?
I don’t get the bergamot at all; instead I smell peaches or plums. Those, combined with the woody and vanilla notes, give me the impression of peach liquor with waffles, and a background of wonderfully smooth and milky sandalwood. After a few hours, I get the sugar cookies/waffles association, while, from time to time, something spicier wafts by. Speculoos!
I like it a lot. Would I get a full bottle? I’m not completely sure, especially for the high-end price. Unisex? Depends. If you’re a guy and are into gourmands, why not?
Prices range from $67 to $330 at Frederic Malle’s own site.
One latte and a raspberry truffle: Montale Intense Café
Montale is known for its oriental fragrances, bottles looking like my old Elnett hairspray, oud fragrances and scents so powerful that they can empty a room (or a floor). Consider this a warning: Intense Café isn’t an office scent. Don’t do it. Ever.
Notes
Intense Café’s perfumer is Pierre Montale, I’d classify the whole thing as a ‘floral gourmand’ and official notes are coffee, rose, amber, vanilla, white musk. Montale puts the fragrance in their ‘rose’ section, but I wouldn’t let that deter me (if I weren’t a lover of rose fragrances that I am). It’s not as much a rose fragrance as a gourmand.
The wear-time and projection are, as mentioned above, exceptional. Intense Café announces its presence a few feet before you enter a room, and it clings to your skin for dear life. I got around twenty hours of wear out of ONE spritz.
What does it smell like?
Saying all this, I really like it. Imagine having a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato and eating a dark raspberry truffle – this is it. The coffee note isn’t especially dark or bitter, the rose has a fruity-sweet raspberry note to it, and then amber, vanilla and musk combined provide the sweet caramel aroma.
To be a proper coffee scent I’d boost the bitter and freshly grinded notes and make the rose less jammy. My husband, who loves coffee fragrances, doesn’t like to wear this because it’s to sweet for him. I like it a lot and would actually consider getting a bottle. (I’ll try Ristretto Intense Café from them first, though.)
100ml are $110 at Montale’s own site.
Cosy scents for Fall: Which one should you try?!
First, obviously you should like gourmand fragrances. After that, you should decide if you want a fragrance that announces your presence to a room before you actually enter it (Montale), or one that keeps close to your skin. I’d consider Frederic Malle par Dries van Noten actually a bit more unisex than Montale, but ymmv.
Also, spray and test! (And enjoy being enveloped by something sweet and warm.)
Please note that this review is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods, or money, for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
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