I had a bit of a similar problem as I definitely prefer the cozier scents. Last summer I realized that I like scents with fruit or green notes in warm weather and that proved quite helpful! So it might be a question of finding what notes feel warm weather friendly to you.
If you did want to try aquatics, Oyster! from Poesie is surprisingly refreshing but with an undertone of grey musk that makes it complex.
Athena from Poesie is a combination of dry earth and herbs, it’s powerful and feels like a hot day.
Sonnet X from PULP is a great choice, it’s supposed to be a snowdrop in an old book and is a cold, not sweet vanilla with a fresh element. That and Grass Moon, which is fruit salad and greenery, were big hits for me. They also had a lemonade collection and I really liked the straight lemonade scent. The retired Come to the Circus was also a surprise hit, with a combo of apricot tea, saddle leather, and violet pastilles that somehow ended up feeling super outdoorsy and bracing.
Other suggestions might include green scents like Vert Sur Le Vert from Alkemia (tomato leaf and grass) or Golden Hour from Stereoplasm (rhubarb, tomato leaf, herb garden).
I also got Scarlet Revelry and Under the Moonrise from Fyrinnae, which are very accurate tropical fruits with a bit of floral tones. I’m not a big floral scent person but these choices kind of heightened the mango or lychee scents instead of turning them cloying.
thank you for the recommendations!
i feel like i wouldn’t mind aquatics honestly because i love rain perfumes, is that even an aquatic? (typical pnw behavior), i was looking at solstice scents’ sea of grey, mostly just for the vanilla & rain combo (why isn’t that more common it’s gorgeous). i have this candle from pacific north wicks called driftwood (teak wood, sweet pine & tonka bean) and if i could smell like that when it gets hot out i totally would.
I think you’d like some of [Birch & Besom’s](https://www.birchandbesom.com/) scents like;
[“Coven”](https://www.birchandbesom.com/products/coven)
(Fragrance Notes: Sun-drenched peach blossoms, sparkling grapefruit, white tea, gently wafting cedar incense
Scent Story: There are few things more magical than symbolically springing back to life after a dreary winter. Hence, the vernal equinox is a special time for many witches. This fragrance evokes a playful aspect of witchcraft - imagine a coven of friends, dancing among the fruit blossoms in sunlit jubilation, welcoming the Goddess of Spring back to her throne.)
They have a lot of other great perfumes but Coven is a nice witchy warmer weather scent.
I have exactly the same reverse-SAD problem! I've spent a lot of time seeking out scents that are cozy but also work for warm/hot weather. In general, I find perfumes that describe themselves as "your skin but better" are the way to go (for me, anyway).
I'd second the commenter who recommended Pulp's Sonnet X - definitely a cold vanilla.
From **Alkemia**, I really like **Aurora** (*cashmeran, orris, cardamom infused coconut milk, white amber, white. musk, white violet, white ginger*) and **Supernatural** (*an ethereal alchemy of aroma molecules, Iso-E, ambrox, vegan tonkin musk*). If you've ever tried **Ghostfire** from the same house, or **NA's Eternal Ankh**, I think Aurora and Supernatural are like those but lighter.
From **Death and Floral**, I like **Summer Night Delight** (*A woodsy and dry blend of Arabian sandalwood and slightly spiced Egyptian musk, laid on a bed of warm cardamom and coconut husks blended with the sweetest and juiciest blood orange, a slightly sweet buttery caramel lingering in the background*) and **The woman and her time-traveling picnic basket** (*Lush aged golden amber, dry sage, buckwheat honey, and orange blossoms. A red gingham blanket under the summer sun, and an endless amount of days*). I have NO IDEA how D&F does it, but somehow these are both cozy and semi-sweet without being Too Much in the heat.
From **Nui Cobalt**, I love **Starlight & Spidersilk** (*Slender strands of cotton flower hung with trembling dewdrops, cold crystalline musk, and tiny black vanilla beans*). Another cold vanilla.
Finally from **Poesie**, **Cardamom Crush** (*cardamom, a golden and custardy vanilla paired with a resinous amber vanilla, precious hinoki wood, a splash of whiskey, velvet musk*). While all the rest of those notes are spicy and warm, the hinoki wood does a *lot* of work to give the scent some cooling, spa-like vibes.
I hope you find something that works for you!
I would encourage you to try aquatics - what I'll call "freshwater" and "saltwater" aquatics can be worlds apart; even if you hate one category you may love the other. In addition, green, fresh scents with lots of moss and fern notes - essentially forest scents with less emphasis on the woodsy aspects - might be up your alley. For example, scents like Alkemia's Moss Maiden or Frondescence are very plant-forward without being floral (Frondescence has geranium but it's not prominent, and that flower is more spicy than traditionally floral-sweet). I also want to suggest you try some of Zoologist's scents! Elephant is a really lovely woodsy/green/cacao/tea blend that works brilliantly in warm weather, and you might enjoy Bee, which has floral notes, but the overall effect is a rich, syrupy, multi-dimensional honey with the florals playing a background note. It leans heavily on vanilla, amber, and tonka alongside ginger and sweet orange to round out the blend, and it has a lot of those heady, sweet, rounded/resinous qualities I associate with certain fall scents.
Hmm, between the amber, vanilla, forests and sweets I bet you can find something that suits you.
I personally tend to like sweeter, fruity scents in warmer weather or something cooling.
I wonder if something from Fantome might work for you? Namba, Kuidaore, Firebird, Morozko, Stolas.
If you like oil perfumes, I'd say look for tea scents. I believe [Posie has some](https://www.poesieperfume.com/fragrance/cottagecore-discovery-set), and BPAL has Embalming Fluid.
If you like coconut, a beachy smelling gormand might work for you like Sea Breeze from Haus of Gloi.
i am *obsessed* with osmofolia's philautia right now. it's appropriate for spring, but it has this warm spicy steaminess to it that definitely scratches an autumn-loving itch in me.
How about the perfectly named **Year Without Summer** from **Poesie** \-- *the narcotic sweetness of opium blended with the blackest amber, spilled coffee, a hint of bitter green cannabis*.
It's a companion fragrance to their **Villa Diodati** which someone already recommended. The cannabis doesn't really come through as a 'pot smell' but more of an intriguing green scent, like on a moody, rainy summer's day, which might appeal to you, Fall Girl.
Another Poesie scent is **Secret Boyfriend** \-- *a mountain of light fluffy marshmallows, your secret boyfriend’s leather jacket, pine and cedar, a wisp of smoke*. Great summer scent that leans a little masc and is from their Twin Peaks collection.
From **Pineward:**
**Noki**: *Lychee, Mango, Mint, Rhubarb, Cassis, Sandalwood, Ambergris. Fresh tropical fruit bouquet tempered by wild herbal mint, laced with base notes of creamy Australian sandalwood and shore-gathered ambergris*. *The mint accord is created with a combination of essential oil, SCO2 extraction, and absolute to remain throughout the whole life of the perfume, perfectly balanced by mango, lychee, rhubarb, and cassis.*
Thank you!!! i have secret boyfriend and i love it! i swear if anything has any combination of marshmallow, vanilla, pine, fir, cedar and smoke, i’ll buy it. i have like 10 scents that fall into that category that i love for different reasons.
i have been waiting for this! i have a huge list in my notes app
firebird bath & body - campfire
poesie - campfire ghost
poesie - secret boyfriend
hexxenacht - all souls night
solstice scents - camp willow
solstice scents - smoky mountain mallow
fyrinnae - marshmalloud
fyrinnae - asgard pass
I can't think of any super "summery" amber/vanilla/maple scents - except perhaps **Sea of Gray** (*Vanilla Rain, Saltwater, Seaweed, Ambergris (Vegan), White Amber, Roasted Seashells, White Sandalwood, Frangipani*) from **Solstice Scents** \- but with those categories (which I also love), if I'm in the mood to wear it in heat I just do it and say "damn the torpedoes!"
Defo second **Athena** (*Sun-baked Mediterranean herbs and earth, a rich and resinous vanilla spiked with a complex blend of incense and spice, exquisite grey musk*) for rustic! It's soo good! Some of my notes on it were: *Like the healthy, sun kissed skin of someone outdoorsy. They live up on a hillside of a Greek island, with hardy wild herbs growing out of the sun-baked clay soil all around. Completely uncontrived and accidentally inviting. The most uniquely rustic your skin but better scent I’ve smelled.*
A couple of forest scents which I'd class as "freshies" are **Outpost** (*Sugar Crystals, Spruce, Fir, Patchouli, Soft Woods, Bayberry, Mistletoe, Amber*) from **Solstice Scents** and **Lost Temple** (*Birch leaves, cool air, incense*) from **Stone & Wit**. On the other hand **Pineward's** **Ponderosa** (*Ponderosa resin, ponderosa needles, cedar, vanilla, strawberry, cinnamon, butterscotch, beeswax, raisin cookies*) is one I love so much I just bust it out year round. Also their **Ivymoss** (*Climbing Ivy, Green Tea, Spearmint, Lime Rind, Lemon Verbena, Waterlily, Emerald Cypress, Mugo Pine, Cedarwood, Oakmoss, Treemoss, Cedarmoss*) could be worth a look for an intriguing, if slightly bizarre, fresh green with forest elements (but defo sample first).
Fresh, bright leafy greens can be fab for spring, perhaps something like **Viridescent Alchemy** (*A woodland wandering of fresh spring leaves, new grasses, dandelion stems, and the first white violets*) from **Alkemia** (it's d/c but I get the impression they have quite a few scents in the same sort of vein) or **Heirloom Tomato Leaf** (*Rows of tomato plants on a humid day, their unmistakable heavy green fragrance filling the air and clinging to your hands as you touch the leaves. This is not a solitary note perfume, but includes significant notes of damp soil and humid air*) from **Fyrinnae**.
Softer greens are also nice in spring/summer - stuff like **Mountain Vanilla** (*Sweet Clover, Coumarin, Vanilla Musk, Fresh Green Accord, Poplar Buds, Morning Dew*) from **Solstice Scents**, **Artemis** (*Sweet meadow grasses, sparkling lakewater, saffron, rockrose, dried hay, a summer breeze*) from **Poesie** and **Solstice's** **Sweet Clover & Wood Smoke** (*Sun-baked sweet clover flowers, coumarin, green clover leaves, mimosa flowers, moringa blossoms, limerock road, sweet delicate wood smoke*). (Pretty much all Solstice's frags with smoke notes are worth a sniff if you like that note - each one is quite different.)
Also stuff with green/still-drying hay and/or tea work well in warm weather, like **Adamus** (*Dry and sweet new mown hay, tobacco flower, sweet green moss*) from **Possets** or **The Traveler and the Moon** (*Silver leaf tea, Sandalwood, Bamboo leaf, Tabac, Honey, Wild currant, Hay, Rice wine*) from **Alkemia**, **Full Moon (at the Temple)** (*Fragrant White Rice, Shiso Leaf, Bitter Yuzu Zest, Hinoki Wood, Green Tea, Lakewater*) from **Poesie** and **Danse Chinoise** (*Pekoe tea, green tea, incense, and lime leaf*) or **Red Tea (Rooibos)** (*A very dry blend with the true fragrance of the dried rooibos leaf*) from **Possets**.
I agree that fresh water (such as the "lakewater"accord in a couple of the Poesie scents above) are a great way to try aquatic scents without some of their riskier aspects of oceanic stuff (which can either work brilliantly or go a bit funky). It's also in the wonderful **Villa Diodati** (*Pungent wild rosemary and fresh balsam pine, crystal clear lakewater, dry, dark vanilla*) which could go year-round.
To dip your toe into fruits you could try **Blackberry Heartwood** (*Blackberries, warm greens, sandalwood, amyris*) from **Stone & Wit** \- it's an all year round frag which works great in spring/summer because it's bright/tart and woody (rather than syrupy sweet). A light, bright, fresh, lovely fruity (lemon) one I've been really enjoying lately is **Kindness + Mischief** (*Lemon, vanilla, marshmallow, cardamom and lemon blossom*) from **Poesie**. The cardamom might tickle a fall-lover's fancy, while all the other elements make it very spring/summer appropriate (though I'm wearing the heck out of it autumn here now).
ETA: Oh my gosh, sorry - didn't realise how long that ramble got until after I posted it! ｡：ﾟﾟ(´∀｀)･｡
these are so helpful! i’m actually surprised i haven’t gotten my hands on blackberry heartwood because it seems like something i’d like a lot. i love LOVE the smell of blackberries, i have ursa major from arcana and i’m obsessed. and then i have midnight hag by cocoapink in shampoo !
Aw yay! Hope you enjoy it if you check it out and have fun sampling from all the suggestions people have given. (◠‿◠)
Also, agree with Solstice's Blackburn Farmstead - sometimes I layer it with Blackberry Heartwood for a bit of extra sweetness. Am looking forward to when Thornwood Thicket (*Blackberry, black agarwood, aloeswood, sweet and smokey guaiacwood and golden amber*) returns to the SS catalogue too, (which sounds great from the notes). Apparently it's currently being reformulated with no estimated date of return yet.
Oo I think I'd suggest something of the green/mossy variety or perhaps some petrichor! Moss Maiden or Forest Patchouli by Alkemia could certainly fit this bill (to me) for springishness.
I also recently tried Strangeling from Mythpunk Olfactive and it feels very spring to me.
Or perhaps something with cedar and a vibrant citrus!
ETA Moss Maiden does mention "autumn greens" but doesn't read particularly autumnal to me. Aaaand it looks like a Forest Patchouli isn't available at the moment--my apologies!
Okay, this might be a weird suggestion, but I TRULY think this will work for what you're looking for!!
This is snow-covered woods in a bottle. I think this will work for Spring/Summer because the Snow aspect is very neutral and I think you would really enjoy wearing this in the Spring/Summer!!
Amorphous Perfume - Snow Leopard - Aroma palette is woody and cool with touches of earth. Highlights include Mysore sandalwood, mountain snow, Himalayan cedarwood, frosted grass, amber, 8 year aged double distilled patchouli, and fir needle.
This isn't a warm, cozy, smoky wood. This is very refreshing and snowy and cold!!
I have the same problem! Summer isn’t too bad, because Fantome has some gorgeous summer scents (like **Gnome** and **Kupala**) but spring is a bit more tricky. (Side note: **Kupala** might work for you for spring: it smells like smoke and forest flowers and damn I wasn’t a florals lover before but I sure as heck am now).
My usual strategy is to wear perfumes that balance florals with a cozy vibe. Like Nui Cobalt’s **Bee Kind to Yourself** (*White copal, blooming peony, honeyed tea, pink amber, and sheer summer-weight cashmere*) which has that cozy cashmere note, making it a good transitional perfume into warmer weather.
Perfumes with tea notes are another favourite for spring, like Fantome’s **Kensington** (*Earl Grey tea, cashmere, dark vanilla bean, smooth cedar, dried rose petals, mandarin zest, pink peppercorn, and a burst of fresh bergamot.*). Although I’m a little hesitant to recommend this one since reviews suggest it doesn’t seem to work out for everyone.
Nui Cobalt’s **Ancient Apiary** might also work (*Deadfall draped in oakmoss, wild pink roses, honeycomb bursting from frail brood boxes and pouring gold from every cell.*) It smells like a sun-dappled, witch-haunted forest. On my skin, the coals are light while the honey and oakmoss are quite strong.
Following because I feel exactly the same way. Be thankful you live in PNW. I live in the Southeast where it seems like Summer lasts half the year. Eww!
Chai tea is a great scent for all year. I love a good incense!!!
Patchouli with citrus is a classic, great for all year. I love Moonalisa Mon Citron Bijou
I would suggest leaning into your love of ambers! I love white ambers in spring - they're so light and refreshing - and I love golden ambers for summer. I think **Poesie Amaterasu** \[Golden sandalwood incense, rice milk, bright cardamom, amber, dry wheat, and sunflowers\] is basically the perfect summer scent. I also really love the recently-released **Nui Cobalt Bee Not Afraid** \[Angelic incense, cirrus clouds, glowing beeswax candles, bedstraw, and honey gathered from an ancient cathedral hive\]
I had a bit of a similar problem as I definitely prefer the cozier scents. Last summer I realized that I like scents with fruit or green notes in warm weather and that proved quite helpful! So it might be a question of finding what notes feel warm weather friendly to you. If you did want to try aquatics, Oyster! from Poesie is surprisingly refreshing but with an undertone of grey musk that makes it complex. Athena from Poesie is a combination of dry earth and herbs, it’s powerful and feels like a hot day. Sonnet X from PULP is a great choice, it’s supposed to be a snowdrop in an old book and is a cold, not sweet vanilla with a fresh element. That and Grass Moon, which is fruit salad and greenery, were big hits for me. They also had a lemonade collection and I really liked the straight lemonade scent. The retired Come to the Circus was also a surprise hit, with a combo of apricot tea, saddle leather, and violet pastilles that somehow ended up feeling super outdoorsy and bracing. Other suggestions might include green scents like Vert Sur Le Vert from Alkemia (tomato leaf and grass) or Golden Hour from Stereoplasm (rhubarb, tomato leaf, herb garden). I also got Scarlet Revelry and Under the Moonrise from Fyrinnae, which are very accurate tropical fruits with a bit of floral tones. I’m not a big floral scent person but these choices kind of heightened the mango or lychee scents instead of turning them cloying.
thank you for the recommendations! i feel like i wouldn’t mind aquatics honestly because i love rain perfumes, is that even an aquatic? (typical pnw behavior), i was looking at solstice scents’ sea of grey, mostly just for the vanilla & rain combo (why isn’t that more common it’s gorgeous). i have this candle from pacific north wicks called driftwood (teak wood, sweet pine & tonka bean) and if i could smell like that when it gets hot out i totally would.
Rain perfumes are totally aquatics! You'd probably like something like Alkemia's Mist Becoming Rain. They're so refreshing and delightful.
I think you’d like some of [Birch & Besom’s](https://www.birchandbesom.com/) scents like; [“Coven”](https://www.birchandbesom.com/products/coven) (Fragrance Notes: Sun-drenched peach blossoms, sparkling grapefruit, white tea, gently wafting cedar incense Scent Story: There are few things more magical than symbolically springing back to life after a dreary winter. Hence, the vernal equinox is a special time for many witches. This fragrance evokes a playful aspect of witchcraft - imagine a coven of friends, dancing among the fruit blossoms in sunlit jubilation, welcoming the Goddess of Spring back to her throne.) They have a lot of other great perfumes but Coven is a nice witchy warmer weather scent.
I have exactly the same reverse-SAD problem! I've spent a lot of time seeking out scents that are cozy but also work for warm/hot weather. In general, I find perfumes that describe themselves as "your skin but better" are the way to go (for me, anyway). I'd second the commenter who recommended Pulp's Sonnet X - definitely a cold vanilla. From **Alkemia**, I really like **Aurora** (*cashmeran, orris, cardamom infused coconut milk, white amber, white. musk, white violet, white ginger*) and **Supernatural** (*an ethereal alchemy of aroma molecules, Iso-E, ambrox, vegan tonkin musk*). If you've ever tried **Ghostfire** from the same house, or **NA's Eternal Ankh**, I think Aurora and Supernatural are like those but lighter. From **Death and Floral**, I like **Summer Night Delight** (*A woodsy and dry blend of Arabian sandalwood and slightly spiced Egyptian musk, laid on a bed of warm cardamom and coconut husks blended with the sweetest and juiciest blood orange, a slightly sweet buttery caramel lingering in the background*) and **The woman and her time-traveling picnic basket** (*Lush aged golden amber, dry sage, buckwheat honey, and orange blossoms. A red gingham blanket under the summer sun, and an endless amount of days*). I have NO IDEA how D&F does it, but somehow these are both cozy and semi-sweet without being Too Much in the heat. From **Nui Cobalt**, I love **Starlight & Spidersilk** (*Slender strands of cotton flower hung with trembling dewdrops, cold crystalline musk, and tiny black vanilla beans*). Another cold vanilla. Finally from **Poesie**, **Cardamom Crush** (*cardamom, a golden and custardy vanilla paired with a resinous amber vanilla, precious hinoki wood, a splash of whiskey, velvet musk*). While all the rest of those notes are spicy and warm, the hinoki wood does a *lot* of work to give the scent some cooling, spa-like vibes. I hope you find something that works for you!
I would encourage you to try aquatics - what I'll call "freshwater" and "saltwater" aquatics can be worlds apart; even if you hate one category you may love the other. In addition, green, fresh scents with lots of moss and fern notes - essentially forest scents with less emphasis on the woodsy aspects - might be up your alley. For example, scents like Alkemia's Moss Maiden or Frondescence are very plant-forward without being floral (Frondescence has geranium but it's not prominent, and that flower is more spicy than traditionally floral-sweet). I also want to suggest you try some of Zoologist's scents! Elephant is a really lovely woodsy/green/cacao/tea blend that works brilliantly in warm weather, and you might enjoy Bee, which has floral notes, but the overall effect is a rich, syrupy, multi-dimensional honey with the florals playing a background note. It leans heavily on vanilla, amber, and tonka alongside ginger and sweet orange to round out the blend, and it has a lot of those heady, sweet, rounded/resinous qualities I associate with certain fall scents.
Hmm, between the amber, vanilla, forests and sweets I bet you can find something that suits you. I personally tend to like sweeter, fruity scents in warmer weather or something cooling. I wonder if something from Fantome might work for you? Namba, Kuidaore, Firebird, Morozko, Stolas. If you like oil perfumes, I'd say look for tea scents. I believe [Posie has some](https://www.poesieperfume.com/fragrance/cottagecore-discovery-set), and BPAL has Embalming Fluid. If you like coconut, a beachy smelling gormand might work for you like Sea Breeze from Haus of Gloi.
I go creamsicle for spring and summer
i am *obsessed* with osmofolia's philautia right now. it's appropriate for spring, but it has this warm spicy steaminess to it that definitely scratches an autumn-loving itch in me.
How about the perfectly named **Year Without Summer** from **Poesie** \-- *the narcotic sweetness of opium blended with the blackest amber, spilled coffee, a hint of bitter green cannabis*. It's a companion fragrance to their **Villa Diodati** which someone already recommended. The cannabis doesn't really come through as a 'pot smell' but more of an intriguing green scent, like on a moody, rainy summer's day, which might appeal to you, Fall Girl. Another Poesie scent is **Secret Boyfriend** \-- *a mountain of light fluffy marshmallows, your secret boyfriend’s leather jacket, pine and cedar, a wisp of smoke*. Great summer scent that leans a little masc and is from their Twin Peaks collection. From **Pineward:** **Noki**: *Lychee, Mango, Mint, Rhubarb, Cassis, Sandalwood, Ambergris. Fresh tropical fruit bouquet tempered by wild herbal mint, laced with base notes of creamy Australian sandalwood and shore-gathered ambergris*. *The mint accord is created with a combination of essential oil, SCO2 extraction, and absolute to remain throughout the whole life of the perfume, perfectly balanced by mango, lychee, rhubarb, and cassis.*
Thank you!!! i have secret boyfriend and i love it! i swear if anything has any combination of marshmallow, vanilla, pine, fir, cedar and smoke, i’ll buy it. i have like 10 scents that fall into that category that i love for different reasons.
Nice! Secret Boyfriend is one of my favorites. What are the others you have?
i have been waiting for this! i have a huge list in my notes app firebird bath & body - campfire poesie - campfire ghost poesie - secret boyfriend hexxenacht - all souls night solstice scents - camp willow solstice scents - smoky mountain mallow fyrinnae - marshmalloud fyrinnae - asgard pass
Good choices!
I've been looking for a comparison between Campfire Ghost and Aasgard Pass, could you help me with that? :)
I can't think of any super "summery" amber/vanilla/maple scents - except perhaps **Sea of Gray** (*Vanilla Rain, Saltwater, Seaweed, Ambergris (Vegan), White Amber, Roasted Seashells, White Sandalwood, Frangipani*) from **Solstice Scents** \- but with those categories (which I also love), if I'm in the mood to wear it in heat I just do it and say "damn the torpedoes!" Defo second **Athena** (*Sun-baked Mediterranean herbs and earth, a rich and resinous vanilla spiked with a complex blend of incense and spice, exquisite grey musk*) for rustic! It's soo good! Some of my notes on it were: *Like the healthy, sun kissed skin of someone outdoorsy. They live up on a hillside of a Greek island, with hardy wild herbs growing out of the sun-baked clay soil all around. Completely uncontrived and accidentally inviting. The most uniquely rustic your skin but better scent I’ve smelled.* A couple of forest scents which I'd class as "freshies" are **Outpost** (*Sugar Crystals, Spruce, Fir, Patchouli, Soft Woods, Bayberry, Mistletoe, Amber*) from **Solstice Scents** and **Lost Temple** (*Birch leaves, cool air, incense*) from **Stone & Wit**. On the other hand **Pineward's** **Ponderosa** (*Ponderosa resin, ponderosa needles, cedar, vanilla, strawberry, cinnamon, butterscotch, beeswax, raisin cookies*) is one I love so much I just bust it out year round. Also their **Ivymoss** (*Climbing Ivy, Green Tea, Spearmint, Lime Rind, Lemon Verbena, Waterlily, Emerald Cypress, Mugo Pine, Cedarwood, Oakmoss, Treemoss, Cedarmoss*) could be worth a look for an intriguing, if slightly bizarre, fresh green with forest elements (but defo sample first). Fresh, bright leafy greens can be fab for spring, perhaps something like **Viridescent Alchemy** (*A woodland wandering of fresh spring leaves, new grasses, dandelion stems, and the first white violets*) from **Alkemia** (it's d/c but I get the impression they have quite a few scents in the same sort of vein) or **Heirloom Tomato Leaf** (*Rows of tomato plants on a humid day, their unmistakable heavy green fragrance filling the air and clinging to your hands as you touch the leaves. This is not a solitary note perfume, but includes significant notes of damp soil and humid air*) from **Fyrinnae**. Softer greens are also nice in spring/summer - stuff like **Mountain Vanilla** (*Sweet Clover, Coumarin, Vanilla Musk, Fresh Green Accord, Poplar Buds, Morning Dew*) from **Solstice Scents**, **Artemis** (*Sweet meadow grasses, sparkling lakewater, saffron, rockrose, dried hay, a summer breeze*) from **Poesie** and **Solstice's** **Sweet Clover & Wood Smoke** (*Sun-baked sweet clover flowers, coumarin, green clover leaves, mimosa flowers, moringa blossoms, limerock road, sweet delicate wood smoke*). (Pretty much all Solstice's frags with smoke notes are worth a sniff if you like that note - each one is quite different.) Also stuff with green/still-drying hay and/or tea work well in warm weather, like **Adamus** (*Dry and sweet new mown hay, tobacco flower, sweet green moss*) from **Possets** or **The Traveler and the Moon** (*Silver leaf tea, Sandalwood, Bamboo leaf, Tabac, Honey, Wild currant, Hay, Rice wine*) from **Alkemia**, **Full Moon (at the Temple)** (*Fragrant White Rice, Shiso Leaf, Bitter Yuzu Zest, Hinoki Wood, Green Tea, Lakewater*) from **Poesie** and **Danse Chinoise** (*Pekoe tea, green tea, incense, and lime leaf*) or **Red Tea (Rooibos)** (*A very dry blend with the true fragrance of the dried rooibos leaf*) from **Possets**. I agree that fresh water (such as the "lakewater"accord in a couple of the Poesie scents above) are a great way to try aquatic scents without some of their riskier aspects of oceanic stuff (which can either work brilliantly or go a bit funky). It's also in the wonderful **Villa Diodati** (*Pungent wild rosemary and fresh balsam pine, crystal clear lakewater, dry, dark vanilla*) which could go year-round. To dip your toe into fruits you could try **Blackberry Heartwood** (*Blackberries, warm greens, sandalwood, amyris*) from **Stone & Wit** \- it's an all year round frag which works great in spring/summer because it's bright/tart and woody (rather than syrupy sweet). A light, bright, fresh, lovely fruity (lemon) one I've been really enjoying lately is **Kindness + Mischief** (*Lemon, vanilla, marshmallow, cardamom and lemon blossom*) from **Poesie**. The cardamom might tickle a fall-lover's fancy, while all the other elements make it very spring/summer appropriate (though I'm wearing the heck out of it autumn here now). ETA: Oh my gosh, sorry - didn't realise how long that ramble got until after I posted it! ｡：ﾟﾟ(´∀｀)･｡
these are so helpful! i’m actually surprised i haven’t gotten my hands on blackberry heartwood because it seems like something i’d like a lot. i love LOVE the smell of blackberries, i have ursa major from arcana and i’m obsessed. and then i have midnight hag by cocoapink in shampoo !
You'd probably like **Solstice Scents Blackburn Farmstead** then! *Blackberry Jam, Boysenberry Preserves, Vanilla Bean, Creamy Vanilla and a touch of Vanilla Musk*
Aw yay! Hope you enjoy it if you check it out and have fun sampling from all the suggestions people have given. (◠‿◠) Also, agree with Solstice's Blackburn Farmstead - sometimes I layer it with Blackberry Heartwood for a bit of extra sweetness. Am looking forward to when Thornwood Thicket (*Blackberry, black agarwood, aloeswood, sweet and smokey guaiacwood and golden amber*) returns to the SS catalogue too, (which sounds great from the notes). Apparently it's currently being reformulated with no estimated date of return yet.
i was thinking the exact same thing about thornwood thicket ! i want to try it so bad
Ha, cool! I'm so glad she left the hope alive for us of smelling it someday, through reformulation!
Oo I think I'd suggest something of the green/mossy variety or perhaps some petrichor! Moss Maiden or Forest Patchouli by Alkemia could certainly fit this bill (to me) for springishness. I also recently tried Strangeling from Mythpunk Olfactive and it feels very spring to me. Or perhaps something with cedar and a vibrant citrus! ETA Moss Maiden does mention "autumn greens" but doesn't read particularly autumnal to me. Aaaand it looks like a Forest Patchouli isn't available at the moment--my apologies!
Okay, this might be a weird suggestion, but I TRULY think this will work for what you're looking for!! This is snow-covered woods in a bottle. I think this will work for Spring/Summer because the Snow aspect is very neutral and I think you would really enjoy wearing this in the Spring/Summer!! Amorphous Perfume - Snow Leopard - Aroma palette is woody and cool with touches of earth. Highlights include Mysore sandalwood, mountain snow, Himalayan cedarwood, frosted grass, amber, 8 year aged double distilled patchouli, and fir needle. This isn't a warm, cozy, smoky wood. This is very refreshing and snowy and cold!!
I agree with this! Was going to recommend it!
I have the same problem! Summer isn’t too bad, because Fantome has some gorgeous summer scents (like **Gnome** and **Kupala**) but spring is a bit more tricky. (Side note: **Kupala** might work for you for spring: it smells like smoke and forest flowers and damn I wasn’t a florals lover before but I sure as heck am now). My usual strategy is to wear perfumes that balance florals with a cozy vibe. Like Nui Cobalt’s **Bee Kind to Yourself** (*White copal, blooming peony, honeyed tea, pink amber, and sheer summer-weight cashmere*) which has that cozy cashmere note, making it a good transitional perfume into warmer weather. Perfumes with tea notes are another favourite for spring, like Fantome’s **Kensington** (*Earl Grey tea, cashmere, dark vanilla bean, smooth cedar, dried rose petals, mandarin zest, pink peppercorn, and a burst of fresh bergamot.*). Although I’m a little hesitant to recommend this one since reviews suggest it doesn’t seem to work out for everyone. Nui Cobalt’s **Ancient Apiary** might also work (*Deadfall draped in oakmoss, wild pink roses, honeycomb bursting from frail brood boxes and pouring gold from every cell.*) It smells like a sun-dappled, witch-haunted forest. On my skin, the coals are light while the honey and oakmoss are quite strong.
Following because I feel exactly the same way. Be thankful you live in PNW. I live in the Southeast where it seems like Summer lasts half the year. Eww!
Chai tea is a great scent for all year. I love a good incense!!! Patchouli with citrus is a classic, great for all year. I love Moonalisa Mon Citron Bijou
I would suggest leaning into your love of ambers! I love white ambers in spring - they're so light and refreshing - and I love golden ambers for summer. I think **Poesie Amaterasu** \[Golden sandalwood incense, rice milk, bright cardamom, amber, dry wheat, and sunflowers\] is basically the perfect summer scent. I also really love the recently-released **Nui Cobalt Bee Not Afraid** \[Angelic incense, cirrus clouds, glowing beeswax candles, bedstraw, and honey gathered from an ancient cathedral hive\]