As the seasons change, just like we switch out the clothes in our wardrobes, it's also the perfect time to introduce a new fragrance (or two) into your rotation.
Pairing fragrances to the season and layering is a way to elevate your signature scent, both that you wear, and the fragrances used at home as well.
In celebration of International Fragrance Day, March 21, we spoke to SŚAINT founders and creative directors, Ciara Mahoney and Elle Wallace, ROEMY founder, Laura Herriott, Recreation Beauty founder, Nedahl Stelio, Koala Eco co-founder, Jessica Bragdon, MOR brand and marketing manager, Vanessa Neilsen and GLASSHOUSE FRAGRANCES founder, Nicole Eckels to find out why you should consider switching your scents with the seasons.
The six experts also share their thoughts around fragrance layering, ideal autumn scents to shop for, and the trends we can look forward to for the rest of 2022.
Changing scents with the seasons
"As the seasons change, so do our moods and lifestyles. Although SŚAINT fragrances are curated to be transeasonal, what many people may not realise is that your own scent changes with the seasons," shared SŚAINT founders and creative directors, Ciara Mahoney and Elle Wallace.
"The temperature changes throughout the year has an impact on your own natural scent. This means your perfume will develop a different scent as it is altered by the PH level of your skin."
ROMEY founder, Laura Herriott, believes that fragrance is an accessory and a mood enhancer, with fragrance having the ability to "create confidence and enables self-expression."
"In the warmer months, we might opt for a fresh and citrusy fragrance to pair with the warmth and sweet air, whereas in winter, we might opt for a heavier scent to carry the mood of the season. I sometimes love to turn this upside down to intentionally alter my mood," she said.
The weather plays a huge part in your fragrance choice, added Recreation Beauty founder, Nedahl Stelio. "The colder the weather, the warmer and deeper the scent profile, while in hot weather we more lean towards fresh citrus scents and light florals."
MOR brand and marketing manager, Vanessa Neilsen agrees, "On a practical level, when your skin is warmer during summer, the scents you wear are going to be intensified by your body heat, hence a soft, light weight scent is ideal."
"However, when your skin is drier during the colder seasons, fragrances are not going to smell as much, so a richer, warmer scent will be more appropriate."
GLASSHOUSE FRAGRANCES founder, Nicole Eckels added, "The choice is personal but many find that fragrances that smell soft and snuggly in June can be cloying and overpowering in January."
Home fragrance
When we think of fragrance for the home, candles and diffusers can be the first to come to mind, but don't dismiss the impact home-care products have in elevating your home and its feel.
For Koala Eco co-founder, Jessica Bragdon, fragrance is a big factor in the brand's formulations. "Fragrance is incredibly important. The 100 per cent pure essential oils we use from Australian native plants are chosen not just for their powerful antibacterial and antiseptic properties, but also for the therapeutic possibilities arising from the fragrances," she said.
"While natural cleaning and body products remain the core of our collection, we’re starting to focus on ideas that help people to connect with nature in other meaningful ways in the home."
Even just putting on a load of laundry can infuse the house with a beautiful scent. "One formula contains lemon scented eucalyptus (eucalyptus maculata citriodora) and rosemary (rosmarinus officialis), which together are deliciously woody and lemony, while the other has a very refreshing combination of mandarin and peppermint (mentha piperata)," shared Bragdon.
Autumn notes
"Cooler weather instantly makes me feel like rich notes such as sandalwood, galbanum, orris, frankincense, amber, vetiver and musk," shared Stelio.
"They're traditionally warming scents and make you feel amazing in cooler weather. Comforting while being exceptionally beautiful. From Recreation that means scents like At Night We Dance and Stardust, both perfect autumn choices."
"We're loving autumn fragrances that are earthier, woody and warming with heady notes of amber and vanilla, cardamom, leather, tobacco, cedar moss, guaiacwood, oud, hay and myrrh to name a few," said Mahoney and Wallace.
Gourmand notes such as marshmallow and vanilla are winners according to Neilsen. "Warm, spicy florals such as carnation, as well as woody or musky notes are perfect for autumn," she added.
Eckels shared she loves "warm notes of amber and sandalwood, found in the GLASSHOUSE FRAGRANCES Kyoto in Bloom eau de parfum."
As for Herriott, "I love Solstice at the moment, it still has that white floral freshness to it, but it's also quite grounding and earthy with the amber, moss and wood base notes."
For the home, Bragdon loves rosalina (melaleuca ericifolia), which is also known as the Australian bush lavender. "It has the most divine lemony and lavender notes, and it’s able to calm the nerves as well as energise and refresh, which is why we use it in a lot of Koala Eco body care products like our hand and body washes, and body lotion," she said.
Layering
Fragrance layering is a great way to create a bespoke, signature scent, using the perfumes you have in your collection.
"Fragrance layering is when you wear multiple fragrances at once, it can be two perfumes, or it can be a beauty product paired with a perfume," explained Herriott. "It's a way of building layers of scent that complement and enhance each other; you can create cool combinations unique to you."
Mahoney and Wallace said fragrance layering doesn't have to be difficult. "It can be as complex or as simple as you'd like," they said. "What we love most about layering is the depth of intensity it adds, while helping fragrance linger for longer. You get the freedom of custom-blending scents to reflect your personality or how you’re feeling at the time."
Eckels shared that while people often ask which types of fragrances last the longest on the skin, the truth is once you learn how to layer scent you can amplify the effects of any perfume.
"This simple technique involves building up the intensity of your personal scent through several different applications," she said. "The theory behind it is that by layering the same perfume onto your skin multiple times you’ll be able to boost its sillage (fragrance-speak for the olfactory trail created by a perfume when you wear it)."
"How do you ask? Start with a body bar or shower gel, follow with a matching body lotion, then finish off with an actual perfume."
Just be mindful of when you try layering new fragrances, said Stelio. "It's also fun to experiment! I wouldn't do this before going out just in case you don't like the result, try it on a day at home first."
Layering is also relevant with home fragrance, with Bragdon sharing, "Some of our products contain combinations of essential oils, and therefore more than one fragrance, and we love making sure they work well together from an olfactory and sensory perspective as well as a cleaning one."
Trends for 2022
SŚAINT's Mahoney and Wallace predict an appreciation for safe-synthetic materials. "There's a common misconception that natural is always best, that good-quality fragrances are made from all natural materials and cheap, poor-quality fragrances are all made with harmful synthetics," they explained.
"However, whilst harmful ingredients do exist in fragrance, there are many safe, tried and tested synthetics that are not only paraben free and phthalate free but are often a safer alternative to natural ingredients in many cases."
"We’re seeing perfumers such as Frederic Malle who launched his latest eau de parfum, Synthetic Jungle, really celebrating the presence of synthetic ingredients. We believe we'll see more transparency from brands saying 'hey, this is actually what's in our product', and consumers will respond to that authenticity," the duo concluded.
ROEMY founder, Herriott, said "We think more experiential fragrances, exclusive one-offs and brand collaborations will be where the industry trends over the next 12 to 24 months."
Recreation Beauty's Stelio believes we will continue to see new ways to wear fragrances. "There are lots of new ways to wear scents, so things like hair oils, body oils will get bigger," she said.
"People are looking for the same scent to layer their fragrance in all kinds of products which feels luxe and indulgent while helping your perfume to last longer."
Koala Eco co-founder, Bragdon predicts clean, herbaceous, and confident will be the signature trends for the rest of this year. "So many of us have been restricted in terms of travel and movement, that I think people will literally be looking for that ‘breath of fresh air’ that you get from the ocean or bushland, or from rain-freshened leaves in a forest," she explained.
"Green, uplifting, outdoorsy. The smell of nature, in fact."
MOR's Neilsen agrees with the botanical trend, "We also predict more vegetal and botanical scents will gain in popularity, with unusual fragrant combinations being explored more and more," she said.
"This was the inspiration behind our MOR Botanicals Fine Fragrance Collection, featuring scents such as Orange Blossom + Tobacco Leaf and Bergamot + Blackcurrant."
And finally, GLASSHOUSE FRAGRANCES' Eckels added, "I think unisex fragrances will continue to be a big trend for 2022, along with bold and experimental fragrance notes."
"It's been a tough couple of years and people are always looking to escape through fragrance."
