Fall Favorites and a Prize Draw

The Weather Channel harbingers showers for NY and New England, rain and storms for TX and OK, snow across parts of the Midwest...clearly, it's time for the 2009 installment of our Fall Fragrance Hitparade. As usual, each of us chooses the most-enjoyed scent of the season; please join us in your comments and let us know, which perfume have you been reaching for the most this Autumn. Alyssa Féminité du Bois EDP by Shiseido (original version) Ah, Féminité du Bois, where have you been all my life, you gorgeous, grown up spicy little cedar-violet plum? What’s that you say? Sitting unloved in the back of my closet while I wore Bois de Paradis and Bois de Violette and Black Cashmere and half a dozen other things related to you, but not you, you, you, because I thought you were too rough, too much, too strange? Je suis désolé, mon amour, j’étais un imbécile. Beth Patchouli 24 by Le Labo I have fallen madly in love with Le Labo’s Patchouli 24 and well if I’m going to be honest it’s actually become a bit of a personal obsession! Patchouli 24 is a smoky, sap filled passionate romp in the fall leaves mixed with just a touch of salty, leathery sweat and when I wear it I feel incredibly witchy and wantonly sexy......... Donna Jean-Louis Scherrer Jean-Louis Scherrer, the original eponymous scent from 1979, has come back into my life just in time for cooler weather. My "new" vintage bottle (the current version is still wonderful) of this tenacious green chypre with its gorgeous heart of white florals and hyacinth and great walloping doses of civet, real oakmoss and vetiver that makes it last just about forever on skin makes me wonder why I ever stopped wearing it, but I won't make that mistake again. Linda Luctor et Emergo by People of the Labyrinths I keep coming back to People of the Labyrinths' Luctor et Emergo this fall. Its woody, creamy opening makes me think of piles of fallen leaves, neat stacks of freshly cut firewood, and something homey -- a vanilla custard pie with an almond crust -- baking in the oven: everything that takes a chill off the thrilling October air. Marian Prince Diamini by Arabian Oud Prince Diamini - an intoxicating blend of wild roses, smoldering oud, piquant spices and golden ambergris- a glowing embrace that coaxes helpless surrender. Marina Acqua Fiorentina by Creed This autumn I cling to the memories of summer, of Atlantic ocean, dunes and the sun, to the feeling of warmth, completeness and content. The fresh, tangy and sweet Acqua Fiorentina brings me back to that happy place. Amazingly, for such a diaphanous creation, the scent stands up very well to the chill of fall. It must be the rounded fruitiness of the plum note, which gives this otherwise summery composition a certain autumnal depth and robustness. Marla Anarchy by Irma Shorell For me it's been Irma Shorell's Anarchy, a remake of Donna Karan's Chaos. It's a warm, spicy labdanum and incense perfume, and nothing's cozier than labdanum on a chilly autumn morning! Tom Fumerie Turque by Serge Lutens This fall I've found myself reaching more and more for Serge Lutens' Fumerie Turque; its languid smokiness is as warming on a cool evening as a steaming cup of tea. If you would like to participate in a prize draw for a set of 10 autumnal samples (Marina's choice, including some of the scents on this list...maybe...let me surprise you)...say so in your comment. The winner will be chosen at random and announced next week. The draw is now closed. Don't forget to find out what are the Fall Favorites on Bois de Jasmin, Grain de Musc, Now Smell This and Perfume Posse.