Sweet September rains slink silently away and way out west in our independent Welsh perfumery we are left blinking in the cold, grey light of Autumn proper.
Not to shy from seasonal shifts but this one seems especially harsh delivering with it what seems an ever-quickening beat of the drum against a palette of autumnal colour that has graced us since August.
As we journey towards winter the air is woven with woodsmoke and wet. Petrichor notes faintly fuse with forgotten blooms pulling us back and forth, this way and that on a seasonal seesaw that marches ever on.
Great fragrance takes these juxtapositions in hand and builds for us an olfactive narrative, playing the very same notes back to us in soothing harmony to trick us into feeling calm and grounded.
Take HIRAETH as a fine fragrant example:
A perfume that opens with flourishes of fresh green citrus unravelling to reveal glimmers of lavandin reminiscent of outdoor jaunts.
Entering into the heart of the perfume you find yourself cocooned in sultry clouds of smoky jasmine, your heartbeat steadying as frankincense encompasses your very being.
Feeling more comfortable?
Excellent, for you are now being cosied in aromatic warmth – a fine foil to ease us gently into colder months.
To steady when you feel yourself pulled this way and that.
Backwards and forwards.
Like a seesaw.