Not sure when to retire the coconut-sunscreen vibes of July? You're not alone. With summers stretching later into September, the old rule of reaching for something heavy the moment autumn hits no longer really applies. Sileno Cheloni, master perfumer at Florence-based Profumoir, has a more relaxed take: fall isn't about going darker or thicker, it's about going more grounded.
Cheloni, who talks about scent in terms of 'necessities of the soul' rather than trends, sees autumn as a return to the Earth after summer's lightness and evaporation. His advice is to treat the season as a time of new beginnings and rebuilding energy — and to pick fragrances that help you feel rooted while everything around you shifts.
The good news for indecisive perfume lovers: you don't have to bin the summer bottles on the first cool morning. Cheloni says aquatic notes and salty accords carry beautifully into early autumn, waking up the memory of holidays every time they hit the skin. Fresh compositions with green, aromatic or delicate floral notes keep summer's lightness while hinting at the texture of the season to come.
Neroli is his sleeper pick for the shoulder season. Although we file it under summer, he argues it suits autumn — especially around the Mediterranean, where citrus is still very much in season — because it 'distills the memory of the sun' into the cooler months. Jasmine, bergamot and lemon work the same way, holding their freshness through mild temperatures, though he admits they start to feel off-key once real winter sets in.
When genuine fall weather arrives, his formula is earthy but never gloomy. He has a soft spot for aromatic notes, and recommends fragrances built on warm, primordial amber; resinous, enveloping benzoin; and vetiver, which he describes as evoking damp earth and the deep pull of roots.
Why should a traveller care? Because scent is one of the strongest memory triggers we have, and a season-appropriate fragrance is a low-effort way to make a trip feel more in tune with where you are. It's also a great excuse to shop while travelling: Florence, home to Profumoir and centuries of perfume tradition, is one of the best places in Europe to have a signature scent blended or discovered in person. If you're heading to the Mediterranean this autumn, a citrus-and-neroli fragrance will match the local mood perfectly; for a city break further north, amber and vetiver will feel right at home.
The broader takeaway is a mindset shift rather than a shopping list. Instead of obeying a rigid fragrance calendar, match your scent to what the season means to you — reflection, grounding, fresh starts. That's advice that travels well beyond your wash bag.
Story first reported by Elite Traveler.