The Smell of Weather Turning

My recent reflections on perfume reveal a shift in my relationship to it. Having smelled so much to the point of near exhaustion, my nose has desired subtlety and some mystery. After nurturing a long love affair with classic perfume structure, I now welcome palate cleansers of the pungent and peculiar kind. Sweet and smoky organic-smelling features, wistful floral decay, and plants with faded and speckled leaves. I want that unpolished naturalism and botanical reverence, something where adjectives such as "earthy" lend only so much currency to description. I vividly dream of perfumes with notes of motherwort, salsify, purslane, and tansy. I imagine the scent of wonder rather than consumption, of perspiration rather than aspiration. Remember when you were a kid and you just didn't care if there was dirt under your fingernails? I am in that sort of headspace/"nosespace." The Smell of Weather Turning is a confluence of otherwise disparate smells that somehow is not discordant, and satiates my current cravings. I am somehow reminded of the smell of catnip, even though it doesn't necessarily smell like the actual herb. There is something about the mint and chamomile together that hits my trigeminal nerve in the most exhilarating manner, almost a tickle at the back of my throat, making my mouth water. I also get flashbacks of walking through pine barrens after controlled burns and rainfall: scorched saplings, vegetation, and soil. Then there is the damp, sweet grassiness of hay paired with a bundle of medicinal herbs, not to mention autumn-aged oak leaves—joy, this is what it is all about. Is that rotting wood I smell? Give me more. Damp, gray-green murmurs persist hours on and all I want to do is rub my nose slowly back and forth on my forearm.

A truly unique scent fron Lush that I happen to enjoy quite a fair bit! It's green, a little aquatic (it's too "clean" i.e. not dirty or idk muddy enough to be a petrichor scent to me, nor is it oceanic), a little bit minty and herbal as well. The dry down transforms into something muskier on my skin vs on clothing. The mental image I get in my head based on what this smells like is a secluded forest somewhere in western Europe after it had just finished raining. Most appropriate for autumn imo but I can still see this fitting for all seasons because I find it fresh enough for spring and summer (but not in a fruity or citrusy way, of course) but also dark and brooding for winter (but not in an oud-heavy or smokey/tobacco-ish way). Longevity is also moderare to long on me based on Fragrantica's parameters for longevity – by hour 10, that's when I can feel it's definitely on its last legs. It's also been a nice surprise seeing that probably out of all the perfumes I have (and I own quite a fair bit) I have probably received the most compliments on what I smell like when I'm wearing this. It projects quite well and seems to cut easily through random smells in the environment unless the smell happens to be a really strong one. I didn't particularly like that there wasn't a 30ml size to choose from, so I ended up buying the 100ml size after testing it out a few times in the physical Lush stores and liking the way it wears throughout the day. But given the size and performance based on longevity, sillage and creativity of the scent, I find it to be decently priced. I will be using it up like a body spray because 100ml is A LOT.

[Edit: it's ten years later and I still adore The Smell of Weather Turning] Oh. Oh, this is my perfume. This is bringing me so much pleasure - why did I not try it out earlier? I think it's because Lush shops smell so overpowering that I don't go in, and if I do I can barely smell anything. But this (I've bought the solid version) has made me reconsider my aversion to the nose-bashing brand. It's not just the beautiful concept and winning marketing guff backing this scent that makes it so attractive to me - it's the fact that this is a perfume I can really wear and not feel disjointed. It merges with me and I love every note in it, I love that every note is something I know well in nature in these isles and can identify with. Warm but fresh, cool but soft, damp and green, sweet but with that sexy darker hint of woodsmoke that only appears every so often. Gorgeous. After the wet mint top notes dry down, I find that what's left on me is a deep, almost edible oriental mushroomy glow which smells very very like the Murmure solide that used to be my only perfume, which I adored but managed to lose. I've searched for a while for a solid perfume that will give me that same effect - just a barely perceptible hint of a soft skin scent that's mainly for my own enjoyment. Turns out that, once the weather here has turned, the gently spiced drydown lingers for ages on me.

So here's the note breakdown from the ingredients list on the back of the bottle - oak, West Indian Bay, beeswax, peppermint oil, peppermint absolute and chamomile. No mention of any of hay, nettle, oakmoss or cinnamon. No clue where fragrantica is getting those from. This fragrance is mint in overdrive. It's altoids on steroids, it's toothpaste stuck up your nose. I've long searched for an unabashed mint fragrance and I found my grail with this one. It's almost too much to wear in public - I generally layer a bit of it with something more friendly. Beyond the frenzied menthol rush, there's a hint of beeswax and if I REALLY stick my nose in there I probably identify (or maybe imagine?) some floral-oiliness from the chamomile. This is not a projection monster but it's got the quality of being detectable from afar if you're predisposed to like/dislike mint intensely. Despite its apparently high concentration of oils (leaves an oily mark on the skin), it's not very long lasting. Wear with caution and blind buy ONLY if you're fine with wearing toothpaste.

I think I might love this. A lot more than I was expecting to. Upon first spray, all I get is smoke and mint, and I'm not even sure where the smoke is coming from. But as it settles down, the most beautiful hay and sun-drenched grass scent comes wafting up. The mint is still there, hanging at the back of your throat. The beeswax is sweet, a little creamy, but mostly it's just that lovely grass and hay and the tiniest hint of smoky mint. I can see that this might not be everyone's cup of tea, or while some people might like this, they may not want to wear it. I personally just can't see anything wrong with smelling like this all day long. It makes me want to spritz myself all over and run around barefoot in a glade, soaking up the sun. Beautiful. (If it tells you anything about my scent preferences, I also love the Grass shower gel from Lush. I actually bought this hoping to find something like that. While it's not really similar, I love both scents.)