Autumnal

Before I sampled Autumnal, if you had told me that a peppermint perfume would become one of my favourites in my entire collection, I wouldn't have believed you. Fast forward, and I'm incredibly happy to have a 37ml bottle of this one. Peppermint is the driving force, but it isn't out of tune with the rest of the composition. It also isn't a typical peppermint oil peppermint, so don't, for a second, think that this is going to smell like candy canes, chewing gum, or breath mints, because it doesn't go there. It's a very herbal, dried peppermint plant. Throughout Northern California and the PNW, wild peppermint grows out of control along the banks of the American, Russian, Columbia, Snake, and Yakima River systems. They begin to flower in October, and the smell of autumn is defined by it. Peppermint herbal tea. That is what we are talking about. The maté, alfalfa, nettle, and deer's tongue all lend a sort of herbal dried grassy element - not green or herbaceous, but leafy, dry, and herbal, accentuated by the sweet fragrant dried flowery nuance of the chamomile, which pairs beautifully with the peppermint. Cinnamon plays a very key role here, providing a warm spicy depth - it's dosed quite high, but it's a woody, barky sort of cinnamon, steering away from apple pie or Red Hots territory. The beeswax sweetens everything up, lending a dark, waxy, honeyed sweetness that almost goes in a maple direction, and held down by dusty, sweet wheaty bran. And of course, in true Pineward fashion, there is some balsam fir needle nuance in the background, tying it all together with a subtle, pretty little coniferous ribbon. It really, truly does smell autumnal. Nick nailed the description of this one. Meandering through grain fields, ready for harvest before the winter. The smells of the farmstead - the dried, golden grassy grains, the sweet leaves, the chilly rural farmland air, clutching a piping hot cup of herbal peppermint tea, warming you up from the brisk autumn air. Autumnal is one of the "core" Pineward offerings in my book. A must-try to really have a fill understanding of the house's range. Steering away from full on conifers, and not going in an intensely spiced cidery direction, it sits somewhere in the middle, or outside of those - capturing the cozy, comforting pastoral embrace of something like Steading, whilst also painting the intensely vivid "autumnal" imagery of Revelries or Apple Tabac, yet not resembling them at all. Structurally, it's most similar to Chandlery, sitting outside the predictable use of materials, and serving as a truly unique offering, and an incredibly aptly named one, at that. Lasts ages on skin, and projects heavily for the first few hours, settling down, and acting as a strong skin scent for an entire day. Even if you aren't a fan of peppermint, which I'm not, this one utilizes it in a way that may really take you by surprise, and will serve as a very comforting, cozy accent when the cooler weather and autumn spirit begin to set it. One of my favourites from the house.

The opening is the best part idk why people are complaining. It reminds me oh Carduus but super bready on my skin. Idk how the note list on here has the bread notes super small they should be massive. But I really like this? It’s very interesting and for the first few hours almost impossible to pin down it keeps changing. Edit: honestly I get yeast from this now idk it’s kinda disgusting Edit2: sigh I love it again? This thing is getting on my damn nerves the way I can’t figure it out but the more I wear it I get a less sweet carduus for sure. Edit3: I just got a bottle Of Lush’s the smell of weather turning and that’s quite literally an identical scent. It’s less jarring than autumnal though which might explain the good reviews it has in comparison. But seriously just compare the note list they’re nearly identical

The opening of this one smells like cinnamon toast crunch but with an added freshness from the peppermint. It turns into a more tea like scent thanks to the blend of chamomile and mate. The heart of this has a beautiful wheatiness and bready like aroma with the bran. It feels a little powdery as well. The scent becomes a very creamy, earthy, bready and slightly sweet tea scent and a pinch of peppermint. Like a hot cup of tea served with a sweet mint leaf and a loaf of cinnamon toast. Loved how cozy this one was

From the reviews and hearsay I’ve seen about this one I thought I would hate it, but I actually really enjoy it! On me it started off sweet and with notes of hay, and has since become more medicinal and minty on dry down. The mate seems to balance out the medicinal quality with a bit of earthiness. Reminds me a fair amount of Gunnerson’s Pumpkin Patch from Solstice, but a bit stronger.

The overall impression this gives me is not far removed from a nice chai tea. The very green peppermint-chamomile notes stick around for an incredibly long time, backed by spicy honeyed touches that give this an unmistakably autumnal essence. Many notes here lend themselves wonderfully to the impression of dried herbs, but this steers clear of coniferous territory.