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.

In the opening, it smells straight like Jägermeister: balsamic and green with a bitter undertone. After that, it becomes more aromatic and earthy, feeling even more bitter and dry. The drydown is very unique, but like many other Pinewards, it is too green/balsamic on my skin.

Working my way through the Pineward discovery set and having a little too much success with it. I'm about a third of the way through and I already want most of what I've sampled, so I was hoping to find one I could cross off the list. I figured the peppermint one would be a clear no, as a strong focus on mint usually ends up being a dislike for me. Upon first spray the peppermint was definitely too strong for my liking, but just like the perfumer's description states, "wafts of peppermint tea peter down to settle among leaves of mate, alfalfa, and nettle." The peppermint doesn't go away, but the sharpness burns off rapidly and it becomes tempered by and married to the rest of the blend to the point that I forget it is there unless I focus on it. The vibe of this long lasting perfume is dried leaves and herbs, an earthy sweetness with a maple twinge, and a whisper of a chill from the peppermint. Autumnal is aptly named, and delightful. Not an instant love, but definitely not crossed off the list just yet. I need more time with this one, and I'm thankful for the generous size of the samples. Reviews below are all good ones, so I won't add any more except that this is a very unique offering. If the rugged natural aesthetic of Pineward appeals to you I recommend giving this a try- even if (or maybe especially if) you are usually averse to mint in perfume.

Y'all warned me but the peppermint opening was still a bit stronger than I expected. I was also put off by a bitter medicinal note reminiscent of anise. My husband smells lavender, and his aunt said she smells "an Indian spice but not cumin." I don't get either of those, and I love how everyone has a different take, that's what I love about this hobby/lifestyle. The peppermint and medicinal notes stay on my skin and only project for about an hour before dying down. They end up sitting close to the skin for the next 6 hours of wear. During this time, the heart of Autumnal blooms and starts to project like crazy. I interpret it as speculoos cookie: crisp, buttery, caramelized, lightly spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cardamom. I could smell wafts of it off my husband from 10 feet away for hours, delicious! But when I get closer, or try to smell it closely on myself, oops there's the medicinal part, so it really is best enjoyed at arm's length during that time. The bitter aspect lasts *only* 7ish hours on me, and the *next* 10-18 hours are the denouement of pure speculoos. Really really gorgeous and almost enough to make me overlook the challenging opening. Maybe I need the deepest depths of SoCal winter to mitigate the strong first act, or maybe it could use some time to oxidize, idk, I'm excited to revisit it in a few weeks.

This one is a wild ride. HUGE mint blast upfront, but it evolves into a really nice woody tea scent. There's a passing similarity to LUSH's Smell of Weather Turning, but this is more multifaceted and smells less like rain and more like grain. The bran note is prominent here. If you're the type of person doesn't mind a sort of Tiger Balm-y aromatherapy vibe in the opening of a fragrance, this might be a winner. Worth trying if you're into that kinda thing. Update: It's the next day and it's still blasting off of my wrist-- I noticed the scent immediately when I woke up. No more mint at this point but still very loud and nestled somewhere between Mond and Jeke in terms of scent profile. So I guess if you like this, it'll be a good investment because you definitely won't need to reapply often. Very impressive longevity.

very green. spiced tea with peppermint. sweet hay. aromatic herbs and wood. the opening was strange but the dry down is delicious. definitely more "field" than "forest," the description of ripe grain field with peppermint tea is very accurate. the bran and alfalfa really stick out to me. cozy and comforting. probably not blind buy safe as this is a bit of an odd one but I like it. the projection and longevity are intense.

update: the 2 reasons i dislike niche lol... performance, this one does just fine there, but 2. the opening is great but the more it drys to the more i dont like it lol, give me linear and awesome whole way through with out changing vs super awesome to boring

wow brother great job, love it, a niche version of tea for 2! Super natural too a love

This is similar to steading but without the leathery tobacco and hay. It's underrated!

I think it's a really unique scent! It starts of very strong with this sweet mint scent. It reminds me very much of mint humbug sweets. Then after about 15 minutes or so it develops into this very buttery and nutty scent. I get a lot of notes of burnt caramel, chocolate, coffee, and a little bit of spice. It's a very fresh and cool fragrance that develops into this warm rich scent. I think it's very hard to pin down. I think it's also quite potent too. I sprayed this on a Friday; just a wee bit on my wrist; and I couod still smell it on me and get whiffs of it 4 days later even after multiple showers and washing my hands. It's not for everyone but I think it's a very unique fragrance. I definitely have to test it more to see if it grows on me.

Medicinal, almost non-descript, slightly spicy, minty, hay-ish, aromatic tea and a tiger balm like aroma.

The peppermint hits you hard at first spray but it tames down considerably into a mint that blends perfectly with all of the usual "fall" notes in a way that seems original in a scent world full of colognes for fall. In the discovery set I got, there really haven't been any "stinkers" so I think you should all buy and explore the scents. You ARE going to find many you like (as other people have mentioned). This one isn't my favorite because of the mint but I keep smelling it as my day progresses.

16th sample form pineward!! this is much worse than i thought itd be, but it isnt bad! had really high hopes for this one, expecting a nice autumn, soily woody smell but unexpectedly smell a huge blast of peppermint for like 2 hours and then it dissapears. dry down is for sure nicer than the opening, its extremely spicy but lives up to the name, being very autumnal! longebity is a strong 11 hours with 2 hours of projection. 7/10

Is this hay? There is a cloying maple syrup sweetness in the dry down reminiscent of immortelle. I would not liken this to Carduus. Carduus’s sweetness is more like a dry cocoa note throughout. Autumnal has a wonderful opening, but regrettably, not enjoyable enough for me to see it through to the end.