September is a strange time of year. As the first month of this transitional season, it's sweater weather one moment but sundress weather the next. The sun still shines intensely but it sets sooner each day, and your social calendar might still look busy, but you have a strong urge to start hunkering down. Scenting your home to suit the mood is no easy feat.
If you're not ready for full-on pumpkin spice, try making a more subtle nod to early fall with some transitional scents that bring the outside in. According to Jo Malone's scent expert, Daniel Maxwell, this is the secret to a warm and inviting space that sets the tone as soon as you cross the threshold. "It might seem unnatural to bring the outside in during the cooler months, but it's human nature," he says. "Within the comfort of your home, you want a touch of outside elements, whether that's the foliage or the landscape."
According to Daniel, the most elevated autumn scents carry notes of harvested fruits, warming spices, and earthy woods. The recurring theme is one of nature, and they all promise to make your home smell amazing. Not only do they bridge the gap between summer and fall, but in doing so they occupy a liminal space, lending themselves perfectly to the one spot in your home that connects indoors and out - the entryway.
One of the things people with great-smelling entryways always do is choose seasonal fragrances. The rich scents of cedarwood and cinnamon might smell delightful during the depths of winter, but they're incongruous throughout spring and summer. Vice versa, the sweet aroma of rose and peony might feel apt for July, but it won't suit your home six months later.
Tasked with scent-scaping a selection of Angel O’Donnell-designed residences at River Park Tower in London, Daniel of Jo Malone set out to fragrance an entryway that promised to delight beyond aesthetics alone. According to him, the secret to a harmonious aroma lies in drawing connections to nature, and never does this detail hold more importance than during the fall.
"When the weather gets colder and you can't wait to get home, you want to walk through the door and be welcomed by the enwrapping, warm, invisible feel of your chosen scent," he says. Of all the candle or diffuser scents he recommends for this time of year, there's one common theme - seasonal fruits and foliage.
If you're familiar with Jo Malone's home fragrance collection, you'll know that Pomegranate Noir is a cult favorite for scent-scaping. "This scent soars in popularity as you come into autumn because of the notes of smoky guaiac wood which really warm you," Daniel explains. When balanced with the sweetness of the pomegranate, it blends sun-soaked summer months with the woody, smoky aromas of autumn for a transitional scent that bridges both seasons.
One of Daniel's personal favorites this time of year is Wildberry and Bramble. "For this time of year, it's such a warming, autumnal welcome home that brings the outdoors in," he says, "especially as we go into October and the days get shorter". There are a plethora of scents that make your home smell like fall in Jo Malone's range, but any home fragrance with earthy base notes and top notes of late summer fruits will have the same effect.
Other recommended scents from Jo Malone are Blackberry and Sage or English Pear and Freesia - both reminiscent of September harvests. "They represent this turn of the season from summer to autumn," he says. "With English Pear and Fressia, the juiciness of the Williams Pear is married with the sensuality of patchouli." Blackberries are also in their full ripeness right now. "Those are mixed with the beautiful notes of bay leaf which is grounding and earthy, and there's a hint of cedarwood which is a fresh woody note."
The trick is to look outdoors and take inspiration from the surrounding gifts of nature when choosing a scent for this transitional time of year. But what should you do as the months become cooler? "In a couple of months, you can still have that earthness but you might pick more intense warmer sense to marry with it and layer with it," says Daniel. "You want something more enveloping and warming, like our Myrrh and Tonka scent."
You don't need to limit yourself to just one scent, either. Scent layering is a great way to create a custom fragrance by combining two different aromas for a unique, fuller scent that carries through your entryway and beyond. You can use different methods of scenting your home, too.
"It can be two candles or a diffuser with a candle, or you can try a candle cluster, by combining a few different candle sizes, where all of them are different scents," says Daniel. "Keep in mind that our range of Townhouse diffusers are a bit more intense in their oils, plus they offer more of a continuous scent." This makes them the perfect choice for your entryway to welcome you home, but they are more powerful compared to candles.
As we retreat back into our homes at this first nip of fall, dedicate some time to curating a fragrant entryway that bridges this seasonal gap right at your threshold. It's these small details that make all the difference this time of year, inviting you back into your home and creating a calming space to relax and hunker down for winter. After all, there's nothing like the ritual of lighting a candle to set a cozy tone.
