Almost countdown. A bit over a week till move. I don’t think the electricians remembered to put in the thermostats … I mailed the builder about this. Fingers crossed.
(Just to say straight off, apologies for the cheesy pics today. I lack picture search motivation.)
We are well and truly in autumn now: colder, wetter, darker, gales-ier. When it is sunny you can sense the applause from everyone everywhere. When it’s not, people huddle up into themselves and hurry from X to Y. Dogs don’t seem much bothered except the little and very skinny ones, who all seems to have coats.
One lovely thing about this time of year is that the village smells of woodsmoke – varieties of woodsmoke. This ranges from people burning stuff they’ve cleared out of a garden or field to whatever is being burned in fireplaces and wood stoves…
… which can range in smell from simply a woody burning scent through nutty and fruity to lush and brandy-tinged. Really really lovely — all of it.
Woodsmoke is a favourite smell, along with creosote, the wood preservative (yes, really – think it might be associated with good memories of hiking in New England during teenager-hood and the smell of the wooden shelters we stayed in which were treated to keep critters from munching on them).
To my mind, no one does woodsmoke and wood preservative smell better than Andy Tauer of Tauer Perfumes.
Two of his earliest releases, L’Air du Desert Marocain and Lonestar Memories are perfection within this perfume genre.
I remember smelling L’Air for the first time maybe 14 years ago (from a sample I bought from the Tauer website) and just being in that nose-to-wrist zone for a long time. Weird, beautiful, rugged, refined – a glory of contradictions in a bottle.
Lonestar is more appreciation from afar. I adore it in the bottle and on other people. It’s good on me if I layer it with a floral of some sort. Straight up, it’s too much.
Notes lists for both. L’Air: coriander, cumin, rock rose, jasmine, cedar, vetiver and ambergris. Lonestar: geranium, carrot seed, clary sage, leather, cistus, jasmine, myrrh, vetiver, sandalwood and tonka bean.
To my nose, L’Air leans more resinous, and sweet in the drydown; Lonestar more heavy smoke and birch tar. They are numbers 2 and 3 of the Tauer releases, from 2005 and 2006, respectively.
One of the things I am very much looking forward to unpacking once back in the house is a Tauer L’Air candle, which I bought last Christmas time. I went on a candle binge last winter.
It is slightly different from the perfume, but close enough to be instantly recognisable. And it is sooo perfect on a cold, dark night. It will definitely be used … once I find it. And it’s likely to come out a lot during the holidays.
So, what are your feelings about woodsmoke? Are you a Tauer lover and if yes which ones?
I loved woodsmoke a decade ago, but I’m done with all smoke smells for a while. The Pacific Northwest has been on fire too often the last few years, and we just lost our family cabin to one of them in September.
But someday, maybe, I’ll love it again while roasting marshmallows for s’mores.
Adore wood smoke scents! My current favorite is Lafco’s Feu de Bois candle and reed diffuser. I don’t usually spend this much on home scents, but this one is just gorgeous. None of the acrid bite or cloying sweetness some woodsmoke frags have. Excellent throw.
I love the smell of wood smoke. My sons just give me all sorts of grief in the winter because I like a big blaze when the snow is falling, and I burn wood all day. I have a huge fireplace, and I’m not afraid to make that fire roar. I must emit a ton of emissions. But, hey, the cavemen used to do it. I love the smell of it on a crisp winter day when you take a walk, it is just amazing.
I love wood smoke. Our elderly neighbor heated his house with a woodstove and I looked forward to the scent as I hurried up the drive in cold weather. He died this summer and along with missing him and his sweet little dog, I will really miss the wood smoke.
That’s a lovely story, but sad too. I walk past a house most days which has a huge outdoor wood pile. I mean to ask the people who live there next time I see them if rain in the Southwest does a good job of seasoning wood.
I think I’ve only tried Tauer’s Rose from Kandahar, which was beautiful. However, when it comes to smoky scents for fall, my favorite is Chanel Les Exclusif Sycomore. It has a smoky vetiver that I love. Some people say it smells like marijuana, but I don’t think so. Its notes are vetiver, tobacco, cypress, juniper, sandalwood, etc.
That rose is gorgeous. I haven’t smelled Sycamore for years — literally. I recall trying it at Harrods ages ago. Sandalwood and I don’t always get along.
I love quite a few of Andy Tauer perfumes, it’s hard to pick which one I love the most. Not exactly thrilled that Une Rose Vermeil (I know it’s not spelled right) and Noontide Petals were discontinued. I am hoping that I run into some funds to get a backup of URV. LADDM reminds me of bonfires, clam bakes and apple picking.
That’s a lovely description for LDDM. I ‘get’ why less popular fragrances are discontinued but it’s still frustrating if you’re one of the people who had loved them.
Looks like Luckyscent doesn’t have it in stock anymore. Good thing I have two decants and two bottles. It might have been too expensive to produce and not many people buying it.
In most cities and suburbs around here woodsmoke is in short supply – but here in the hinterlands, it’s much more prevalent. I love all the iterations of woodsmoke and even have a little firepit that I should bust out, so I can burn a log or two… xoxo
The chimney in the house has now been fixed, lined and capped so I can now use the wood stove. Only taken 8 years …
WOODSMOKE!! Love it Cinnamon.
It’s very rare to smell it in Sydney because there has been such a crackdown on pollutants. When we go to Tasmania though the smell is everywhere.
I’ve no memory of ever staying in a log cabin, which bums me a bit and is now added to the Bucket List.
LOVE LDDM but had to move my Monster, oops, Lonestar Memories on. It attacked me for HOURS!
Good luck with the move!
Portia xx
These aren’t log cabins, Portia. Open fronted but with a roof and walls on three sides. They were actually very nice to stay in. I do love Lonestar but it’s simply too much without something else to moderate it.
And best of luck with the move, Cinnamon! It will be so wonderful to be home.
Tx. I am not looking forward to the packing and moving the bits I have to do myself. Fingers crossed it all goes as hoped…
And best of luck with the move, Cinnamon! It will be so wonderful to be home.
I own quite a lot of Andy’s scents, including L’Air in both perfume & candle format. Big love. A fan of wood smoke also. I always have a Diptyque Feu de Bois candle on hand. Naomi Goodsir’s Bois d’Ascèse is another favourite smoky scent.
I have that Diptyque as well. It’s wonderful.
Woodsmoke is a comforting scent – I love to smell it in the air, but not so much on me. I just dabbed on some L’Air from my sample. It’s rich and resinous and interesting, but probably I’d like it better in the candle.
It’s a very good candle. I’m not sure he still offers it — will have to go have a look on the website.
I have always wanted a L’Air candle. I have samples of all of Andy’s perfumes except the newest (due to no-buy!) and L’Air has always been on my bottle list if I ever wear it enough to use up the samples I have (one spray usually does it so they last forever for me.)
I don’t own a bottle of L’Air currently. Might have to rectify that. I should be on a no buy — I am keeping myself from buying things currently, but my list is long…