An Aromatherapist Explores

Why are we drawn to fall scents?

By Jessie Richmond

I love all things pumpkin spice. My husband, Kazy, hates all things pumpkin. Fall is his favorite season, though. He loves the smell of dead, crunchy leaves and being outside. I’m reaching for the spice cupboard; he wants to go stand in the woods.

We both love the season. We just want it to smell very different.

As an aromatherapist, I find that difference interesting. Why are we drawn to fall scents, and why does one person’s perfect autumn smell nothing like another’s?

Spice, appetite and warmth

There are several ways to look at that question. The plants and their chemistry matter. So do the foods we’ve eaten, the places we’ve been, and what we’ve come to expect from this season. Those pieces overlap, and each person’s mix is a little different.

Start with the spice cupboard. Cinnamon owes much of its familiar character to cinnamaldehyde; eugenol contributes strongly to clove’s aroma. These are individual pieces of much more complicated aromas, but they help explain why a small handful of ingredients can suggest an entire dessert. The chemistry behind pumpkin spice has a great deal to do with the seasonings we recognize.

That recognition can come with an expectation of food. Picture the smell of spiced apples before you’ve seen what’s in the oven. You may already be imagining how they’ll taste.

Research on food odors and appetite gives us one piece of that picture: smelling a food-related aroma can increase appetite for foods with matching characteristics, such as sweetness. That doesn’t tell us what a fall candle will make someone eat. It does help explain why a familiar kitchen aroma can be appealing before we take a bite.

Then there’s warmth. We describe cinnamon, clove, vanilla, and certain woods as warm, even when the scent itself is coming from something at room temperature. For someone who connects those aromas with hot drinks and baking, that description makes everyday sense.

Still, warmth is an association, too. A small study of odor-temperature associations across cultures found that the connections people made weren’t universal. Calling a fragrance warm describes an impression; it isn’t evidence that smelling it raises body temperature. That impression may be part of what makes it feel right on a cool day.

Your version of fall

Memory adds another layer. An aroma can bring a particular place or person to mind before you’ve quite put a name to it. If fall smells are tied to experiences you value, their return may give you something familiar to look forward to.

In research on scent-evoked nostalgia, 160 participants encountered scents including apple pie and pumpkin-pie spice. Aromas that were more familiar and personally meaningful were associated with stronger nostalgia. The cinnamon that reminds one person of a favorite kitchen might hold no special meaning for someone else. It might even bring back something they’d rather forget.

That helps explain why a list of “the best fall scents” can only take us so far. The person smelling them brings something to the experience, too.

And sweetness is only one version of fall. Kazy doesn’t need it to smell like something coming out of the oven. For him, the leaves and outdoor air are the appeal. For me, bring on the pumpkin spice.

You might prefer dry woods, evergreen needles, earthy notes, or the sharp freshness of citrus. A bakery-style fragrance can feel delicious to one person and overwhelming to another.

There’s room for both shared preferences and individual taste. Research comparing odor preferences across cultures found common ground alongside substantial individual differences. No one needs to love pumpkin spice to enjoy seasonal scent. Paying attention to which aromas you actually like is a better starting point than choosing whatever has a leaf on the label.

Enjoying them can be simple: peel an orange, bake something with spices, take a walk, or choose a gently scented product you like. There’s no need to fill every room, especially when you share your space with someone sensitive to fragrance. If you’re using essential oils, remember that concentrated cinnamon or clove oil is very different from the spice in your kitchen. Natural doesn’t automatically mean safe, so follow the directions for the product and its intended use.

A little permission to live differently

All of those explanations bring me to another possibility. This last part is my hypothesis, rather than a conclusion established by the research: perhaps fall aromas appeal to us because they offer a way to participate in the change of season.

Many of us move between temperature-controlled homes, cars, and workplaces. Our schedules can stay much the same while the daylight changes around us. We may notice fall arriving without having much opportunity to live differently because of it.

Choosing a seasonal aroma is one small change we can make ourselves. A pot of spiced apples or the scent of leaves on a walk can mark the shift in an ordinary afternoon. It gives the season a place in the day.

Maybe that’s part of what we’re drawn to. Along with the enjoyable smell and whatever memories it carries, there’s an invitation to make a different kind of evening, cook something slowly, or spend a little more time noticing what’s outside.

Perhaps a favorite fall scent gives us a little permission to live differently as the year changes.

Mine just happens to come with pumpkin spice.