The Best Incense Perfumes For A Distinctive Autumnal Scent Trail

Incense fragrances come in many forms, from intense and smoky to delicate and almost ethereal. For those looking to leave an unusual, decidedly intriguing scent trail, few notes offer quite the same allure.

Now that we’ve left the sweltering heat behind, we can reach for the warmest, most enveloping, and spiciest fall fragrances in our beauty arsenal–you know, the scents that feel made for the first chill of autumn. Like a soft cardigan, they wrap around the skin, offering an immediate sense of comfort.

For those in search of a scent trail that strays from the familiar, incense is an intriguing choice. Its use dates back to ancient times, when it played a central role in sacred ceremonies and rituals, but its olfactory character can vary dramatically.

Vogue’s Favorite Incense Perfumes

• Best Solar Incense: Byredo Alto Astral, $235
• Best Mystical Incense: Tom Ford Ébène Fumé, $300
• Best Dry & Woody: Santa Maria Novella Incenso, $295
• Best Vanilla Incense: Matière Première Encens Suave, $230
• Best Fruity Incense: Arquiste Indigo Smoke, $225

There is the more pungent variety, reminiscent of church interiors and traditionally associated with olibanum, a fragrant resin obtained from plants of the Boswellia genus. Then there is Indian incense, generally sweeter and more floral, created from a blend of plants, resins, and spices. Japanese incense, meanwhile, is altogether more delicate and refined. Known as Kōdō, the art of appreciating incense is considered one of Japan’s three classical arts, alongside the tea ceremony and ikebana.

Depending on the composition, incense perfumes can be deep and powerful, particularly when combined with resins and woods, or light and almost velvety, like the delicate wisps of smoke rising from the aromatic sticks we burn at home.

Which facet to embrace is ultimately a matter of taste. What remains certain is that incense makes an irresistibly refined–and subtly sensual–note for welcoming the colder season. Below, shop Vogue’s edit of the best incense fragrances for the season ahead.

Best Solar Perfume: Byredo Alto Astral

• Why We Love It: It opens with aldehydes and coconut water, which lend a bright, gourmand freshness; at the heart, incense blends with jasmine petals and milky musks, creating a bridge between the initial liveliness and the depth of the base notes—composed of sandalwood and salty amber—which lend a sophisticated and vibrant energy.
• Notes: Coconut water, aldephydes, incense, jasmine petals, milky musk, sandalwood, cashmere wood, salted amber

Best Mystical Incense: Tom Ford Ébène Fumé

• Why We Love It: Tom Ford’s Ébène Fumé gives the average incense perfume a mystical quality. Translating to smoked ebony, this combines the essence of palo santo smoke with notes of fiery ebony wood, black pepper, and leather.
• Notes: Palo santo accord, African ebony accord, black pepper, cistus resin absolute, pine tar essence

Best Dry & Woody: Santa Maria Novella Incenso

• Why We Love It: Inspired by the aromatic resins used in Florentine homes and religious settings during the Renaissance, this composition opens with cardamom and pink pepper. Incense and cypress unfold at the heart, while vetiver lends the base a dry, woody finish.
• Notes: Cardamom, pink pepper, incenses, cypriol, vetiver

Best Vanilla Incense: Matière Première Encens Suave

• Why We Love It: Inspired by Somali resin incense, Matière Première’s Encens Suave explores the sensual side of incense, pairing it with Andalusian labdanum absolute and Laotian benzoin. Vanilla and coffee add a rich, gourmand dimension.
• Notes: Resin incense, Labdanum absolute, benzoin absolute, coffee, vanilla absolute

Best Fruity Incense: Arquiste Indigo Smoke

• Why We Love It: Arquiste’s Indigo Smoke takes us to China, along its serpentine rivers, blue mountains, and incense-filled temples. Designed to evoke the smoking of tea leaves, Lapsang souchong accord, bergamont, and orange oil oppose vanilla, incense, and pine for a scent that’s rich, warm, and a little spicy.
• Notes: Lapsang souchong tea, mandarin orange, apricot, guaiac wood, incense, pine tar

Best Vintage Incense: Balenciaga Incense Perfumum

• Why We Love It: A sort of ode to time, Incense Perfumum is said to evoke message carried in incense smoke. It’s inky-black hue pays homage to M. Balenciaga’s love of the color—the juice housed in a glass flacon that matches an archival bottle dating back to 1947. The scent, itself, gets better with time as incense oils, cedarwood, and labdanum resin continue mingling together.
• Notes: Chrome incense, cedarwood, Spanish labdanum resin

Best Smoky Spice: Robert Piguet Casbah

• Why We Love It: Inspired by the souks of Marrakech, Casbah combines the spicy warmth of black pepper and nutmeg with the elegance of cedarwood, tobacco, and angelica. Iris adds a fresh, rounded quality.
• Notes: Nutmeg, incense, tobacco