Note: The following information is for educational purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose. Please consult your healthcare professional.
There's a specific smell that shows up every year around this time, somewhere between a walk through fallen leaves, standing in an orchard, and the sweetness of the harvest . It's taken me a while to get that feeling into a bar of soap, and honestly, I think I've gotten close.
The thing I keep coming back to as an herbalist: clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, anise; these aren't just "fall smells." They're some of the most wonderful plant allies I work with all year. So before I show you the collection, I want to talk about why these particular spices earn a place in your skincare routine, not just your spice rack.
What These Spices Actually Do
Clove has natural antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, and it's long been used to help calm minor skin irritation. It also has a warming, slightly analgesic (numbing) property that makes it a nice addition for anyone dealing with everyday aches which, if you're the type to spend your fall doing yard work and hauling in firewood, might be more relevant than you'd think.
Cinnamon helps stimulate circulation right at the surface of the skin, which is part of why it leaves that warm, slightly tingly feeling behind. It also has antibacterial properties of its own, and a long history in skin-clarifying preparations.
Nutmeg is gently exfoliating and has traditionally been used to help even out skin tone. Scent wise it's subtler than clove or cinnamon, which is exactly why it works so well as a blending spice. It rounds out the sharper notes instead of competing with them.
Ginger brings warmth and a bit of brightness, and like cinnamon, it supports circulation. It's also just an incredible companion note for citrus, which is part of why it shows up alongside orange in the "Mulled Cider" soap.
Anise has a soft, licorice-like sweetness that keeps a spice blend from tipping into "cluttered spice drawer" territory. It rounds things out and adds a little brightness without pulling focus.
None of this means a bar of spice soap is a substitute for medicine. It isn't. But it's part of why I don't reach for synthetic fragrance oils to get that "cozy fall" smell when I can build the scent out of real plant ingredients, that's always going to be the better bar.
The Collection: Bringing the Outside In
This year I'm bringing back my fall lineup, which came out of a pretty simple idea; the three moments that are fall to me. A walk through the leaves. An afternoon at the orchard. Halloween night, candy bowl in hand.
Here's how each one turned into a bar of soap.
"Autumn Afternoon" — Clove & Nutmeg
This is the walk-through-the-leaves bar. Clove and nutmeg together are warm without being sweet, and there's an earthiness to it that reminds me of that first properly cold afternoon of the year; the kind where you actually need a jacket. If you're someone who wants fall skincare that leans more grounded than sugary, start here.
"Mulled Cider" — Cinnamon, Ginger & Anise
This one is the orchard bar, no contest. It's the closest thing I've made to bottling the smell of a cider press — cinnamon and ginger doing most of the heavy lifting, with anise softening the edges so it doesn't read as harsh. This is the bar I hand to people at the market who say "I want something that smells like fall" without any more specifics than that.
"All Hallows Clean" — Sweet Orange & Anise
The Halloween night bar. Bright, a little sweet, still grounded by the anise so it doesn't turn into candy-shop territory. This is the one I'd reach for if the rest of the lineup feels too heavy or "old-fashioned-spice-drawer" for your taste and you want something that still says autumn without leaning as hard into the deep spice notes. Also the witches brew like swirls of orange and charcoal are pretty sweet looking!
When You Can Get These
The full collection goes live online September 1st. If you'd rather see and smell them in person first, I'll have all three at the last two farmers markets of the summer — the first two Saturdays of September — and again at my October market weekend.
If you're local and want first access (plus a discount code that goes out with the launch email), the fastest way is to [join the newsletter] — I'll be sending a preview before the collection goes live to anyone on the list. If you are already a subscriber you'll be getting this discount code so watch your inbox!
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