Scents For The Senses
Find a fragrance designed to seduce. By Jessica Matlin.
when Marilyn Monroe revealed that she wore nothing but Chanel N˚5 in bed, she cast the sultry fragrance—a bouquet of rose, jasmine, and iris—in a seductive light. That can happen when you find the right scent, says Luca Turin, co-author of Perfumes: The Guide. “When the fragrance matches the personality of the wearer,” he says, “that is the music of the person’s soul.” This perfect alignment doesn’t happen by chance, so explore fragrances with an awareness that “certain materials do say ‘comehither,’” adds Turin. We suggest starting with these. Delivered as gifts and clutched by brides, flowers have long been surrounded by a sentimental narrative. However, some tell a more erotic tale. Take tuberose, for example. “In India, it was said that when the women harvested the flower, no man could come close,” says Kilian Hennessy, founder of Kilian fragrances. “Otherwise he would lose control.” Hennessy says he considers tuberose to be “one of the sexiest scents in the world”. Find the flower in Gucci Bloom Nettare di Fiori EDP and Carolina Herrera Good Girl Velvet Fatale Collector Edition. Of course, an iconic floral like Chanel N˚5 never fails. “If you want to smell sexy, I would go for the classics,” says Turin.
PURE HEAT
Patchouli, spices, woods: These notes have an inherent warmth to them, and more practically, they’re the ones your partner will definitely notice. “These ingredients cling to the skin, so they’re what he or she will smell on your neck at the end of the day,” says Hennessy. Look for them in Diptyque Tempo EDP and Jo Malone London Bronze Wood & Leather Cologne.
NEARLY NAKED
For those who scrunch up their nose at most fragrances, believing that they’re too obvious or overbearing, this season’s offerings may cause them to reconsider. Some of autumn’s most intriguing blends dry down to a light cashmere-like scent, thanks to the addition of ambrox. “It’s a fascinating ingredient,” says Céline Barel, a perfumer with International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. Ambrox can smell both warm and cold, salty and skin-like. It hums through Estée Lauder Beautiful Belle EDP and Salvatore Ferragamo Amo Ferragamo EDP.
MYSTERIOUS TOUCH
According to renowned relationship therapist Esther Perel, exoticism is inextricably linked to a feeling of unknown—an air of mystery. The fragrance world often takes the same approach. “A sexy scent needs to be full of surprises,” says Barel. For Proenza Schouler’s first fragrance, Arizona, the brand went to great lengths to capture the smell of the Southwest’s torch cactus blossom, which had never been used in perfumery. It was worth the effort: the velvety-floral mix is intoxicating. Lancôme La Vie Est Belle Flowers of Happiness EDP employs a faceted floral bouquet with sandalwood and musk, which is curiously alluring, and that’s the point.
DELECTABLE BLENDS
When Thierry Mugler’s Angel floated down a cotton-candy cloud in 1992, it proved that the laws of attraction are not that complex. “There’s nothing sexier than a woman you want to eat alive,” says Hennessy. Angel popularised ethyl maltol—it smells like burned caramel—and since then our appetite for gourmands has shown no sign of waning. YSL Beauté Black Opium EDP has coffee and vanilla, while Dior Miss Dior Absolutely Blooming EDP is a blend of raspberry, pomegranate, and blackcurrant—how 2018!