Photo by Arvida Byström
Why are you wearing perfume? Do you wear it when you’re alone at home? Aren’t you concerned about what your scent might do to others? If so, you’re one of a rather rare tribe of perfume lovers. Most people perfume themselves primarily to seduce, some more consciously than others. But seduction is not only linked to a romantic partner, and our perfume can create a favourable impression on everyone who crosses your path. And then it becomes a status symbol because it says a lot about you. Your power or delicacy, your extroversion or discretion, your sensuality or elegance, your eccentricity… all are instruments of desire and admiration.
The power of smell
Why is the link between perfume and desire so strong? The history of
perfume shows us how fragrances have always been linked to something that humans can’t explain; first of all, as a means of communication with the Gods. And then a remedy. But perfume is also a way to seduce people that defies logic. And with good reason! The sense of smell is the one sense that greatly impacts the emotions of human beings. Inherited from our animal origins, it is a sense that helps us intuit a compatible sexual partner. It also warns us when someone is fundamentally wrong for us. That’s why you might find someone very attractive, but when the time comes to get intimate, it just doesn’t feel right. Do you know the expression, “I can’t feel her/him!”? Someone’s natural scent can strongly seduce or repel someone who is not “chemically” compatible. Pheromones play a key role in this process.
Perfume and sex: the smells that evoke lovemaking
Since the dawn of time, witches, apothecaries, and perfumers have been trying to find the key to this natural and instinctive desire. For instance, in Patrick Süskind’s Perfume (an absolute must-read and cult classic novel), the murderous perfumer Jean-Baptiste Grenouille spends his life looking for the magic formula. He does this by first extracting the body odour of his victims (using the enfleurage technique). Then, using the natural essences he has collected, and the other ingredients in his palette, all he has to do is compose the perfect perfume. This perfume is so sensual and intoxicating that it makes the monster absolutely irresistible.
The magic formula, a true philosopher’s stone of desire, would, therefore, contain smells of skin, sex, perspiration, and even excrement! So clearly, we are very far removed from the current trend of perfumes that smell clean. Beyond the bizarre promises of some perfumes that promise to mimic pheromones, others seek to reproduce the smell of a bedroom after a crazy night.
Perfume and sex: the Devil’s weapon
This relationship between desire and animality in humans (attraction to body odour, a desire independent of logic, etc.) explains why it has long been considered taboo. In the Civilization of Smells, the historian Robert Muchembled tells of the link between perfume and witchcraft. It is in the Europe of the Middle Ages that this link is cemented, and heralds the beginnings of witch hunts. Perfume and sex already go hand in hand: men and women have been wearing it for centuries to charm and seduce. But in those days, women were regarded as potentially evil beings because they were the daughters of Eve – the original temptress! So perfume, which made bodies even more desirable, was seen as an evil weapon that women used to turn men away from Good. Perfume was evil as it acted as a spell that drove men crazy.
This dangerous concept has never disappeared, as the names of some modern-day perfumes testify: Spell, Black Magic, Poison, Opium… as well as all the perfumes whose names evoke black, night, darkness. In other words, it’s a world of mystery!
A perfume that creates desire: the modern quest
These days, perfume has largely lost its controversial side. Although some houses still play with these associations by giving their perfumes scandalous names. Or by creating formulas with very strong “animal” notes: leather, skin, sweat, fur, etc. Animal notes are no longer natural (or recreated from natural notes), but they make it possible to recreate these very sexy impressions.
The chypre and woody families have warm and sensual notes that make their scent extremely sexy. But the champion that gives all these perfumes a particularly bewitching scent is still the Oriental family. Why is she called that, by the way? Because for Europe, the Orient has long been a distant and mysterious land where women (and women again, for God’s sake!) have been messing with the senses. Vanilla, resinous notes, and smoky notes evoke feasts of pleasures and decadence (in the minds of Westerners). These exotic smells have led to the creation of this primal family. The ultra-sensual and heady scents that are part of it are all weapons of mass seduction.
But to be more specific, we’re going to give you a few clues about the ingredients that can give a very sensual dimension to your perfume.
Ingredients classified as forbidden to anyone under 18 (and prohibited in modern perfumery):
Musk tonkin: originating from a gland located between the navel and the
genitals of the musk-bearing chevrotin. This substance, which is banned today, smells like a mixture of goat, leather, and urine.
Castoreum: originating from a gland located between the genitals and the anus of the beaver. This substance, which is banned today, also smells like an animal (leather and fur).
Civet: originating from the anal glands of the civet, this forbidden substance smells like excrement.
The new sexy perfume ingredients
Perfumes belonging to all olfactory families can contain animal notes to
make them more naughty. Even the purest citrus! Or the whitest floral! The universally adored flowers such as orange blossom or jasmine have animal notes at their base. The May rose or Centifolia rose contains natural leathery notes!
In modern times, ingredients with animal notes are much softer than civet or musk tonkin (and much more ethical too). White musk is a synthetic ingredient that has nothing to do with musk tonkin, but that has a skin smell. Although they are often used to give impressions of cotton and clean linen, their very sensual base is reminiscent of the smell of the hollow of a neck.
Moreover, other ingredients can evoke unusual sensations when overdosed! For example, when used in large quantities, blackcurrant can evoke urine. And cumin, when overdosed, will give the impression of sweating.
The SEXiest ingredients according to our perfumers:
Vanilla, Rose, Sandalwood, Cedar, Peach, Vetiver, Pepper, and Leather. 🔥
Right. Now, you know what you have to do.
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