Night, cleaning, animal skin: Aromas inspired by sex
Text: Ksenia Golovanova, author of the telegram channel Nose Republic
Perfume sexuality is part of an important legend.: fragrances are often meant for “seduction”, and every second advertising campaign seeks to enumerate the whole range of sensory experiences. For those who respect the topic, but are too tired of silk sheets and rose petals, perfume critic Ksenia Golovanova collected the smells of sex in the most unobvious manifestations.
Aziyadé, Parfum d'Empire
10 500 rub. for 100 ml
Pieri Loti’s Asiad, or, as he was translated into Russian, The Slave Harem, is a love affair with elements of erotica: in the story, the young Turkish mistress is penetrated by forbidden feelings to the gyaura, officer of the French fleet, and then completely mental and physical convulsions The Muslim quarter of Thessaloniki. The novel is not very, but the fragrance Parfum d'Empire, dedicated to him, is excellent and also about sex in a harem. Such as Corticyato imagines him: with an animal, the level of Lutan's Muscs Koublaï Khän, musk, wet hair and sweaty - really sweaty! - cumin.
Peau de Bête, Les Liquides Imaginaires
19 900 rub. for 100 ml
“Animal Skin” was the first fragrance in the Les Eaux de Peau trilogy (Leather Waters), which Animal Beauty was originally called “Animal Beauty” (this year the second part, Belle Bête, Beautiful Monster, came out) . It makes sense to say a few words about what Peau de Bête is made of.
About cibetin and castoreum (it’s also a beaver stream) - substances, in different ways, but equally bright, if we sniff them in their pure form, smelling "beast" - we wrote more than once, but we didn’t have time for skatole. In nature, this organic compound is formed, among other things, in the digestive tract of mammals: it gives feces their characteristic odor, and the aroma of some flowers, for example (excuse the involuntary pun) callas, is a specific animal "maturity".
For Peau de Bête, the skatole, even if introduced in low concentration, is very important: thanks to him, the creature painted by the perfumer gains weight and volume. So - a sweat, a special, sleepy and warm neftezhesty, a variety of secretions - smells like a man who worked all night in bed.
Nuit Noire, Mona di Orio
13 850 rub. for 75 ml
Paraphrasing "Game of Thrones", this night is dark and full of movement. Nature is making love: boxes drop spicy seeds into southern dust, indole flowers lean under the weight of velvety insects, musky animals snivel in the dry grass. Nuit Noire is a restless, agile aroma, similar to a night safari on savanna: headlights snatch out of the darkness the outlines of living beings, but only for a split second - they will dissolve in a black bush, leaving behind only a fluctuation of warm air.
Absolue Pour le Soir, Maison Francis Kurkdjian
12000 rub. for 70 ml
Absolue Pour le Soir, or, as some journalists dearly call it, “Absolu de Urinal” is one of the most bodily fragrances of modern perfumery. This is due to the absolute honey, which is characterized by a warm, waxy-scented smell with a distinct urine tone (in the perfume forums they write more delicately - "cat tray").
This is so: at one time, scientists at the University of California developed a special flavor wheel for beekeepers, honey producers and tasters, and identified in it a whole group of so-called animal tones - including notes of leather, sweat, crib and urine. Absolue Pour le Soir honey is truly completely "atrocious" - with spicy, leather and urine aspects. Once Tom Ford, in his own words, decided to make the fragrance "with the smell of a male crotch after sex" and received - you will be surprised - Black Orchid. And should have been - Absolue Pour le Soir.
The Sexiest Scent on the Planet. Ever. (I.M.H.O.), 4160Tuesdays
£ 60 for 50 ml
4160Tuesdays is a small British brand, founded by Sarah McCartney in 2013. His most famous work, the green and fruity Macaque, was done by the perfumer for the Canadian brand Zoologist, showing a considerable sense of humor: "Macaque" smells like monkeys who are prone to gluttony - fruit, half-eaten shoots, peeled cedar cones.
The Sexiest Scent on the Planet is no less ironic: the main role here is given to vanilla - the most popular sweet fragrance in the world, according to Symrise. In short, everyone loves vanilla and everyone loves Iso E Super, as the success of Molecule 01, which is a solution of this substance with a clear and dry cedar flavor, shows. There is plenty of both here, plus white musk and a drop of lemon. If the smell of Saturday cleaning, especially that part of it, when the parquet is rubbed to a shine, excites you, then The Sexiest Scent on the Planet is really the sexiest.
Messy Sexy Rolling Out Bed A Lab On Fire
$ 125 for 60 ml
Brooklyn's A Lab on Fire grew from the S-Perfume brand. The latter was favored by most reputable perfume critics: from Luke Turin and Tanya Sanchez, who instructed the stars to their fragrances in their strict book Perfumes, to Chandler Burr and Michael Edwards. A good press did not help, avant-garde S-Perfumes were sold badly - on the website of the brand they are justified by the fact that "flavors are ahead of their time."
A Lab on Fire, however, did work on the bugs and now reads the perfumery agenda perfectly: their last fragrance, California Snow, fit into the mineral trend, and two earlier and most popular ones - last year and Messy Sexy Just Rolled Out of Bed - in fashion for perfumery gourmet. The latter was inspired by a famous photo shoot: in 1961, photographer Douglas Kirkland shot nude Marilyn Monroe and, according to his memoirs, was terribly nervous. The tension that arose between the photographer and the main blonde of the 1950s, perfumer Dominique Ropion translated into a fiery caramel chord and the smell of a slightly sweaty body - it turned out a box of puffs eaten in bed right after sex.
Photo:Avery, Escentual, ParfuMaria, Bumparfum, Mona di Orio, Liquides Imaginaires, Parfumer