āWhere should I apply perfume?ā asked a young lady. āWhere you want to be kissed,ā replied Coco Chanel.
Seeing as it’s Valentineās Day, Savoir Flair is feeling rather romantic ā and what better way to get in the mood than with lots of fancy fragrances in beautiful bottles? Smell has the power to change your mood, evoke memories, transport you to a faraway land, and even help you fall in love. Yes, thatās right. Just by taking in a good old whiff of someone, you can be struck so strongly by their smell that itās almost as if youāve been hit by Cupidās arrow.
As Jose Eisenberg, creator of luxury beauty and fragrance brand Eisenberg Paris, tells us, āScent is so closely connected to emotions. The olfactory bulb is part of the brainās limbic system, otherwise known as the “emotional brain”, because itās responsible for feelings and memories. It has very close access to the amygdala ā another part of the brain ā which processes emotions. It is therefore firstly a physical process.ā Itās this strong emotional component of perfume thatĀ gives it the power to make us fall head over heels simply through scent.
āThe beauty of perfumes is that they are deeply personal and can evoke strong memories with a single note, even on a subconscious level. Scents can draw us to others, creating special bonds,ā saysĀ Martine Micallef, co-creator of niche fragrance brandĀ M.Micallef. Fragrance is also a form of expression, a way of revealing your mood or personality, giving others a piece of yourself simply through smell.
When it comes to falling in love or setting the right mood for Valentineās Day, fragrance is the most important alluring accomplice to add to your arsenal. ā Roja Dove
Jo MaloneĀ Fragrance DirectorĀ Chris WyattĀ goes on to explain, āOur sense of smell is most primitive and immediate. Fragrance is an extension of our personality. We can choose to create an aura of scent around us that portrays an impression of how we wish others to perceive us. Itās like a little black dress. You can accessorize it extravagantly or pare it down.ā
On a similar note, world-renowned fragrance creatorĀ Roja DoveĀ says, āWhen it comes to falling in love or setting the right mood for Valentineās Day, fragrance is the most important alluring accomplice to add to your arsenal. It is the catalyst for romantic alchemy. I have no doubt that when you lose your heart to somebody, it is impossible not to fall in love with their fragrance.
There is a wonderful old proverb that captures this perfectly: āWith one breath of her perfume, I forfeit my kingdom. With a second, I forfeit my soul.ā When you first see someone youāre attracted to, you instantly feel that magical frisson of excitement. As you get closer, you breathe in a little of their perfume, and their olfactory tattoo is imprinted on your psyche. When you smell a desirable fragrance on someone, the hormone balance in your body is stimulated and you subconsciously become attracted to them.ā
Love Notes
If youāre looking for love or to spice up your scent this season, there are three notes you need to bring to the bottle: oud, oriental, and floral.
Oud
The note du jour, oud has taken the fragrance world by storm. Used for centuries in Middle Eastern scents, YSL brought oud to the forefront in 2002 with the creation of ‘M7’, a scent designed to embody male sensuality. Now, almost every major perfume house is bringing it to the mainstream thanks to its intoxicating smell. One of the most expensive ingredients available ā often costing more per ounce than gold ā this precious resin from the heart of the agarwood tree has a smoky, incense-like richness and a sensual aroma, making for one richly romantic note.
āA note that we often use in our fragrances is oud, which we discovered in 2002 during a trip to the old spice souks of Dubai,ā says Micallef. āWe were captured by the qualities that this wonder oil possesses and took it back to the lab in France to blend it with some more traditional European scents. It caused a sensation when we brought it back to the Middle East! An animalistic and leathery scent, oud is a captivating note that seduces both men and women, and definitely attracts a particular type of outgoing personality.ā
Oriental
Evoking exoticism and sensuality, oriental scents incorporate intoxicating and intense ingredients to create warm and spicy smells. From cinnamon and clove to nutmeg and musk, they’re deliciously enticing and are often accompanied by exotic flowers or hints of caramel, dark chocolate, and creamy coffee. But one particular ingredient that makes orientals so alluring is vanilla. Proven to be one of the most romantic smells in the world, it was used by Aztecs in the 1700s as a natural aphrodisiac and has long been a part of Chinese and French perfumes.
More recently, Chicagoās Smell &Ā Taste Treatment and Research Foundation found that it was the most enticing smell for men, making it the perfect fall-in-love fragrance. Dove also believes orientals to be the most romantic scents, telling us, āFor serious love, orientals come to the fore. The underlying note of vanilla gives an enveloping feeling, but thereās a message of temptation and promise. For romance, the proven aphrodisiac vanilla is key. It enhances sensations of pleasure across the entire central nervous system and the tiniest hint of it can speak volumes. Alternatively, a perfume with leather notes can unlock your inner compulsions to reveal a world of raw sensuality.ā
Floral
Thereās no denying that flowers are the ultimate symbol of love and romance, but itās not just because of their pretty petals ā itās also because of their scent. The most popular fragrance group, florals are fabulously feminine and can be soft and subtle, as fresh as newly cut flowers, or intense whenĀ mixed with fruit and spices. They also contain a naturally occurring aphrodisiac, which means you can (quite literally) fall in love with flowers.
Rose is the flower of love! It is a real heart-opener. āĀ Jose Eisenberg
As Dove explains, āTo enhance sensations of pleasure, heady white flowers like jasmine, magnolia, gardenia, and tuberose are essential. White flowers have a hidden, naturally occurring aphrodisiac in them called indole that we, as human animals, produce naturally. Fragrances with aldehydic top notes lift the spirits ā they add a sparkling effect thatĀ can give a tremendous boost to the psyche.ā The most romantic flower of all? The rose, of course. It’s Februaryās favorite flower, and for good reason.
āRose is the flower of love! It is a real heart-opener,ā says Eisenberg. āSuch notes are crucial for me in a perfume because a fragrance has to speak to oneās imagination. I imagined my collection as an ode to beauty and love.ā Reason enough to bring the bouquet to your bottle.