Yes, great scents project but the even better ones called skin scents drape the body softly like the perfect white T-shirt. Pictured above is Tom Ford Costa Azzura Eau de Parfum in all its skin-like lavender and salty sea air glory.
In its most perfunctory sense, a skin scent means that a fragrance does not project much, i.e., it can only be smelt on one’s body if someone leans in and seriously takes a whiff (and that is how Gucci Ode On Melancholy works, a perfume oil that warms up to the spiciness of patchouli and heat of sandalwood).
And for that matter, it is possibly a scent too that one may not be able to smell himself. Therein lies the USD 30.6 billion question: what is the point when one considers that such fragrances often belong in the extravagant and niche or costly and designer category?
The irresistible promise however is this: the barely-there nature of such fragrances — and curiously most of them are green-like like Loewe Agua with its crisp bergamot and tropical Ceylon tea notes — is elusive to one but obvious to others, pellucid waters that reflect the uniqueness of one’s pheromones that draws in a crowd like moths to a fragranced flame.
While German perfumer Gaza Schoen was the first to introduce this concept with Eccentric Molecule 01 — an overdose of just Iso E Super which mimicked wood — it is little surprise that this concept has caught on. One needs to think of it this way: such fragrances have a low nasal impact but deliver high atmospheric allure (the salt and powdery notes of Maison Crivelli’s Rose Saltifolia has impeccable “throw” for such a skin-like scent).
With reference to the story’s title, we are calling these fragrances Mr Softie: a moniker that suggests that despite their lower sillage than the usual beasts, the magic is that they instantly mix in with one’s natural scent. Think of it as the olfactory equivalent of no-makeup makeup (the creaminess of rose and pepperiness of sandalwood lies at the heart of Valeur Absolue’s Serenitude) where the most delightful question is to be asked why one looks so good instead of having his maquillage questioned.
What else can be said about Mr Softie? By melting sensually into the crook of one’s neck, it provides that the new erogenous zone is the nape and a good time for a sniff is usually after four hours. The particular frame of time is when Hermès Eau de Basilic Pourpre blooms with the spicy sweetness of cloves and the headiness of geranium crushed with basil.
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