The Sexiest Perfumes

Its a frequently asked question on the fragrance board at MUA, something along the lines of: "which fragrance is a man magnet? what do you consider to be the sexiest perfume? what scent gets the most compliments?" Usually the question comes from a newbie or someone visiting from another board. Many times the question is answered with jokes, such as "bacon" or "beer" or "just get naked." The question of what is a sexy perfume is asked so often it's hard for board regulars to bother answering it. Mostly, when a few good souls take the time to answer, something along the lines of "wear whatever makes you feel good," is the response.

Wearing what makes you happy and therefore feel good and sexy is the correct answer. But occasionally I get to thinking about what constitutes a generically sexy scent. I've come to the conclusion that a sexy fragrance is one that smells man-made, not something realistic like a soliflore or a specific aroma in nature. I wouldn't consider a scent that smells like true red roses or honeysuckle or peach salsa or cedar wood chips to be sexy. I do, however, think orientals and florientals are the sexiest scents. Chypres, to me, are fragrances one wears for herself. I can't imagine any chypre I own as sexy. Chypres are too complicated, intelligent, wanting to talk. Big aldehydic fragrances are too prissy and pulled together. I adore Le Labo Aldehyde 44 *because* it makes me feel dressed and complete, not undressed in a dimly lit room. I don't think anyone thinks hesperedic or green fragrances are sexy - I wear these to feel fresh and practical.

Here's my list of sexy orientals and florientals:

(in alphabetical order)

Alahine by Teo Cabanel - Alahine is a smoldering aldehydic amber with floral notes woven throughout. It's noticeable, warm and perhaps equally as sophisticated & refined as it is sexy. Alahine makes your skin hot and your mind wander. It's classic with a racy undercurrent. (Alternatives: hmmm, not really similar but picking up on the amber theme - maybe Laura Mercier Minuit Enchante or Parfum d'Empire Ambre Russe but these are less polished)

Alien Liqueur Limited Edition - Alien Liqueur is hypnotic. It's the original Alien with a boozy, woody bent. It's heavy lidded and languid. It's sweet, spicy and addictive. (Alternative: Dior Addict)

Amarige by Givenchy - Amarige is perfume wearing stilettos. It doesn't whisper come hither, it announces it with a husky voice ala Kathleen Turner circa Body Heat. (Alternative: Jean Paul Gaultier Classique)

Barbara Bui Le Parfum - Barbara Bui is probably the most low-key and whisper-y type of sexy fragrance I can think of. If you don't want a potent perfume then this is your answer. Barbara Bui is all about the smell of your lovers undershirt and pillowcase. (Alternative: Costes)

Chaldee by Jean Patou - Musky and sweet, warm and animalic, slightly dirrrrty. Chaldee is an olfactory negligee. (Alternative: Bond No. 9 Fire Island)

Divine eau de parfum - Bombshell tuberose-oriental. Hollywood Glamour. (Alternative: maybe Chinatown, not completely sure)

Gucci eau de parfum - Gucci is a sensual skin scent extraordinaire. It's musky, sweet, herbal, spicy and becomes you. Gucci melts into your skin. If I could have sex with Gucci eau de parfum, I would, but then you'd think I was weird.

LouLou by Cacharel - another Hollywood Glamour scent here. LouLou is a bit less extravagant than Divine. LouLou might wear fishnets under her tailored suit and carry an old fashioned cigarette case in her purse for the occasional dalliance over coffee.

Monyette Paris - Now this is one of the most overtly floral of the bunch. Monyette is predominantly gardenia focused scent but it veers away from big in-your-face florals and falls firmly in the camp of sexy with it's luscious nag champa and mind altering musks.

Musc Ravageur by Frederic Malle - In some ways, Musc Ravageur is similar in style to Gucci edp. MR is a sweet, vanillic musk with what seems like layer upon layer of different musks. There's a stage of Musc Ravageur when sniffing it numbs my nostrils like novocaine or some such thing (surely the clove). It's a naughty scent, pure and simple. (Alternative: not particularly similar but a runner up: Chanel Coromandel. Perhaps the only Chanel I find sexy).

Songes by Annick Goutal - Another overtly floral fragrance - almost too floral to be sexy but it manages a kittenish little shimmy towards the dark side with it's buttery tuberose, tropical frangipani and indolic white florals. (Alternative: Penhaligons Amaranthine)

I didn't include these in the above list, but obviously Shalimar should be included and the following masculines strike me as having the ability to make a bombshell out of a guy: Hermes Terre d'Hermes, Fahrenheit (don't shoot me), Parfums MDCI Invasion Barbare, Fresh Index Tobacco Flower, Creed Tabarome, Annick Goutal Sables and Caron Yatagan.

So, what fragrances do YOU think are sexy? Do you care? Do you avoid fragrances like these? Can we even define sexy perfumes or are they, like most things, entirely individual? What I'm wondering, is whether there is a culturally agreed upon type of scent which strikes most as sexy. Hmmm...

Ava Luxe Frangipani: A Review

I’m not an expert on the scent of frangipani flowers. I know they’re tropical blossoms also known as plumeria whose scent has been a popular Bath & Body Works type fragrance for soaps, lotions and the like for awhile now. I have Ormonde Jayne’s Frangipani, which is beautiful, yet a tad too fleeting for me. I also had Chantecaille’s Frangipane which I liked quite a lot but gifted it to someone else because I didn’t wear it often enough.

I did a quick scan of the blogs, basenotes, POL and MUA to see what the general consensus is on Ava Luxe Frangipani. For the most part, folks seem to think Ava Luxe does a decent rendition of Frangipani but that other higher end niche brands do it better. I’m exactly the opposite. I think for virtually half the price, Ava Luxe makes a frangipani scent that’s beautiful and lasts.

Frangipani is a tropical flower smelling a bit like a fruity indolic jasmine, magnolia or gardenia. It’s native to Mexico, Central and South America, India and Southeast Asia but has thrived in Hawaii to the point that most people think its native to these islands. Frangipani, in nature, has a very sweet, heavily indolic and fruity-floral presence. In most of the Bath & Body Works sort of scents there’s a similarity to Juicy Fruit gum.

Ava Luxe Frangipani smells more heavily indolic than the other Frangipani scents I’ve worn. To me, “indolic” means an overripe note, to the point of being close to decay. Indoles, at one extreme, are found in feces and can smell like feces, but when used minimally in perfumery usually conjure up images of very ripe florals and fruits. I find jasmine, gardenia, magnolia and sometimes orange blossom all have the potential of being particularly indolic scents. Ava Luxe Frangipani is a lovely green tropical frangipani scent. Frangipani absolute is blended with gardenia, tuberose and jasmine to make a particularly lush and intoxicating floral statement. Ava Luxe Frangipani is quite sweet, and very beachy-island-sexy. In style, it reminds me of Monyette Paris, which is another addictively sweet and tropical floral scent. Once Ava Luxe Frangipani dries down, it leans more toward a jasmine-gardenia scent with a base of vanilla, white amber, and cedar, which serve to slightly “cut the sweet” and ground the scent.

I have no explanation but I typically don’t like indolic white florals, however, when they’re done in a lush, over the top style, like Ava Luxe Frangipani, Serge Lutens A La Nuit, Monyette Paris and Serge Lutens Datura Noir...I love them.

Ava Luxe Frangipani is a delicious, sexy, tropical gem. I’ll take this with me on vacation this year and also wear it whenever I need a little island getaway in my mind.

LesNez Manoumalia: A Review

LesNez is a niche perfume line hailing from Switzerland. The line was the brainchild of René Schifferle, a perfume lover who, after being bored by perfumes currently on the market, decided that “some really different perfumes were missing”. Therefore, lucky for us, the perfumers working for LesNez have freedom to create the most interesting, daring and unusual compositions they can imagine. The three existing fragrances in the line (Let Me Play the Lion, The Unicorn Spell and L’Antimatiere) were created in collaboration with Isabelle Doyen. Ms. Doyen is famous for her scents created for Annick Goutal.

The newest fragrance offering from LesNez, called Manoumalia (pronounced “man-oo- mal-eya”), due to launch in early 2009, is created by Sandrine Videault. Ms. Videault was one of the last students of famed perfumer Edmond Roundnitska (quite the teacher but I digress). Manoumalia is said to have been imagined by Ms. Videault’s time in Wallis, an island in the South Pacific. Wallis is a little known French territory located halfway between Fiji and Samoa.

As you might guess, a fragrance built upon the idea of an island in the South Pacific, will surely be tropical in style. Manoumalia is a tropical fragrance, but it is also so much more and so well done. The first few moments of Manoumalia are slightly reminiscent of a green Monyette Paris, Kai, Child or Montale Intense Tiare perfume. But after five minutes Manoumalia gets even more interesting than any of these scents. Just for the record, I adore Monyette Paris, and find it utterly beautiful. Manoumalia contains ample servings of vetiver, sandalwood and amber which keep the potentially extreme “tropics” aroma from taking over. To compare and contrast, let’s take Monyette Paris and Montale’s Intense Tiare, both of these fragarances showcase the sweet fruity florals of the tropics to the extreme. Monyette and Montale give us a fantasy version of the ultimate sweet and floral scents of the islands. Manoumalia seems to give us a more natural or realistic olfactory gift from the tropics. Manoumalia includes the green plants, the woods, some dirt and earthy dimension along with the gorgeous sweet tropics.

To be sure, there is a sweet fruity, tropical floral heart in Manoumalia, but the vetiver, sandalwood and amber underpin the fragrance giving the fruity-florals a certain weight and beauty I’ve never before experienced. Manoumalia is not solely a vacation or beach scent, it is a serious perfume easily worn to the office or for any occasion you wish to smell fabulous.

I’m surprised and delighted by Manoumalia. If this sort of fragrance sounds appealing to you, I highly recommend it.

Manoumalia will be available at Luckyscent in the USA in early 2009.

LesNez Manoumalia notes include: Fagrea, vetiver, tiare, sandalwood dust, ylang ylang, amber accord. Please visit Perfume Shrine for a more detailed description of the fragrance notes and fascinating specifics on the island of Wallis.

Longevity: Excellent 5+ hours
Sillage: Soft but present
Rating: 5 Stars

The image above is an engraving of The Surrender of the Island of Otaheite to Captain Wallis. It is located at Auckland Art Gallery.