Tara (A Bottled Rose) has recently published a post about a newish perfume she tried Diptyque Fleur de Peau – a skin scent with an iris twist. And that prompted my thinking about that category of perfumes.
Saturday Question #50:
Do You Like Skin Scents?
I’m not sure if there is a strict definition for the type – “your skin but better” or perfumes that sit close to skin or perfumes that do not smell perfume-y – but whatever you imagine when you hear that term, do you like skin scents? Do you own any of them? When do you wear them?
My Answer
While I do not dislike perfumes that would be characterized as a skin scent, I gravitate to louder, more pronounced perfumes. It is ironic since for the last many years I had to carefully choose what to wear to the office, not to disturb a couple of co-workers sensitive to scents. So, I would have benefited from having more of those in my collection. Instead, I have many Jo Malone perfumes that just disappear in a while, not leaving any trace, but most are quite prominent and unapologetic.
The closest I get to perfume that matches that category is probably sadly discontinued Tiempe Passate by Antonia’s Flowers. There is a chance that when I think it stays close to my skin, in reality it projects much better (follow the link to read more about the phenomenon in my older post), but for me it is beautifully quiet perfume.
Another one that comes to mind when I think about skin scents is Tauerville‘s limited edition When We Cuddle And I Can Smell Your Perfume On My Clothes. I wouldn’t have ever tried it if it weren’t for the wonderfully generous enabler, hajusuuri. Now I’m not sure whether to thank or “curse” her: I enjoy it so much, despite my preconception about that line and general dislike of such lengthy names. I regret not buying this perfume during the short time when it was available. I think it is a perfect skin scent and enjoy wearing it in the evening – so that I can take it with me to bed. But other than these two, I can’t think of any others. Considering the size of my collection, obviously it means that I don’t really like the type. How about you?
Undina's Looking Glass 
Hey Undina,
CHANEL 1957 wears like a skin scent on mre after the first few minutes of excitement. It softly pumps out sweet nothings for hours.
I can’t think of anything else in my collection off the top of my head from the genre but I’m sure they are there.
Portia xx
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I will re-test 1957 to see how it works on me.
I think that if I search harder, I’ll find a couple more, but it’s still an exception.
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Thanks for the link! Nice to inspire a Saturday Question.
I’m not generally drawn to skin scents but as I mentioned to you, I would like one ‘My Skin But Better’ musky perfume in my collection.
I would imagine Sweet Milk by Jo Malone to be a skin scent but I’ve never tried it.
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Sweet Milk… Maybe after it settles down, but in the opening it’s quite present. I should wear it tomorrow! Thank you for the reminder :)
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I suppose I have never tried anything “skin scent-y” that appealed enough to buy, as most of my perfumes have a strong presence if even for only a short while. I have sampled JHAG Not A Perfume (would that count as a skin scent?) and all it did was help me realize that I don’t love perfumes that are heavy on the ambroxan. It certainly didn’t smell like my skin, let alone better!
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:)
I decided not even to try Not A Perfume: I like perfumes, so why would I want to wear anything that is not one? ;)
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When I think of “skin scents,” I first think of musks, large molecules that don’t evaporate as easily. Then I recall that The Body Shop White Musk has a pretty big sillage, and I don’t know what qualifies anymore.
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Body Shop shop smells so awful that whenever I see it in a mall I try to walk as fast by as I can, so I never stop by to smell anything inside of it :)
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Are you sure you’re not thinking of Bath & Body Works? 😉 My memories of smelling White Musk on other people are from the 90s… I did buy a bottle for myself last year just to have it, but it doesn’t feel quite the same in the new (last 5 years or so) purple bottle, although the smell hasn’t changed.
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Bath & Body Works was my nemesis at one point when they were burning freesia wax melts and I couldn’t get the smell off my hair, skin and clothes!
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Sounds awful! They have doubled up now in malls with a candle division (White Barn) next door, so one has to walk quickly past not 1 storefront but 2. 😉
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I know that we have both in the mall, and I avoid both, though I’m not sure now which one is which :)
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Oh no, why did you have to mention Tiempe Passate? I could cry when I think of it. I’ve discovered it some 5 years ago and it went straight into my top 3 perfumes. Imagine my surprise when I wanted to order the second bottle…:-/ Yes, it is a wonderful skin scent.
I think that skin scents have to be powdery in a certain way. First that comes to my mind is mb02 from Biehl Parfumkunstwerke and also Annick Goutal’s Nuit Etoilee has been pretty much watered down so the present quality feels a lot like a skin scent.
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I have the original bottle of Nuit Etoilee, I wore it recently, and it is far from a skin scent. But I believe that the current one might be that. Pity.
For a while, on Antonia’s Flowers’ site it said that it was a temporary hiatus to regroup… Now, the site doesn’t exist any longer – it means that the brand isn’t coming back, I think.
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I’ve never used the phrase to refer to something that smells like skin but better; I’ve only ever used it for the other meaning you mention, a scent that doesn’t have much sillage after a while, but stays close to the skin. I prefer fragrances that are clearly a Fragrance, designed with intention and (we hope) art. I do like the ones that dry down to a gentle scent that only I or someone very close to me can smell, especially if that phase lasts for a long time. One that comes to mind is Merchant of Venice’s Flower Fusion.
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I don’t think I tried anything from Merchant of Venice.
In general, I agree with you: if I put on perfume, I want to wear perfume – otherwise I’d go with a body lotion.
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Hmm, I do have several scents that are subtle, but not sure if I would call them skin scents. Normally I gravitate towards things I can actually smell for 6-8 hours.
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Since I don’t mind re-applying, even 3-4 hours are fine for me. But I want my 3-4 hours! :)
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The closest to a skin scent is L Air de Rien, when the neroli dries down, it’s just powdery skin and the smell of not freshly washed hair.
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I’m familiar with this perfume and agree with your characteristic of it. Though, some days it doesn’t go in that “unwashed” territory for me.
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I feel that my dry skin eats perfume anyway, so a weak skin scent is not really for me. If we talk about musky skin-like scents which are very hushed, then I just don’t see the point, as I prefer perfumes with more character.
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“perfumes with more character” – exactly! :)
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When We Cuddle and I Can Smell Your Perfume on My Clothes (I am exhausted just writing this) is not a skin scent on me but then again, 8 sprays 😆.
I don’t think I have knowingly bought scents just because they were skin scents. I calibrate based on a perfume’s office friendliness although these days, the “office” is super-friendly.
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:)))) Yeah, my office is similar to yours.
I haven’t tried 8 sprays of most of my perfumes (I’ll play “you” again soon with a carefully selected one), and this one I’ll cherish and use sparingly.
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I used to like these a lot as a category – started out here, I could even say – but find them somewhat boring now. ;)
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Always great questions to consider, Undina. I love the full range from softly, softly to big bang. It all depends on my mood.
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I just realized I never answered last week’s question. My second Covid vaccine literally knocked me on my butt for most of 3 days so I feel like I’ve missed an entire week of life. I spent almost 48 hours in bed on and off, unable to function Wednesday and Thursday, but I feel great now! And I’m happy I had such a strong reaction since it means my body is responding to the vaccine and building antibodies.
I’m not a big fan of the Eoscentric Molecules variants (I probably spelled that wrong), JHAG’s Not a Perfume or any of that ilk. My feeling is “Why bother?” If you don’t like perfume, just use a nice body wash. I do like some floral fragrances that are more sheer, though, like Byredo’s Blanche, Byredo’s Tulipe or DS&Durga’s Crystal Pistil. All 3 of these are lovely, but end up as skin scents quickly on my perfume eating skin. I can make them last longer with lotions or scent extenders. I’m considering purchasing 1 of those, along with the body creme, just not sure which one to go for.
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I’m sorry you weren’t feeling well, but hopefully it’s for the best.
Have you tried La Tulipe in cold(er) weather? I always considered it a warm(er) weather perfume until several years ago I happened to wear it in a cooler environment (while in Stockholm :) ), and it was unexpectedly wonderful.
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I have tried La Tulipe and will probably end up buying a smaller size bottle. I like it very much, along with Blanche. I’m glad that Byredo sells matching body washes and lotions to amplify the fragrances. I fell for Blanche when I bought a lotion on sale in the Blanche scent.
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I also realized that there is one other perfume that could be classified as a skin scent that I like very much, Lutens’ Dent du Lait. That soft milkiness is so comforting!
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