When Ed Sheeran crooned, “...and now my bedsheets smell like you,” in his foot-tapper Shape of You, he wasn’t alluding to a manufactured cocktail of musk and bergamot born in a perfumer’s lab. Rather, his words lean into the most recent trend to hold the world of fragrances captive—nude skin scents that play up your natural aromas instead of masking them with an all-pervasive fragrance.
Can nude actually be a scent, and how?
The fresh crop of skin scents on the olfactory block say yes. If you have ever felt the urge to swipe on nude lipstick or pat in some tinted moisturiser when you want to look put together while still retaining your natural charm, the rationale behind a nude skin perfume is no different. Expect soft, subtle notes that play into your natural musk in a way that is uniquely and unmistakably you. The intimacy of its allure is like that of lingerie—your own personal secret that no one can detect unless they get close.
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The quest to champion one’s natural scent goes back to Iso E Super, a synthetic molecule whipped up by International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. in 1973. Designed to magnify other notes of a perfume, it dials up the intensity of your skin’s own natural musk when sprayed directly on the skin. The world of fragrance has since come a long way, and modern-day favourites, like the Glossier You, are now carrying forward the good work by claiming that their scent is not a finished product—it needs you. “It’s not one of those perfumes you wear to become someone else. Mostly, it smells like you: soft, warm and familiar,” reads a blurb from the brand’s folio.
What sets nude scents apart is that they are typically gender-neutral, lightweight formulas with a hint of complementary base notes that cling to your skin in a way that mimics your body’s natural scent. This means that what’s left for you to do is to find your fragrance personality, pick the notes you most identify with, and bag a nude fragrance to create your signature scent.
How to find the right nude skin scent for you
Since perfumes smell a little different on everyone—thanks to the unique way olfactory notes interact with our skin’s pH levels—it pays to invest some thought into which nude skin fragrance can make you smell most like yourself.
1. Clean:
If you associate with clean notes, it helps to look for lightly scented fragrances that have a just-stepped-out-of-a-shower appeal. Allow the soft notes of rose, peony and lavender combined with punchy citrus guide you on the quest for a clean scent that makes you think of fresh laundry—in the best possible way.
2. Gourmand:
Perhaps you find yourself drawn towards gourmand notes that smell almost edible—think silky vanilla and decadent coffee. Leave the deeper, heavier notes of spice and wood behind in favour of a tantalising whiff of almond, Madagascar vanilla and exotic fruits that will liven up your mood as well as that of those who lean in close.
3. Sensual:
If you’d like to feel sensual in your own skin, look for warm notes of amber and musk that won’t envelop everyone in the room. The lush neroli, patchouli, and sandalwood notes will often have you dreaming of lazy Sunday mornings in bed.
Whether you’d like your natural smell to lean towards soapy clean scents or exotic florals scents, the accelerating popularity of transparent skin scent fragrances is evocative of the growing pushback against perfumes that make you smell like everyone else in the room. After all, in a world where you can be anything, why choose to be someone else?
