The aphrodisiac scent that worked on my husband… So which would yours fall for?
- India Sturgis – and her husband – have ranked a selection of sultry fragrances
- READ MORE: I tried aphrodisiac foods with my husband of 15 years to see if they would get our hearts racing for Valentine’s Day
Can a scent turn you on?
According to social media right now, the answer is yes, yes, yes!
So-called ‘pheromone’ perfumes are having a moment — pheromones being the chemical signals that induce a physiological or behavioural response and often play a crucial role in finding a mate in animals.
The most popular online posts show wives secretly filming their husband’s reaction to seemingly irresistible scents.
Interested to test my husband’s olfactory responses, I picked five of the top aphrodisiac ingredients for perfumes, spritzed myself liberally, lowered the lights and put them to the test . . .
So-called ‘pheromone’ perfumes are having a moment — pheromones being the chemical signals that induce a physiological or behavioural response and often play a crucial role in finding a mate in animals. Stock image used
CASANOVA’S GO-TO
AMBERGRIS
Guerlain Mitsouko (£120 for 75ml, johnlewis.com)
Guerlain Mitsouko (£120 for 75ml, johnlewis.com)
If you want to make yourself more alluring try the classic perfumes, says Luca Turin, co-author of Perfumes: The Guide. However, he remains sceptical of pheromones’ effect on humans. He suggests Mitsouko, launched in 1919. ‘It contains ambergris — which makes perfume last longer — and smells fantastic.’
Ambergris is a waxy, stone-like secretion from a sperm whale’s stomach. The rare and expensive substance is sometimes found washed up on beaches. Casanova added it to chocolate to boost his love-making abilities.
MY VERDICT: Phwoar. It’s very heady — decadent and rich — but, to me, not sensual. It smells rather like talcum powder.
HUSBAND’S VERDICT: Not very feminine. It may be nice in a candle, but it’s not getting me in the mood for love.
SULTRY SPLENDOUR
INDIAN JASMINE
The Body Shop Wild Jasmine (£20 for 50ml, thebodyshop.com)
The Body Shop Wild Jasmine (£20 for 50ml, thebodyshop.com)
‘You can feel its warmth and sensuality,’ says Lorna McKay, founder of The Perfume Society. ‘Indian jasmine is different to European jasmine, which is fresher.’
In Asian traditions, jasmine is the ‘perfume of love’ with some varieties mimicking animal musk, a traditional aphrodisiac.
MY VERDICT: I love this unisex scent. I would be drawn to this like a moth to a flame. Sort of sultry. I can’t explain its attraction, but game on!
HUSBAND’S VERDICT: Smells like chemicals and is a bit putrid. No thanks.
CARNAL MIX
TUBEROSE
Bloom Profumo Di Fiori by Gucci (£65 for 30ml, selfridges.com)
Bloom Profumo Di Fiori by Gucci (£65 for 30ml, selfridges.com)
In Victorian times tuberose was deemed so erotic that women were banned from smelling it in case they got overexcited. Lorna says: ‘Tuberose is known as ‘the carnal flower’. It’s sweet, exotic and complex.’
MY VERDICT: A punch of powerful tuberose, teamed with jasmine, ylang ylang and sandalwood — three other aphrodisiac scents. I can see how this could work. Grown-up and chic.
HUSBAND’S VERDICT: Very flowery. Pleasant. I wanted to keep smelling it. I’d welcome this into the bedroom.
PARISIAN PLEASURE
MUSK
Absolute Aphrodisiac by Initio (£220 for 90ml, fenwick.co.uk)
Absolute Aphrodisiac by Initio (£220 for 90ml, fenwick.co.uk)
Parisian courtesans carried bags of musk, sourced from male deer, between their breasts in the 19th century, so revered was its love-inducing qualities.
‘Now it is made synthetically,’ says Lorna, ‘but it’s still a hypnotic, sometimes sweet, sometimes metallic mix of sweat, earth and nuttiness, with a love-it-hate-it complexity.
‘Weirdly, not everyone is able to smell musk.’
MY VERDICT: Pungent and initially sugary like candy floss but, yes, with something quite sexy, too. I can imagine pairing this perfume with a little black dress and a negroni.
HUSBAND’S VERDICT: This smells like white chocolate. I like it. I’d want to nuzzle into it.
MUM’S THE WORD
SANDALWOOD
Noir (£30 for 30ml, thewhite company.com)
Noir (£30 for 30ml, thewhite company.com)
Isabelle Gelle, founder of The Perfumery Art School, says:. ‘Sandalwood is an aphrodisiac as it has a powdery, lactonic (milky) note, which is relaxing.’
A study found that sandalwood, when inhaled as an essential oil, increased pulse rate, skin sensitivity and blood pressure — which sounds promising!
MY VERDICT: This fragrance has notes of amber and mandarin, too. Woody, clean and gently fierce, I’d wear this day or night, whether or not it got anyone going.
HUSBAND’S VERDICT: It smells of my mum — I think she wears this perfume. So I couldn’t comment.
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