You can call me big-headed if you like, but it’s not like I’ve given myself the title of “best-smelling person in the room”; I’ve had years of people telling me so. And I shouldn’t be scolded for believing them—it’s my job to decipher the best perfumes, after all. And while I adore all sorts of scents, from floral fragrances to cotton-like, fresh perfumes, there is one particular group that I know makes more of an impression than any other—one that I like to call “nude perfumes”.
It is easy for untrained noses to throw nude perfumes into the same category as skin scents, but that would be an olfactory crime. You see, nude perfumes don’t smell like skin at all. Instead, they’re fragrances that work synergistically with the skin. They sit so close that they almost become one with your being—the sort of perfumes that smell so intimate that it feels like an intrusion of privacy to even ask after them. Nude perfumes are warm, enticing and bestow an aura of exclusivity on the wearer. They are never loud or offensive, but they’re distinctly noticeable.
You might be wondering how I came to the name “nude perfumes” to categorise these scents, and it’s simple. Beyond their skin-like intimacy, their most defining characteristic is that they smell even better the longer they stay on the skin—something I have come to notice upon waking in the morning, and still having their scent imprinted on my body. Trust me, these nude perfumes are the secret to smelling better than anyone else…
1. Merit Retrospect
Key notes: Ambrette, pear, bergamot, orris, musk, vanilla, rose, jasmine, moss
Merit Retrospect might start off sweet and juicy—like the first bite into a perfectly ripe pear—but time makes this fragrance come into its own. As soon as the sweet juice begins to diminish, it becomes apparent that this is a perfume that swaddles the skin. It wraps you up in an embrace of creamy musk. It smells like molten flower petals, laced with double cream. But with this comes an element of lived-in beauty—there is a slight disheveled depth, reminiscent of a well-loved handbag, that makes Retrospect smell totally human. Buy a bottle and be prepared to never love any other perfume in the same way.
2. Phlur Soft Spot
Phlur
Soft Spot Eau de Parfum
Key notes: Bergamot peel, mandarin, freesia, jasmine, waterlily, vanilla orchid
Of all the nude perfumes on this list, Phlur Soft Spot is the most “skin scent” like. But what makes it more of a nude perfume, in my opinion, is its floral heart combined with a soft sandalwood base. This concoction doesn’t just float over the skin like other sweet musk perfumes out there, it latches onto it and develops into a scent that is almost like it’s warming up your skin’s natural sweetness. Soft Spot is exactly that—a soft extension of your very own being.
3. Chanel Jersey
Chanel
Les Exclusifs Jersey Eau de Parfum
Key notes: Lavender, bourbon vanilla, white musk
Ironically, the Chanel perfume named “Jersey”, a fabric that wraps your skin in soft, brushed cotton, is one of the most special nude perfumes around. Yes, it has the cottony, velvety softness of jersey, but more accurately, it smells like the clean skin that has been coddled in a luxurious, freshly-pressed jersey t-shirt all day long. Jersey is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful perfumes Chanel has ever created.
4. & Other Stories Perle de Coco
& Other Stories
Perle De Coco Eau de Toilette
Key notes: Caramel, red apple, bamboo, jasmine, ylang ylang, vanilla, warm milk accord, sandalwood
& Other Stories Perle de Coco is sweet, milky, gourmand and deliciously sunny. It smells like caramel stirred into warm milk and poured over sun-drenched skin while lying on the white sandy beaches of a tropical island. It’s the escapist aroma of balmy holiday skin, bottled.
5. Diptyque Lilyphéa
Diptyque
Lilyphéa Eau de Parfum
Key notes: Vanilla, violet leaves, cardamom
I’ll admit, Diptyque Lilyphéa wasn’t the first perfume that came to mind when I was thinking about the best nude perfumes for this story. But it has become impossible to ignore the intrigue that this perfume incites whenever I wear it. After spritzing it onto my neck every day for an entire month, I found myself being showered in compliments. People were asking me what washing detergent I use, what body cream I had on and whether or not I had just stepped out of the shower. I only realised that Lilyphéa was the reason for this intrigue when I spritzed myself with it in the Who What Wear office and the entire team flocked over to ask after it. It smells like stepping out of a cool, lakeside, outdoor shower on the hottest day of the year.
6. Maison Francis Kurkdjian APOM
Maison Francis Kurkdjian
APOM Eau De Parfum
Key notes: Orange blossom, lavender, ylang-ylang, vanilla, ambery woody accord
APOM stands for A Part Of Me, and that is exactly what this feat of a fragrance smells like. The sweet powder of lavender and orange blossom snaps to the skin like a magnet and doesn’t leave. A single spritz imparts a warm, creamy sweetness with an ambery depth that makes it feel as though that aroma belongs on your skin. APOM is an extension of your being.
7. Victoria Beckham Beauty 21:50 Revérie
Victoria Beckham Beauty
21:50 Rêverie Eau de Parfum
Key notes: Vanilla, cedarwood, tonka bean
Victoria Beckham Beauty perfumes are all blended to reflect a specific moment in time. 21:50 Rêverie is an ode to the Javan nights VB encountered on holiday—the scent of tobacco leaves, candles and tropical fruits blowing in the evening breeze. To me, however, the vanilla makes this a much more personal fragrance than it first sounds. Its creamy warmth melts over the skin and envelopes you in a sense of familiarity. It is a deeply personal scent.
8. Le Labo Thé Matcha 26
Le Labo
Thé Matcha 26 Eau De Parfum
Key notes: Matcha tea accord, fig, vetiver, cedarwoods, bitter orange
The thing that makes Le Labo Thé Matcha 26 such an exceptional nude perfume is that it isn’t a scent you necessarily expect to come across on someone’s skin. It has a green, sweet, fig-like scent that gives the perfume its enticing creaminess, but there is also a bitter, earthy crunch that makes it unusual enough that, upon smelling it, you’re left second-guessing whether the aroma is perfume or wearer.
9. Acqua di Parma Buongiorno
Acqua Di Parma
Buongiorno Eau de Parfum
Key notes: Lemon, rosemary, spearmint, basil, petitgrain, cedarwood, amber, white musk
There is nothing about this perfume that is remotely similar to any of the other nude scents on this list. It is not creamy, it is not warm and it is not skin-like. Instead, Acqua di Parma Buongiorno is a sharp, citrus, lemony-green scent that, at first spray, smells part Italian lemon grove and part Fairy Liquid. It smells undeniably joyful, with a crunchy green freshness that plants a smile on your face. So what makes it a nude perfume? The lingering nature of it on the skin means it develops in a special sort of way that all Aqcua di Parma perfumes do—it becomes something musky, captivating and totally intriguing. It makes you want to nudge the collar of the wearer’s crisp white shirt out of the way and nuzzle your nose right into their neck.