Blind date, first date, double date, or the sixth date this month: good impressions count – especially when you’re on the market. Choosing a fragrance for a date is a careful art, demanding a choice that is not only agreeable, but also representative of your unique character. A fragrance for such an occasion needs to be distinctive and memorable. And if all goes well, will be a regular feature that you’ll come to be known by.
Playing it Safe: Safe Date Scents
Every date is filled with uncertainties, and that’s the fun of it. And in the process of getting to know one another – what one loves, likes, and dislikes – we recommend opting for scents with immediately agreeable qualities; tried and true favourites without an overbearing personality.
If you tend to err on the side of caution, where balance and reliability are the utmost principles in your life, then aromatic fougères are a confident classic, with textural and herbal notes of lavender, patchouli, and oakmoss, often enlivened with memorable combinations of citruses, ambery notes, herbs, and spices.
With Francesca Bianchi's The Code of Emotion, an energetic start of tropical fruit, mango and pineapple, gives the scent - and its wearer - life and animation. And as you (and whoever might be around you) enjoys this play of sweet and sour, it rests on a sturdy, time-honoured combination of bergamot, lavender, and sandalwood. The Code of Emotion is slightly sweeter than what is expected from a traditional fougere, with lots of flourish up top, but there's no doubting that Bianchi has created a harmonious and respectful blend.
Classic, classic, classic. Bon Monsieur from Rogue Perfumery is generous with its dose of rich lavender absolute, which constitutes the healthy heart of this aromatic fragrance. Appealing with a classic and mature elegance, it takes this beautiful material and sublimates it with herbal notes, as well as fresh geranium, oakmoss, rose, bergamot, cedar, and sandalwood. Clean scents are timeless and leave no trace of doubt about its wearer, and are always an appropriate choice.
With Wake Up World (Parle Moi de Parfum), a little goes a long way. It rouses and awakens; sharp and crisp citrus notes work an incredible green apple note that trails down to floral notes and a woody-ambery base. Wake Up World is an astonishing scent – on the limit of what we’d call ‘safe’ as it taps into bold and sexy profiles. It oozes with character within its deeply familiar and time-tested style, with power and longevity ensured with dihydromyrcenol (freshness) and ambroxan (spice) – crossing classic and modern, these popular molecules have an undeniable masculine feeling.
A Dash of Sexiness: Romantic Date Night Scents
We don’t believe in the frou-frou about pheromones and attraction, but we do believe in a dash of sexiness that certain perfumes seem to have innately. There’s no beating around the bush here: make your choice a sexy choice.
Musk fragrances are typically touted as alluring due to their sensual aromatic profile. Milky Musk (Parle Moi de Parfum) is like a second skin made of musk and smooth sandalwood, hugging the wearer in a blanket of palpable softness. It is textured like suede, and surprises with the softness and generosity of an attractive fig note in its heart. It is romantic and gentle, like a blanket of scent meant to be shared.
Cuir Ottoman by Parfum d'Empire follows similar principles of softness, though the plush feel is charged with a darker, more resinous, more sensual feeling. An incredible leatheriness becomes an oozing melt, charming with skin-like iris and musks. Simply beautiful
Warm spices and smooth ambers also have a cuddly and attractive quality, often with a bit more edge. L’Air du Désert Marocain (Tauer Perfumes) plays with the intimate and almost bodily aroma of cumin, textural amber, and spicy-cool coriander seed, surrounding the wearer in a beautiful glow of warm and attractive scent, grounded in the humming depth of Texan cedar wood. It is not only sophisticated, but has an almost primordial quality of attractiveness that instantly pleases with its smell. One whiff, and everything about L’Air du Desert Marocain is instantly understood.
Side Effect from Initio Privee Parfums is pure sensation. It starts with a fruitiness, a sticky red fruit syrup to be exact, which drives the boozy impression of the fragrance from beginning to end. Rum, tobacco, saffron, cinnamon, sandalwood - a sensual, slow burn that clings to skin like varnish. It is immersive, and built to intoxicate.
Distinction and Character: Bold Date Night Scents
Bold needn’t be brazen nor brash. And although now’s not the time to try out that bombastic new leather fragrance, even the boldest ingredients soften up in the right context. Boldness signifies confidence, self-possession, and decisiveness.
If you’re an oud fan, Parle Moi de Parfum’s Papyrus Oud is a favourite, treating the oud note with a crisp freshness, as it meets the brilliant evocation of green woodland with pine and cedar. With a dose of incense, ginger, and earthy dry papyrus, Papyrus Oud is chic and unexpected. It retains its remarkable and distinct character, but works it into a form that is addictive and deeply attractive.
One is sure to stand out - in all the right ways - with MEM from Bogue. The scent is expressive and radiant, exuding with a complex lavender feature that is both familiar yet completely innovative, delightfully strange but not unapproachable. It showcases a creative side, politely daring as it takes lavender into places it seldom belongs. Its comforting aspects fuse with a rousing heart that crosses impressions of clay, earth, and mineral, softened with fruit tones and incense. To be interesting and compelling at once - MEM achieves this with style.
Go for decadence with Vanille Havane from Les Indemodables, a fetching overdose of vanilla materials, showcasing its darker aspects of rum, dark chocolate, coffee, leather, and tobacco. A tasteful statement - an assertion in scent - the quality and complexity here is nearly unbelievable. While the Eau de Parfum (20%) is a popular choice, consider the Extrait Absolue, at an absolutely astounding 40%. The resulting product wears closer, rewarding with eve greater depth and nuance.
The Final Word
Confidence First
Confidence is (always) key, and we believe fragrance builds into confidence, but will never stand-in for it. On that, sexiness will always start with impeccable hygiene, and from cleanliness and presentation sprouts confidence. Ensure the malodorous is dealt with by way of an excellent deodorant, toothpaste, and body wash, providing an excellent canvas for consequent scenting. Our NOAH Essentials Kit covers all of the essential aspects.
How Much to Apply?
Be sensible – and allow your scent to become a part of your personality, and not stand-in for it! We suggest a few sprays to the front and back of the neck, which is the area most exposed to the air. A spritz on the wrist wouldn’t go astray either.
Things to Avoid
Like a first date at a shellfish restaurant or ordering a dish packed with garlic, some scents are best left in the wardrobe. Keep the experimental and the challenging fragrances for personal savouring; steer clear of overt animalics, leathers, and ouds.