The Mystery of the Scentless Perfume
While telling you about the shop JOVOY, I remembered a funny anecdote. I absolutely have to share it with you. I’m part of a group of Asian cosmetics lovers on Facebook, and 3 years ago, a girl posted a message on Facebook that piqued the curiosity of its 2,000 members.
She told us about a perfume she had tried in a department store, a scentless perfume, which amplifies the wearer’s natural scent. She couldn’t smell anything at all, but others could. After having the perfume spritzed on her, she smelled nothing and left the store laughing, thinking it was a joke (given the price of the perfume).
And then, something magical happened: on her way back, everyone turned to look at her as she passed, and no fewer than 4 people stopped her to ask the name of her perfume. Even though she still smelled NOTHING.
Intrigued by this story, the group members started searching for her (because she couldn’t remember the name of the perfume). Once the perfume’s name was found, all group members flocked to a website where you could order a 2ml sample for 3€.
Within 2 days, 250 orders were placed on this site. The site’s creator (a very small operation, they must have 5-6 employees), overwhelmed by the demand, found the situation highly amusing, and after fulfilling the 250 sample orders (surely by hand, the poor guy, I can imagine him spritzing the samples one by one), even created a special -20% discount code for our little group in case of a splurge on the full size version 😀
The Perfume
Okay, at this point, you’re probably eager to know the name of the perfume. It’s Molecule 01 by Escentric Molecules, created in 2006 by Geza Schoen. Unlike other perfumes that have multiple notes, this one is composed solely of a single ingredient (plus alcohol and water, of course): the synthetic molecule Iso Gamma Super (an evolved version of Iso E Super), in its purest form.
This molecule, which doesn’t exist in nature, delivers a woody scent with amber, violet-floral, and crystalline accents. This fine, velvety note is used in both the heart and base notes.
Used as a scent enhancer in many perfumes and cosmetic products, this is the first time this molecule has been showcased in such a way in a perfume.
As it’s a chemical molecule, it reacts with the pH of each person’s skin and creates a unique sillage for every individual.
That’s why it can smell divinely good on one person, and the opposite on others 😀 Since it enhances and elevates a person’s natural scent, and the molecule is a bit large for the nose’s receptors, the wearer might not always smell it themselves. Sometimes, the scent comes in waves (a gust of wind), only to disappear as quickly.
Why Such Success?
The perfume smells divinely good (on some), but in my opinion, that’s not the only reason everyone rushes to ask the wearer the name of the perfume.
In my humble opinion, it’s linked to olfactory memory. A large number of perfumes and products (shampoos, soaps, laundry detergent) already use this famous molecule. So when you smell this familiar scent on someone else, without being able to put a name to it (because it doesn’t quite match a known, widely worn perfume name – nor a specific natural ingredient: flower, wood, fruits…), naturally, it’s intriguing. And you end up running after the person to ask the name of their perfume.
It’s happened to me before, just once. I was extremely intrigued by a lady’s perfume in the subway, a scent I felt I knew but couldn’t name. I had to muster up my courage to ask her the name of her perfume: Eternity by Calvin Klein. It’s not a perfume I know at all, none of my close friends wear it. But I later learned it contained 15% of the Iso E Super molecule, hence that feeling of familiarity (reminding me of another perfume I love, Trésor by Lancôme, which contains 18%).
I recommend buying Molecule 01 from:
Jovoy Paris (where you can find a tester in their boutique – which I described my experience here, or order a sample online)On their official website : be careful, the 30ml refill bottle (70€) has no cap. Better to opt for the 30ml Portable version at 80€
I insist! You really should test a sample before buying the full bottle. You never know…
At first, it gives off an incense-like scent on me. Spritzed on paper, the scent is aggressive, too fresh, chemical, and hurts the nose. But several hours later, I can’t smell anything, and it’s when opening the bedroom door that a deliciously floral, musky, clean-laundry scent… captivates me. I start sniffing everywhere, determined to find the source of the scent. I thought it was the bed linen, but no, it was the scent of my perfume. A delicious scent playing hide-and-seek.
Olfactory Memory at Our Service
I admit I’ve used perfume to my advantage. By splurging on a small bottle of synthetic musk, I had no idea it would elicit so much kindness around me. Every time I wore it, the saleswomen (Parisian at that!) became extremely nice to me, showering me with samples, all smiles.
A colleague told me I smelled clean, as if I had just taken a long bath. Musk was once used to scent household linens, as the scent lingers long on fabric, hence the association with cleanliness. I wore it to every job interview, and my success rate was very high 😉 ahahaha
Unfortunately, this fragrance was so successful that now everyone recognizes the scent as a perfume scent, not a “clean person” scent. But I still wear it because it smells divine.
I recommend:
White Musk from The Body Shop (opt for the oil version, not the EDT)
Mûre et Musc from L’Artisan Parfumeur
To go further
The psychological & manipulative power of perfumes is the theme explored in:
The book Perfume by Patrick Süskind
The cinematic adaptation of this novel Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
The crime series Perfume (on Netflix) which was loosely inspired by the novel (but has nothing to do with it): an extremely captivating German series, perfect in every detail.
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