Asking strangers about their relationship with attraction and fragrance.
I wandered into my local mall on a weekday evening. The after-school mania clearly hadn’t yet dissipated, as I found myself dizzy from broccoli haircuts and Canada Goose puffer jackets whirring around me. The mall is quite large, but I knew my first stop had to be Sephora. I brushed by teenage boys frantically sniffing test strips, the metal security cord straining as they clutched a $600 bottle of Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille.
I approached a mousy brunette in an Aritzia uniform (grey sweats, white cotton tee, black puffer). This would be the beginning of my journey asking strangers about their relationship to scent, romance, and attraction.
Anna
Age: 14
Location: Sephora
Meeting Anna was the first time I’ve experienced what some call the “gen-z stare”. In the 2.5 seconds between making eye contact with her and opening my mouth to speak, I was consumed by this stare—she looked scared, but also held a perfect half-smile.
Anna wears fragrance every day. She believes that scent plays a role in attraction. I asked her what she thinks romance smells like, and after a brief pause for reflection, she said “vanilla”. She sounded uncertain, but I was delighted.
Willow and Jasmine
Location: Lush
Age: 20 and 18
They both wear fragrance every day. I asked what they think about fragrance and attraction, and they both enthusiastically agreed it plays a huge role.
“I’m definitely going to make mine a lot louder. Yeah, I’m gonna put on more”, Willow says through giggles when I ask about what perfume she’ll wear on Valentine’s day.
“It’s like the everyday scent, but put on more. Plus, everyone’s gonna do a full-body shower, like shaving their legs, making it serious”.
Willow shares that Lord of Misrule from Lush is one of her favorite fragrances. “I love that one too!”, I replied. She loves masculine scents.
I ask more about their signature scents.
“Funny, I have a winter vanilla and a summer vanilla. I love Mod Vanilla by Ariana Grande, and then Vanilla Romance from Bath and Body Works”, Jasmine replies. This is a body spray– I was delighted to learn that the body spray business is still booming.
Jasmine likes to apply a few light sprays of perfume, but then “goes ham” on the body spray, she says.
Willow interjects, matter-of-factly, “body spray is just basically second lotion”. We all share a laugh.
If she had to bottle romance, Willow would make it musky, warm, animalic, and maybe add ambroxan.“And also, like green florals somehow? Everything gets lighter and brighter because you’re falling in love. Like, the green parts of flowers”. Jasmine agrees, adding that the stem and the roots of the flowers are integral, and that it’s not all about the end product (petals), it’s about the slow process of getting there too.
I found myself thinking about roses, and how interesting it is that rose notes are no longer what the majority consider their number one romantic note. “Most people would say rose when they think about romantic scents, but “I’m a die-hard rose hater“, Willow states, as if she was reading my mind.
Jaya
Age: 23
Location: Aritzia
“I wear the vanilla one from Kayali, I forget what it’s called”. We both forget what it’s called, but she says it’s the dark purple one.
“Romance smells like vanilla. Rose gives, like, old lady”. Another point for team gourmand.
Joe
Age: 21
Location: Uniqlo
Joe wears perfume every day.
I ask him if there’s a certain scent he associates with romance. “Matcha Meditation from Replica was my first bottle of perfume. My ex got it for me”. I joke about how it must have left an imprint on his life. From this interaction, I cannot conclude Joe’s current feelings towards his ex.
Joe has no plans on Valentine’s, but if he did have plans, he would go for something a “little bit sweet“. He loves Gabrielle by Chanel, and Santal 33. “I don’t know if you know, but it’s the one from Le Labo”, he informs me. I sure do know about that one.
Raana
Age: 46
Location: H&M
Raana wears perfume about 80% of the time, specifically when she’s going to see her friends or going to work. She doesn’t wear it when she’s staying at home.
I ask her if she thinks fragrance plays a role in attraction. “Absolutely. It attracts me! If I smell a good fragrance, I find myself following that person”.
“For me, I’m drawn to cold scents on men. Like, the classics, you know, Acqua di Gio, Hugo Boss“. Raana goes on to explain she runs towards masculine colognes like a cat to a crinkling bag of food.
On Valentine’s Day, she is going out with her husband. “I’m wearing an old one, La Vie Est Belle by Lancôme. It’s more than 10 years old”. I ask about the scent profile. “It’s floral, but it’s not warm, it’s white florals. That’s what my husband loves”. La Vie also has a heavy base of vanilla, tonka, and praline.
When I asked Raana about love and perfume, she stressed that everybody is different, so it really depends. She struggled with the question, but expressed that she would pay special attention to what kind of scents she knew for sure the person likes, and try to seek that out. But if she was searching for a romantic fragrance to buy for herself, she would want to try something new.