Season 8 • Episode 16: Sumptuous, Textural, Stroke-able Scents
What does a fragrance feel like? This week, Suzy Nightingale and Nicola Bonn are following their noses into the wonderfully tactile world of perfumery, where scent can suggest velvet brushing bare skin, the smooth swish of nylon, or the crumbly comfort of freshly sliced cake. These are perfumes that invite you to reach for a description with your fingertips, imagining the nap of a fabric or the warmth of something delicious before you’ve quite found the words.
There’s oudh wrapped in the softness of sun-warmed suede, a mineral hush reminiscent of petrichor (wet earth after rain), and an aromatic breeze that seems to arrive with your hair already windswept. Elsewhere, jasmine slips into something sleek, while incense and patchouli lead us towards the glowing windows and shadowy corners of a city after dark.
Texture gives us another way into a fragrance, beyond identifying individual notes. Does it feel plush or sheer, cool or deliciously warm? Does it settle around you like a favourite piece of clothing, or suggest the pleasure of stepping outside and taking a properly head-clearing deep breath?
From desert velvet, cake-soft warmth and (not too) sweetness to mineral stillness, crisp air and the smooth touch of nylon, these scents offer six very different ways to experience texture and touchable, strokable sensations in fragrant form.
For this episode, Suzy & Nicola ask you to re-imagine what the way you experience your perfumes. So close your eyes as you listen to the descriptions, and imagine how they’d feel if you could reach out and touch them…
PS: Do try this with your own fragrances, too! Instead of trying to decipher the notes, concentrate instead on working out if they ‘feel’ fluffy, smooth, silky, crisp like cotton, supple like leather or slippery as satin. And are they deliciously cool, or wonderfully warming to the ‘touch’?
Fragrances discussed in this episode:
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud Velvet Mood Extrait
Imagine a piece of velvet warmed by the desert sun: impossibly soft, but with a richness that seems to hold the heat. Oud Velvet Mood Extrait takes that fabric-inspired idea and gives it a sensuous sillage, its oud wood unfurling alongside the plush suggestion of peach skin and the supple feel of delicate suede. Fruity and woody at once, it moves slowly and envelops the skin like a lingering caress.
Materials mentioned: peach skin, suede, oud wood.
D.S. & Durga Ain’t That Sweet?
Ain’t That Sweet? leans wholeheartedly into the comforting pleasure of a freshly sliced piece of cake. There’s a spicy dusting of cinnamon at the opening, followed by the freshness of floral lily, before creamy vanilla brings everything together in a sweet, skin-hugging finish. Nostalgic and decadent, it has the delicious sense of warmth that remains long after the first slice.
Materials mentioned: cinnamon, lily, vanilla.
Inspired by Prague and early references to oxygen as “Aereo Nitro”, Aereo is an invitation to return to your own rhythm. Its composition changes only subtly, allowing its textures to come into focus: soft, almost tactile cashmeran has a mineral depth that recalls warm soil after rain; pink pepper brings an airy clarity; and myrrh lends a soothing, meditative calm. Ethereal yet grounded, it feels quietly assured.
Composition: cashmeran, pink pepper, myrrh.
Wind-whipped and refreshing on first encounter, Unforeseen Aer evokes rugged heights and a cool gust of pure air. Perfumer Celine Barel’s unconventional take on a fougère brings together geranium, lavandin and rosemary for its fresh, aromatic character, while nutmeg introduces a textured warmth. What begins as a bracing rush gradually settles into comfort, without losing that sense of open space.
Materials and accord mentioned: geranium, lavandin, rosemary, nutmeg, pure air accord.
What might Prada’s iconic nylon smell like against the skin? Nylon Noir answers with a floral musk that feels luminous, clean and softly enveloping. Jasmine opens the composition, making way for a nylon accord that suggests the fabric’s smooth touch; musk then leaves an elegant, refined trail. It’s an intriguing translation of something familiar to the fingers into something felt through fragrance.
Materials and accord mentioned: jasmine, nylon accord, musk.
Prada Olfactories Troubled Midnight
Troubled Midnight captures a city in contrasts: glowing lights against deep shadow, hot pavement meeting cold air. Its amber-musk character balances luminous freshness with smoky warmth, as a musk-incense accord leads into patchouli and a date accord adds depth to the base. The fragrance is accompanied by a satin pouch featuring a Prada pattern from the Autumn/Winter 2014 runway collection – another pleasingly tactile detail in a scent shaped by urban atmosphere.
Notes: musk-incense accord, patchouli, date accord.
Want to get in touch with feedback or prescription questions for Suzy & Nicola? Message via a DM @onthescentpodcast and they’ll try to get back to you or answer on the show!
