Pairing scents as a couple doesn’t have to mean a cheesy, overly sweet scent just for Valentine’s Day. Instead, think of it as “power pairing”, accentuating a strong connection between you and your partner. Here we share some of the most heavenly matches in the olfactory kingdom.
1. Two become one
Tell a tale of a love grounded by shared values with the Chanel Allure pair, which feature common notes such as sandalwood, vanilla and bergamot.
Allure EDT starts off fresh with citrusy notes of lemon, mandarin orange, passion fruit, peach and bergamot, before revealing a lavish floral heart of May rose, magnolia, water lily, peony, jasmine, freesia, orange blossom and honeysuckle. Base notes of vanilla, sandalwood, amber, vetiver and patchouli create a rich, creamy undertone that lingers.
Chanel Allure EDT, $198 for 100ml
Allure Homme EDT has a similar scent profile but with a strong masculine slant, courtesy of spicy ginger and pepper, as well as woody notes including the likes of anise, benzoin and oak moss.
Chanel Allure Homme EDT, $158 for 100ml
2. Destined lovers
Celebrate the hand of fate that has brought you and your beloved together with Tiffany & Co.’s Tiffany & Love For Her EDP and For Him EDT – the brand’s first foray into couple scents that honours the many ways love brings two individuals together.
For Her is a multi-faceted woody floral with crisp, uplifting top notes of blue basil and grapefruit, a neroli heart, and an earthy base of blue sequoia, vetiver and cedarwood.
Tiffany & Love For Her EDP, $252 for 90ml
For Him, meanwhile, is an aromatic citrus that’s an intriguing blend of mandarin orange, ginger, cardamom, cypress, juniper, vetiver, sandalwood and blue sequoia.
Though different, they share a common note, blue sequoia, that ties them together – much like the invisible red thread that connects destined lovers (an East-Asian legend).
Tiffany & Love For Him EDT, $175 for 90ml
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3. Opposites attract
If, borrowing the words of author Emmuskha Orczy, your love affair is a classic case of “strange extremes [meeting] in love’s pathway”, you’ll find the perfect scent match in Tom Ford Beauty’s Rose Prick EDP and Oud Wood EDP.
The former is a wild bouquet of Rose de Mai, Turkish and Bulgarian roses, with Sichuan pepper, turmeric, patchouli and tonka bean adding hints of excitement.
Tom Ford Rose Prick EDP, $478 for 50ml
The latter, meanwhile, is a smoky blend of spicy sandalwood, cardamom and Chinese pepper; exotic oud wood and sandalwood; and warm vetiver, tonka bean, vanilla and amber.
Like how sparks fly when two individuals with vastly different personalities and temperaments get together, this clash of the ultra-feminine and uber-masculine creates a combustive scent profile that is all the more alluring.
Tom Ford Oud Wood EDP, $355 for 50ml
4. Better Together
For two complementary scents that balance each other out, just like you and your other half do, look to Narciso Rodriguez’s For Her EDP and For Him Bleu Noir EDT.
Worn separately, the soft, powdery floral and the woody-spicy scent may come across as a tad too cloying and intense respectively.
Wearing them together as a pair, though, creates a balanced interplay of aromatics, with the sweet accords of rose, peach, musk, amber, patchouli and sandalwood in the feminine scent mingling synergistically with the spicy, earthy ones of nutmeg, cardamom, musk, cedar, vetiver, ebony and amber in the masculine one.
Narciso Rodriguez For Her EDP, $184 for 90ml
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For two complementary scents that balance each other out, just like you and your other half do, look to Narciso Rodriguez’s For Her EDP and For Him Bleu Noir EDT. Worn separately, the soft, powdery floral and the woody-spicy scent may come across as a tad too cloying and intense respectively.
Wearing them together as a pair, though, creates a balanced interplay of aromatics, with the sweet accords of rose, peach, musk, amber, patchouli and sandalwood in the feminine scent mingling synergistically with the spicy, earthy ones of nutmeg, cardamom, musk, cedar, vetiver, ebony and amber in the masculine one.
Narciso Rodriguez For Him Bleu Noir EDT, $139 for 90ml
Nothing speaks of passionate love more than the Gucci Guilty pair, which evokes the intensity and unbridled joy of a rapturous love with seductive blends anchored by intoxicating patchouli.
The Pour Femme EDP is unapologetically oriental, with zesty top notes of mandora, bergamot and pink pepper segueing into a nuanced floral heart of lilac, geranium oil, rose and violet before settling into a drydown of sensual patchouli and amber.
Gucci Guilty Pour Femme EDP, $204 for 90ml
Equally rousing is the woody-spicy Pour Homme EDP, a decadent mix comprising accords of rose, chilli pepper, vinegar and salt on top; orange blossom, lavender and neroli in the middle; and a bewitching base of cedar and patchouli.
Gucci Guilty Pour Homme EDP, $179 for 90ml
Bring back the excitable tension of those early days with Loewe’s 001 Woman EDT and 001 Man EDP – inspired by the first intimate encounter and “the morning after”.
An oriental floral, 001 Woman evokes tender moments by opening with vibrant Italian tangerine, pink pepper and bergamot before delving into a fresh, clean heart of sandalwood and Egyptian jasmine rounded off with warm vanilla and amber.
001 Man similarly calls forth sweet memories with its woody-floral musk scent – an endearing mix of zesty Calabria bergamot, mandarin and cardamom; woody cypress, ambrette seed, carrot seed, sandalwood, cedar and vetiver; and the slightly sweet, rugged violet, patchouli and white musk.
Loewe 001 Woman EDT, $200 for 100ml
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001 Man similarly calls forth sweet memories with its woody-floral musk scent – an endearing mix of zesty Calabria bergamot, mandarin and cardamom; woody cypress, ambrette seed, carrot seed, sandalwood, cedar and vetiver; and the slightly sweet, rugged violet, patchouli and white musk.
Loewe 001 Man EDP, $200 for 100ml
This article was first published in Female.