Written by Arden Dickson

Photos of Naliah Hernandez, Hal Lueking, Grace Mason, and Elisa Peters by Britney Spangenberg

Post-pandemic connection is difficult. Closeness has been rendered as a thing of the past, almost nostalgic. The very word “intimacy” now bears the weight of anxiety, fear, and two years of almost total isolation. 

However, because humans are the way humans are, we have devised a unique cure for this so-called quarantine blues—and its methods may just surprise you. 

Skin scents, the latest trend in fine fragrance, are clean, fresh, intimate fragrances that are meant to evoke the natural aroma of the human body. Unlike other standards, heavily layered perfumes, skin scents rely on bottom notes to tell the story. These notes often include amber, musk, and wood. These bottom notes adjust with your body’s natural pH to create an aura of scent unique to each individual wearer. Some examples of skin scents are You by Glossier, Original by Riddle, Blanche by Byredo, and Lazy Sunday Morning by REPLICA Maison Margiela

However, skin scents are more than just a trend. Although gendered fragrance has been slowly devolving since the first marketed unisex fragrance CK One by Calvin Klein, skin scents have served as a catalyst into an era of scent self-expression. Rather than aspiring to emulate expectations, post-pandemic consumers seek to smell more like their authentic, nuanced selves.

Skin scents, a post-pandemic trend, have set the stage for a new age of individuality, kindness, and connection through beauty.