Relay Column: The Hidden Scent of Bare Skin – A Study on Skin Fragrances (Yurei)

Setting aside personal preferences, clean and naturally radiant skin, which is universally praised for its delightful scent, along with the perfumes that achieve this, have always been the objects of desire throughout the ages.

For instance, the legendary fragrance from CHANEL, "N°5," incorporated nostalgic notes designed to evoke the scent of pure and clean skin［1］. Even today, about a century later, there are numerous perfumes that utilize a visual image of clean skin. In Japan, the fragrance category known as "skin fragrance (スキンフレグランス)" has gained popularity and seems to have settled as a staple.

While there is still room for discussion regarding a clear definition of skin fragrance, in Japan, promotional phrases such as "blends seamlessly with the skin," "the scent changes with the wearer's skin," and "becomes a unique fragrance for oneself" are commonly used during sales and customer service［2］. This serves as a contemporary promotion that highlights individuality and diversity. The concept is indeed easy to grasp. However, can we truly perceive these aspects from the actual scent? I want to focus on the "fragrance" itself and contemplate this.

Base Note of Skin Fragrance

Traditionally, in perfumery, fragrances are denoted not by their product names or molecular names, but rather by the names of the categories they comprise, such as "wood" or "jasmine." On the other hand, when it comes to skin fragrances, synthetic fragrance names or product names such as "Ambroxide" or fragrance company products like "Ambroxan," "Iso E super," and "Cetalox" are often listed or disclosed in product descriptions and scent pyramids, positioned as base notes representing the foundation that lingers at the end, much like how "aldehydes" are used in "N°5"［3］.

The pioneering example of this type in perfumery is Escentric Molecules' "Molecule 01" (2006), which dilutes the wood-based synthetic fragrance, "Iso E super." This fragrance not only celebrated the concept of "individual variations" but also offered a reinterpretation of attraction through synthetic fragrances that played a supporting role［4］. Today's skin fragrances stem from that initial point but exhibit a slightly different relationship with other notes.

As an example of skin fragrance, I apply LE LABO's "ANOTHER 13" on my skin.
The opening presents a rounded sensation of warmth with a slightly fermented creaminess that expands and swells on the skin. From this point, as my awareness lowers towards the skin, the velocity and sharpness of the scent flowing horizontally begin to increase, contrasting with the organic softness of the upper layers. This texture presumably derives from the previously mentioned "Ambroxide" or "Iso E super," belonging to the wood-based synthetic fragrance category. It manifests as a hard, transparent layer associated with a metallic crunch accompanied by iron-like acidity, revealing a sharpness that prevents the olfactory senses from reaching deeper into the underlying skin despite its overall transparency from top to base notes.