I often find myself staring at my perfume shelf of a morning, glancing over the cluttered bottles and pensively deciding what to wear. The question that regularly pops in to my mind during my ritual browsing is “Hmmm, what am I in the mood for today?” and it’s funny how our moods, along with other external factors such as season, fashion and weather influence our choices in regards to perfume.

But how about fragrances that do more than compliment our mood? Those fragrances that go one step further to enhance the emotions we feel and boost our moods. Perfume is after all, an incredibly emotional art, capturing nature and bottling memories. The power of scent to affect how we feel is undeniable.

In conjunction with some of my favourite bloggers I would like to share with you two fragrances that enhance my mood. As the world of perfume brings me nothing but happiness I thought it appropriate that both of my fragrant suggestions be ones that spark feelings of joy and serenity, with one in particular having priceless sentimental value.

[Don’t forget to head over to Persolaise, Olfactoria’s Travels, Eyeliner on a Cat and Fragrant Moments to read about their mood-enhancing perfumes!]

You may be thinking that Thierry Mugler’s Alien has the ability to only strike fear in to anyone who is unfortunate to come across it but to me it is one of the most joyful perfumes on the planet, for two reasons.

Firstly, it has an unusual, other-wordly quality to it and despite it’s shockingly loud blend of hyper-jasmine, cashmeran and amber, it casts a soft, sunlit glow on to the skin making one think of summer days where the pace of life can be as fast or slow as one wishes.

Most importantly, when I wore Alien for the very first time it was from a sample I had blagged in Debenhams. That night I went out with some friends, Alien pulsating from my body like a great big purple aura and It was with those friends and with Alien on that night out that I met my partner for the first time. Today marks our 5th anniversary (thats 150 years in gay years FYI) and Alien will always remind me of who we both were that evening, how we are now and the happiness of everything in between.

In a way I’m thankful for Alien, not just because it smells wonderful, but because it acts as an olfactory time capsule that allows me to remember one of the most important nights of my life and it still manages to bring me waves of joy every time I wear it.

It seems fitting that my second joyful perfume should be the one that I received as a gift for our fifth anniversary, but that’s not the only reason why it makes the grade here. Jour d’Hermès is perhaps the most radiant and dazzling perfume I have smelled in recent times and its spring-like, dewy and optimistic light doesn’t fail to instil a feeling of peaceful happiness.

Jour d’Hermès is an abstract floral presented in technicolor, surround sound and on an iMax screen. It’s size is matched by the delicacy in which it displays its many facets and these contrasts create an intriguing ‘nature writ-large’ vibe that not only feels joyful but is also rather humorous. In a world where fragrances are created largely to promote some celebrity, designer or ego it is refreshing to find a perfume that just focuses on being as beautiful as it can be.

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Join the Discussion!

What are your favourite mood boosting perfumes?

Which perfumes bring you joy?

Which perfumes evoke other emotions; sadness, lust?

Please leave your thoughts in the comments box below!

Disclaimer
Images stolen from various places off the internet and merged with one of my own.