Earlier this year, we’ve started exploring happiness as it pertains to our self-care (e.g. The Fullest Saffron Latte review). As 2020 comes to a close, fragrance has risen to be the unforeseen largest growing category in times of quarantine, and social unrest that manifest feelings of disconnectness, anxiety, and overall stress.
Fragrance has made strides transitioning from a purely experiential category to one that carries through appreciable functional benefits as well. We’ve found that our favorite functional products from hand cleansers to deodorants all have an added fragrance component to maximize benefit. More below:
Keep Clean: The No-Rinse Hand Wash
Byredo Rinse-Free Hand Wash in SUEDE: Because washing hands has moved from being a good habit to an essential habit, a good hand wash is more important than ever. And if we’re being honest, ordinary hand sanitizers got boring quickly. This luxurious pick from Swedish perfume-house, Byredo, is a utilitarian, anti-bacterial gel that cleanses the hands without the need for running water. The gel is non-drying, and actually helps to condition the hands. Plus, it smells exactly like Suede hand lotion, which is unisex, with notes of bergamot, violet, pear, plum, and soft musks that make you feel clean and fresh like you just stepped out of a shower. Excellent to feel refreshed through the day while keeping the hands clean.
Feel Clean: The Sophisticated, Natural Deodorant
Corpus Naturals Deodorant in Third Rose: We loved Corpus’ deodorants from first use. They’re natural, baking-soda free, and utilize a traditional stick deodorant form factor. Plus, their botanical deodorants have such unique, evolved, and sophisticated scents. Third Rose was a slow burn for us to warm up to initially. The fragrance is beautiful, perhaps the most delicate and rare in their entire collection. It’s so subtle and gorgeous, and leaves us wanting a deeper hit. This is a good problem to have when it comes to fragrance. It should leave us wanting more, and never overwhelm.
Third Rose’s subtle fragrance works perfectly for home-wear. It delivers restrained strength that remains present without being cloying. The fragrance is a high quality aquatic and herbaceous rose that is not at all overtly sweet nor “matronly,” it won’t compete with perfumes, but is long lasting through the day. It wears invisibly, never suffocating nor irritating. And most importantly, it keeps us feeling clean and put-together through the day.
Happiness Ingestible: Release those Endorphins
MIJA Superstar: A supplement that might also have fragrance benefits? SUPERSTAR made a lasting first-impression. It’s so fresh that the smell of melons hit us before even opening the box. Superstar has a base of ceremonial-grade matcha and moringa leaf, and its dominant taste notes are succulent lychees and refreshingly sweet melons. Olfactively, its fresh scent sparks joy even before the actual supplement hits our tastebuds. The actual supplement itself is what delivers among its comprehensive list of benefits — the motherlode of happiness.
Superstar provides a nice zen buzz from L-theanine amino acids in Matcha, a sought-after essential by monks for meditative tranquility. And there’s also adaptogens, mushrooms, and non-psychoactive hemp plant that releases happiness hormones like serotonin, endorphins, and dopamine that also soothe the overall nervous system. Over time, the body is able to better manage stress, control blood sugar spikes, balance hormone production, reduce anxiety, and even improve the quality of sleep and overall restfulness.
Functional Fragrance: Nature Therapy
The Nue Co. Forest Lungs: Forest therapy is a real thing. The average American spends 90% of their time indoors. This figure is likely even higher in times of COVID-19. This time spent indoors conflicts with our innate affinity for time spent in nature, while increased exposure to nature has been shown to relieve stress and anxiety.
From the brand that introduced the idea of unisex functional fragrance. Forest Lungs, is The Nue Co’s 2nd product in the functional fragrance series (we loved the first), and works as an anti-stress supplement, formulated with a focus on bringing the outdoors in during these more isolated times. In studies, Forest Lungs made 96% of users feel less stressed, and 91% felt lower anxiety levels. It uses a mix of olfactive chemistry and patented technology to replicate compounds found in trees called phytoncides. These compounds are responsible for the positive health benefits associated with forest bathing. This includes stress reduction, anxiety reduction and boosting the parasympathetic (rest) nervous system.
Timeliness aside, this smells very smooth and green, and completely different from the original functional fragrance. What’s really fascinating about this is the fresh, verging on green opening notes that dries down to something light and aquatic resembling Issey Miyake’s iconic namesake fragrance.
The Nue Co. Winter Sale 20% Off
The Nue Co sold out of the first run of Forest Lungs, and are currently taking pre-orders which will be released in February, so make sure you get your reservation in. As a bonus, use code: WINTERSALE for 20% off your entire order on their website, THIS WEEKEND ONLY.
We also recommend getting their original FUNCTIONAL FRAGRANCE. It contains cozy notes of cardamom to lull you into warmth and relaxation in the heart of winter. We’re also fans of their inner-outer duo for skincare. Start internally with the ingestible retinol + Vitamin C pill that is SKIN FILTER, then use the all-in-one skincare serum (with hyaluronic acid, lactic acid, and K-beauty actives), THE PILL in your skincare routine.