A Lick of Salt; The Perfumery Love of Briny

Salt is not a thing we may think about a lot but we like to use it to flavour food, to swim in a salty sea or use it to ensure we have a good balance in our bodies. It can even be used to kill weeds, deter pests in the garden and as a natural exfoliant. In recent years it has become a popular facet in perfumery. Here it is often used to give a sea breeze note to the scent. The latest men’s fragrance from Issey Miyake brings the skin and salt together, think aquatic-fresh. Find out more here in A Lick of Salt; Perfumery loves Briny

We are quite aware these days that we all probably consumer far too much salt, but Sodium (salt) is an essential nutrient and is needed by the body in relatively small amounts to maintain a balance of body fluids and keep muscles and nerves running smoothly. 

Even animals must have salt in their diets A Salt Lick (also known as a Mineral Lick) is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals. Mineral licks can be naturally occurring or artificially provided.

So it was essential in many was useful too, but what about its scent? We know pepper has been used in perfumery for many years, but salt in perfumery became a fashion from 2014 to 217 when a flurry of seas breeze ozonic scents arrived.

Did you ever sniff your lover’s skin just after they have been running, if so, you may well have got a sense of salt on skin aroma because we do lose different amounts of sodium in our perspiration? Or of course, there is the moment a lover rises from a refreshing powerful swim in the sea where the salty brine lingers on soft skin; it’s very sexy.

Many of the initial salty perfumes are very much an expression of the scent of the salty air, the breeze of the salt of the sea, mixed with sand or even greenery. But a new fragrance for men from Issey Miyake brings a new facet to this briny elixir

Le Sel d’Issey by Issey Miyake, openings with a burst of fresh brightness like the fresh crash of summer waves from sea Salt with beautifully lively Ginger, immediately you are transported to the turquoise sea and sandy white beaches.

Moving into a heart find the salty green of Seaweed alongside a note of earthy rooty green from Vetiver as if the waves meet the ragged wild earth as the waves crash onto the edge of the land.

But it’s the choice of wood in its depth that brings a soft ‘human touch’ to the finale. Oakmoss and Cedarwood reign supreme here, the Oakmoss with its earthy, damp foliage with hints of Musk that give the cloudy powdery warmth to this cool scent and the key final note of Cedarwood with its warm, soft woody green facets, which also hints at the musky warmth of sexy skin.

As this is thirty years after the launch of the iconic L’Eau d’Issey pour Homme, there will always be hints of the original juice. A dynamic fresh salt salt-driven bottle of waves of fragrance where the sea meets land, yet with a hint of sexy warmth of soft salty skin

Launching on 26^th August 2024, at The Perfume Shop, and nationwide on the 11^th September. To find out all about the fragrance please visit isseymiyakeparfums.com

If you enjoyed reading A Lick of Salt; The Perfumery Love of Briny, why not read The Powerful World of the Female Surrealist Here

.Cent Magazine London, Be Inspired; Get Involved