Licorice, as far as I know, does not enjoy the wide appeal of its brasher cousin, ginger. (I dunno if they're in anyway related; I'm just callin' 'em cousins 'cause they both grow underground. Artistic license, OK?) (Gosh!)
Anyway, I find it a bit bizarre that, when I posted about anise,
the similarity between its taste and that of licorice was almost
universally disparaged by the chicks who commented. (I, myself, am not a
fan.) AND YET, here 'tis, turning up as one of nature's aphrodisiacs.
"WTF?" you may ask.
Here's the thing: it's not the taste but the scent of licorice that turns us on.
No, really.
Y U SO SEX-AY? Some guy did a study and learned that the scent of licorice, in combination with other specific scents, increased the flow of blood to the genitals of both male and female subjects by, like, a lot. (For dudes, it was a licorice/doughnut combo that got them frisky, and for the babes it was licorice/cucumber.)
Surreal.
Note that there were other scents that turned people on, the most effective among them being cinnamon buns. (Lawdhammercy, I knew there was a reason why I get all flushed whenever I near a Cinnabon. You know, apart from the obvious. Cinnabon, MMMMM!)
For this edition of Sparks (things I dig), I'm focusing on perfumes that really ring my olfactory bells.
The first is an oldie that came out in the mid 80s. Poison by Dior intrigued me with its dark, mysterious sexiness (naturally), and deluged my mind with images of a sophisticated dinner party, held in some foreign land (probably England), on a cool and rainy Saturday night, where my destiny awaited in the form of someone tall, dark, and toothsome...
Now, when I wear it in winter (it doesn't seem right for warmer weather, to me), I remember putting it on it in 1987 and listening to Depeche Mode's If You Want as I made ready to go...somewhere. (Given that I was incredibly sheltered and my mom hardly ever let me go anywhere that wasn't somehow related to school or family, you'd think I'd remember where the hell I was going, but I totally don't. I blame Momnesia.)
Next is Michael Kors by Michael Kors. I find this robust, exotic scent perfect for summertime wear, as it makes me think of beaches and ocean breezes, and moonlit nights with...well, a fella who's tall, dark, and toothsome. :-)
Last is Florence by Tocca. I sniffed it on someone working in my office one day and followed my nose to the source to learn the name of this elegant, almost candy-like scent. I love wearing it on a crisp fall or spring day (which is lucky, as now all my seasonal scent needs are covered). Oh, yeah; and I'd totally wear it for an impromptu picnic of buttery brie, sesame crackers, lush red grapes, and a lovely Californian cabernet sauvignon with Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Toothsome.
I've wondered what it is about these three perfumes that resounds with me on such a visceral level and learned that the one thing they all have in common is tuberose at their core. I can certainly detect this in the Michael Kors and Florence, but don't have such an easy time sniffing it out in Poison, possibly because of the many other notes in that perfume, as well as the emotional attachment I have to it...all I know is I take a whiff of Poison and my soul growls, "Woof!" Looking further into tuberose, I got a big kick out of Blogdorf Goodman's post on this scent...::sighs::, it's just so me (I like to flatter myself). :-D
So what do y'all like to wear when you wanna feel sexy?
All pics in this post were (poorly) snapped by me.
