A perfume needs to hit certain key notes to be sexy. First, it should contain the promise of a good night out with someone intriguing — a blend of heady food and booze notes. “Think big-shouldered amber perfumes laced with tobacco, leather notes, ribbons of vanilla,” says da Costa. Next: skin, the first frontier of being closer to someone physically. “Modern musks that aren’t too clean or soft but rather lean into the dirtier, naughtier side of the scent are brilliant on skin, and warm it up, making it more sensual, more tempting,” she says.
