There is a movie still playing Too much watched the head of co-founder Jerrod Blandino. Its protagonist, a woman who exudes power, spends a night in contact with a mysterious, perhaps even dangerous lover, whose fresh and woody scent mingles with his floral. At the end of the night, they blow out the bedside candles and a smell of smoke escapes from the room. There are only the sensations of adrenaline and satisfaction.

This is, says Blandino, the impetus behind Better than sex, the brand’s very first fragrance, inspired by the best-selling mascara and eyeliner of the same name. “It’s the emotional stream that swirls around you and uplifts the moment and uplifts your life – for me, scent can do that,” he explains. “I want the scent to evoke extreme and meaningful feelings when you smell it.”

Better Than Sex, released in October, achieves this with the help of perfumer Frank Voelkl, who also helped create Le Labo’s Santal 33 and Glossier You, among others. As Blandino recalls, the collaborative process was just as spontaneous as the vision itself. “I’m not a normal creative person. I don’t put things on paper. I don’t write briefs. I don’t speak to committees. I don’t do research,” he laughs. More or less, Blandino told their Voelkl getaway story, and the duo went back and forth on various scents for a few years until they landed on something “not perfect, but almost perfect,” as described by Voelkl.

This almost perfect combination of notes covers a wide range of scents, including fruit (passion fruit, lychee, peach, citrus), flowers (magnolia, jasmine, orchid, rose) and earthy scents (sandalwood, wood). cedar, musk, amber, patchouli), to name just a handful. On the first draft, it gives off a strong floral impression that quickly melts into something sweeter and smokier with a cool, soapy end.

It’s hard to describe anything other than sexy – which was the point, of course. “You don’t know exactly what brings you back over and over again,” Voelkl says of his creation, with which he aims to stimulate the right kind of tension. “We don’t want you to identify every note in there; every time you wear the scent you feel something that continues to generate interest.”

All of that sultry tenacity is wrapped in a bottle that is unmistakably Too Faced: pink, antique-inspired, and almost unbelievably detailed. The front has the same metallic pink Better Than Sex logo as the mascara, while the top compares to the Palace of Versailles with gold ribbons and lion heads, all topped with a pink crystal cap. “There are so many moving parts that it’s almost impossible to produce,” Blandino boasts.

That’s why this scent, sadly, is going to be “extremely limited”, according to him – but rest assured, Voelkl and Blandino may have other fragrance collaborations in their future. “[Better Than Sex] took a lot from us, but I enjoyed every moment, “Blandino replies when asked if Too Face will create more fragrances in the future.” So yes, I’m open to that. “

Too Faced’s Better Than Sex perfume will retail for $ 105 for 3.4 ounces and will be available this fall on toofaced.com.

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