7 Signature Scents Women Are Currently Loving
“A woman who doesn’t wear perfume has no future.” – Coco Chanel
I knew Chanel No. 5 before its connection to my namesake. It was one of the few essentials lining my mother’s vanity, that and endless tubes of lipsticks that were variations of her favorite shades: purples, plums, mauves, and wines. Chanel had a writing of its own in the contributions to my mother’s signature. The glass bottle with its contents of liquid gold evolved to become synonymous with my mother and the scent of a woman. After she twisted the tube of lipstick until its royal velvet met the air and painted her lips, she’d take the perfume and spray it on the pulses at her inner wrists, along the length of her neck, and briefly in the space most immediate to her body. Chanel.
I think it was why my father insisted on that as my middle name because Chanel was very much my mother. It was through her I first learned the significance of the scent of a woman and the magnetism of a signature fragrance. Fragrances are a really personal detail for any woman and can take months or even years to find the right one. Even then, your tastes may change and you might decide on a new aroma that better suits you and your essence as a woman. Signature fragrances can be a plethora of scents ranging from a sweet floral to spicy musk with other notes in between.
The 7 scents below are staples to the women who chose them as signature scents they are currently coveting. Read on, get inspired, fall in love, and maybe find a new signature to call your own.
Estée Lauder's Bronze Goddess
“I love this fragrance because it is the perfect scent for summer. It contains two of my favorite scents – vanilla and coconut – and I’m always in love with a fragrance that can do that well. It’s not too sweet and not too fruity and has mostly a floral smell to it, but every time I spray it on myself, I feel like I’m back on the islands, sipping a piña colada.” – Elise, 32
Described as, “A sensuous, sun-drenched blend of Bergamot, warm Amber, Tiare Flower and Vanilla combined with creamy Coconut.”
Estée Lauder's Bronze Goddess, $65
[Tweet "“No elegance is possible without perfume. It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory.” – Coco Chanel"]
Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle
“I like perfume that makes me feel more womanly, more feminine, and more elegant and Coco Mademoiselle does that, inside and out. I’ve worn it every day since I first purchased it about a year ago and it has this floral, jasmine, rose scent to it. I always think happy, light thoughts whenever I breathe it on or catch a whiff of it during my day. It’s how I feel sensual. It’s what makes me feel like a woman.” – Monet, 26
Described as, “Sexy, fresh Oriental fragrance recalls the irrepressible spirit of the young Coco Chanel. An elegant, luxurious spray closest in strength and character to the parfum form.”
Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle, $124
Dolce & Gabbana's 3 l'imperatrice
“I’m not big on perfume, but to me, the absolute best fragrance is L’IMPERATRICE. It smells really sweet and delicious. I think it’s like me in a way, unique, youthful, hard to really pin down, but definitely something that sticks with you.” – Alex, 20
Described as, “Succulent exotic fruits and bright pink florals give way to a musky, appetite-arousing base.”
Dolce & Gabbana’s 3 L’IMPERATRICE, $74
Sinne Firenze's Balance Me
“I’m all about putting things in and on my body that are as natural as possible so I use essential oils. I’ve really been loving Balance Me by Sinne Firenze. They are a cruelty-free, vegan, pure, fair-trade, organic – all words that I love and live by – company (laughs). The scent is very woodsy but with a hint of lavender to it that acts incredibly soothing. I feel like I’m enjoying a beautiful summer day or a great book while I’m overlooking the forest. I apply it daily and two to three times throughout the day.” – Evangeline, 35
Described as, “Emotionally balancing and soothing to body and mind. Deep woods with oriental extravaganza embraced by lavender.”
Sinne Firenze’s Balance Me, $19.99 (USD); sinne.it
[Tweet "“A woman’s perfume tells you more about her than her handwriting.” – Christian Dior"]
Christian Dior's Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet
“I use Miss Dior throughout the year and Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet during the spring and summer seasons because to me it’s the perfect summer scent. I like it because it is a sweeter, more floral version of Miss Dior. It’s really light too. I love what the scent does to my body, I feel instantly pretty.” – Kelsey, 25
Described as, “Its heart holds a tender accord of Peony and Damascus Rose refreshed by a radiant Calabrian Bergamot. The poetic trail is enveloped in soft notes of White Musk.”
Christian Dior’s Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet, $65
Marc Jacob's Daisy Dream
“I discovered this perfume after it won that Consumer Choice Award last year and got head over heels for its bottle design. I like fresh, fruity scents, especially during the summer, which is why Daisy Dream is my go-to signature scent. It’s the perfect way to dab on some sweet-smelling fragrance that is there but not overbearing and is light enough to get me through the long, hot day. It’s summer in a bottle.” – India, 31
Described as, “The fruity-floral fragrance has a light and airy touch, bursting with top notes of blackberry, grapefruit, and pear. The heart notes are introduced with a bouquet of jasmine, lychee, and blue wisteria, and a medley of white woods, musks, and coconut water reveal the base notes.”
Malin+Goetz's Bergamot
“My boyfriend and I love this scent! It smells like bergamot and has a lot of citrusy tones to it with a hint of spice. There isn’t a floral scent in sight which I can appreciate and I’m sure my boyfriend can appreciate too (laughs). I wanted a perfume that made me smell clean, not necessarily sweet, but clean. Bergamot fits that. I had their entire body care product line so now that there is a scent, my life’s complete. It’s kind of mysterious, kind of warm, kind of elegant. I can talk about it all day.” – Samantha, 43
Described as, “Hints of fresh green mint and glistening spices add intoxicating energy, while a dry down of woods and musk imparts an elegant, understated sensuality on the skin.“
What is your go-to signature scent and why?
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Have You Heard Of The 4B Movement? Here's Why It Matters.
Depending on what side of TikTok you’re on, you’ve been seeing an uptick in content about the 4B Movement. In response to South Korea having the world’s lowest birth rate, TikTok user @denimchromosome gave a brief synopsis of the movement on February 16. “Korean women are so done with Korean men that they’re literally just deciding to die out," she said in her post.
While the video is only 30 seconds, this user broke the movement down to its essence and sparked a broader conversation for people to fully dive into knowledge about the movement and why some Korean women have decided to fully commit to this push for gender equality and social justice.
What Is the 4B Movement?
The 4B Movement gained notoriety and prevalence in 2019 when a collective of Korean feminists decided they would no longer marry men (비혼 bihon), have children (비출산 bichulsan), date men (비연애 biyeonae), or have sex with men (비섹스 bisekseu). The name of the movement came from all four agreements, starting with the letter B in Korean. The women who have chosen to participate in this movement are doing so as a result of the blatant misogyny that exists in their society.
They are challenging the cultural norms of their country by removing themselves from the dating scene, ignoring the beauty standards and consumerism propagated toward women, and calling out the pay disparity in the Korean job market.
Go Min Hee, a political professor at Ewha Women's University in Seoul, told NPR, "Gender gap in education has disappeared with the declining number of children and growing attention to education.” As of 2003, women’s college enrollment rates in the region have surpassed men’s.
“But the income gap in the post-education labor market hasn't closed," she continued. South Korea has the largest gender pay gap in the developed world, as of 2022, women still made 31% less than their male counterparts.
In the same report, Jeong Han-Wool, head of the Research Institute of Korean People, shared “For a long time, patriarchal norms governed South Korean society. But those social norms dissolved with democratization, and I don't think we have established new norms that can fill the vacuum.”
Han-Wool said the 4B movement was ignited by the Me Too movement here in the U.S., which he said sparked a new wave of young feminists in South Korea.
While others don’t connect it directly to the movement, they doacknowledge that 4B emerged after multiple incidents of high-profile murders of Korean women, a rampant culture of revenge porn, and spy cam sex crimes were at an all-time high.
Additionally, there is blatant discrimination against women in the workplace; married women are often subjected to gender-based violence, and women are expected to take on the majority of household and child-rearing responsibilities.
Tackling Gender-Based Bias
Digital creator Ryan Carriger said, “Through amplifying the voices and the experiences of the movement, it can illuminate the far-reaching nature of gender-based bias and challenge the social structures that reinforce inequality.”
However, some, such as Anna Lee, have said that the Western media is sensationalizing this movement in South Korea. Despite the fact that reports from the country’s Ministry of Education support the quickly diminishing juvenile population, which many argue is a direct result of feminism. As of February 2024, 157 elementary schools throughout the country will have zero first graders. The lowest reported since the ministry began keeping records in 1970.
Likewise, because of the uptick in feminist voices, young men have shared their feelings of “reverse discrimination” and want the government to get rid of the Gender Equality Ministry in large part because it’s making the job market even more competitive.
Yet, this government entity focuses on more than career equity. One of its main purposes is to protect Korean women who are victims of gender-based crimes such as sexual assault and rape. Opponents of the government’s desire to dismantle this ministry believe it is a dangerous idea and will only lead to more harm toward women in the future.
As the online dialogue continues to build around the 4B Movement, many women from across the world are standing in solidarity with the women of South Korea. Some American women online are sharing a similar sentiment that they’ve already committed to the agreements of the 4B Movement in their personal lives without knowing it was associated with any deliberate social activism.
@wtfaleisa Replying to @user9720585462941 ♬ original sound - wtfaleisa
Decentering Men and Toxic Patriarchy
As many women’s studies scholars have found throughout history, to truly gain gender equality, you have to destabilize patriarchal systems and institutions. Activist, feminist, and author bell hooks once wrote, "Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. Decentering men is a central aspect of this movement." Judith Butler, a gender studies scholar, has further added that decentering men "does not mean erasing men or their experiences, but rather acknowledging that our social and political structures have been built around a narrow understanding of masculinity."
Yet, in true social media form, some of the discussions that are emerging online are demonizing, shaming, and insulting women who are choosing to distance themselves from men, that are collectively harmful to their overall well-being. Proponents of the movement are providing counterarguments to these videos.
Some people can’t seem to wrap their heads around the fact that there are women who would rather be single, have full autonomy over their bodies, and build a life that they want for themselves. Many naysayers of the 4B Movement are calling these actions misandry.
Carrieger disagrees with the notion that the movement is discriminatory against men and says, “Just as Black individuals have long fought against systemic racism and oppression, women have faced their own battles against gender-based discrimination and inequality.” He continues, “The 4B movement's call to challenge traditional gender roles and advocate for the empowerment of women reflects the struggle for equality that resonates within the Black community.”
Finding Common Ground for Social Justice
Historically, any oppressed group looking to gain equal citizenship in a society is always met with pushback, violence, shame, and blame. We saw it with America's civil rights and women's suffrage movements. We saw it with the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and, most recently, with the women’s movement in Iran. This conversation could continue for hours upon hours, and the debates on whether women hate men could rage on for millennia.
The one piece of the conversation that some people are failing to address is that women, not only in Korea but globally, have decided they’d rather be single, child-free, and at peace than have to be subjected to constant trauma, discrimination, and abuse.
It goes without saying that not all men fall in line with patriarchal beliefs or disagree that there are toxic men in the world. However, this conversation is about a collective experience women around the globe share when it comes to their roles in a misogynistic world.
Even women who are in loving relationships and happy to be mothers have shared their understanding of why women would not want to have anything to do with men. Women standing up for themselves and not wanting to feel like second-class citizens isn’t an attack on men, but a call for them to be held accountable for their behavior, both past and present.
And for men to acknowledge that women play just as important a part in society as they do.
I’ll leave you with this quote from activist and scholar Angela Davis: "Decentering men is not about diminishing men or their contributions, but about recognizing that true liberation requires challenging all forms of oppression, including patriarchy."
This quote fully embodies the essence of the 4B Movement and similar movements that aim to decentralize men in our global society.
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