Fear can be a potent aphrodisiac.

~ Kele Moon

The distinct smell of leather has many traits. It can evoke memories of the best moments in life. Scent is a well-known trigger for memory. Leather can also be soft, yet exciting. Enticing. The richness of its scent can tease the senses, drawing out primitive reactions. The smell is alluring, beguiling. The strength of leather, the comfort it offers by its proximity to the body, can be reassuring, even while shivers erupt along the skin as it wraps around a wrist, ankle, or neck. Need floods the body as thick cuffs are secured, triggering that sense of helplessness and immobility. Leather can excite… being so natural, and again, so very sensual. Warm.

The scent of leather falls somewhere between masculine and feminine tones. Leather is one of the earliest notes in perfumery, rooted in the tradition of Gantiers Parfumeurs, a guild of Parisian glove makers who made leather gloves for the aristocracy. Scents like oils, musk, ambergris, and civet were used to mask the nauseating smell of dead animal skin. This re-odorized scent is actually what today describes our notion of the smell of leather.

Many thanks to the model, Ben. J