Lisa Hoffman Beauty has a new way for you to smell fabulous morning, noon and night—a method based on science and a cute, leather pack of perfumes.The new fragrance line, dreamed up by founder Lisa Hoffman during a particularly inspired shower, includes five different scents based on places she visited with her husband, Dustin Hoffman, while he was working on location.The twist? Each scent comes in four variations, modified to suit your nose’s needs during the morning, afternoon, evening and bedtime.“I created the sets just for me, for what I was wanting and missing,” says Hoffman. “First thing in the morning, a perfume I want to wear might be overwhelming and at night, when I’m getting ready to go out, it might not feel rich enough or sexy enough.” (Those of us with a signature scent run into this problem daily.) “It occurred to me that I could take one fragrance and alter it,” she says.MORE: The Scent of AttractionOne of Hoffman’s most popular new scents, Japanese Agarwood, is a fresh, woody scent that smells like waking up early on a camping trip. For the morning variation, she pushes the lighter, fresher notes (lemon and cardamom, in this case), and then she does the reverse in the evening, pushing warmer notes, like spiced jasmine and cedarwood.Scientifically, that makes sense, says Dr. Alan Hirsch, director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation. “Your sense of smell changes as the day progresses,” he explains. “It’s greatest when you first wake up, then declines as the day goes on.” (That’s partly because you haven’t eaten in awhile when you wake up, so your nose is on high alert to find food.)GALLERY: Top 20 Natural PerfumesEven the specific fragrance notes are tailored to trigger your senses.Citrus scents (like those in the morning variations) stimulate the trigeminal nerve—the same nerve that makes you cry when you cut an onion. “Stimulating that nerve makes you more awake or alert,” says Hirsch. (Coffee or orange juice would have the same effect.)Jasmine and sandalwood (both highlighted in evening variations) can help you gear up for a post-work dinner or drink. “When you’re around people you like, sandalwood tends to make you socialize more and puts you in a more positive mood,” says Hirsch. “Jasmine also tends to increase beta waves associated with a more awake and alert state. One study found that jasmine increased hand-eye coordination, so if you’re tired, it can give you the extra boost.”The bedtime scent is very subtle, with just a hint of fragrance. “Smell is an alarm mechanism, so a strong smell when you’re sleeping would wake you up,” says Hirsch.You can even pick and choose which variation you use based on the temperature.“When it’s colder, your sense of smell is worse,” says Hirsch. In overheated winter offices, you’ll want a lighter (morning) scent indoors and a stronger (evening) scent when you step into the freezing outdoors. (The opposite is true in the summer when offices are cold and the streets are sweltering.)MORE: Is Your Perfume Toxic? “My hope is that women will have more fun with their fragrance, that they’ll feel freer to wear it their way, mix it up a bit,” says Hoffman, who loves to put the oils in the palm of her hand then lightly run her fingers through her long, brown hair. “On a windy day, I love that I can toss my head and get a whiff of it.”Whether you use the perfumes to wake you up in the morning, perk you up for happy hour or calm you as you hop into bed, your nose can help you totally dominate your day.Find the fragrance that’s right for you with Lisa Hoffman Beauty’s scent finder tool, iScentify.
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