I just tested a dozen perfumes to see if they could make me productive—these ones actually worked

It’s undeniable that scent has the power to enhance our moods and evoke memories. I never realised the day-to-day role that perfume plays for me. Of course, many of us spritz our favourite scent as we step out the mood and get on with our days. As someone who works for myself at home, I use perfume a little differently. Whilst texting a stream of consciousness to my unofficial co-worker and fellow Marie Claire contributor, Lucy Abbersteen, I explained to her that when my brain feels overwhelmed or messy, I find it hard to wear perfumes with complex notes.

As a beauty editor with quite an extensive fragrance wardrobe, it sparked an idea: attempt to use perfume to my advantage to promote productivity. As a self-employed journalist, I’ll take all the productivity I can get, especially since I don’t have a boss watching my every move. So thus began a little experiment to see if I could use fragrance to enhance my brain and get focused. These are the perfumes I believe gave me that little boost.

Can perfume help us focus?

But before we dive into the scents I found worked, let’s take a look at what the expert thought. “Scent has the power to shift your mood and change your state of mind,” explains Susan Wai Hnin, co-founder of Gabar.

This mood-shifting ability is one that can be used to promote focus, productivity and creativity Wai Hnin explains. “Just as certain scents can be used to calm or comfort us, there are particular scents that can increase focus and concentration.” Notes like peppermint, bergamot, lemongrass, rosemary and citrus in particular can “boost cognitive function and concentration,” she adds. The great news? These are actually the perfumes I naturally gravitate towards so I’ve been on the right path all along.

1. The Nue Co. Mind Energy, Energizing Fragrance

((Image credit: The Nue Co. ))

If any fragrance is going to help focus my mind, it’s Nue Co. The whole brand ethos centres around interconnected health. Mind Energy is a fragrance created to boost mood by stimulating neural pathways. It contains notes like sage, juniper, geranium and pink peppercorn. In its consumer trials, the brand found that in 30 days 86% of people felt they had better focus and 76% thought their productivity levels improved.

Now, I don’t know whether it was a placebo or the fragrance’s clever notes but I can confirm I felt like I could focus better. The writing was flowing and distractions less distraction-y.

2. Gabar 03 Swim Eau de Parfum

((Image credit: Gabar))

With notes of galbanum, green tea, and orris, this scent is fresh and welcoming. I feel like it perfectly blends the traditionally masculine and feminine, which makes it feel familiar and easy-to-wear. I do feel like it enhanced my mood and helped me focus, mostly because I felt like I look forward to spritzing this and when I pair it with working, my brain makes that connection.

3. Maison Margiela Replica When The Rain Stops Eau de Toilette

((Image credit: Space NK))

I’m a big fan of the Maison Margiela Replica perfumes and although I love When The Rain Stops, it’s not the scent from the collection I reach for the most. That was until my little experiment. I struggle to concentrate on a piece of writing when the weather is terrible and I just so happened to be testing these when the weather was particularly rainy and bad for spring. This, however, takes all the best things about that kind of weather and bottles it. It’s comforting, clean and refreshing. I absolutely loved smelling this on myself whilst working when it was grim outside and found that it worked almost as a habit stacking tool (the idea you pair something you love with a task you don’t love). For me, that’s sitting down with my coffee, a spritz of this and making a dent in a feature I’ve been struggling to find the flow with.

4. Floral Street Grapefruit Bloom Room Fragrance

((Image credit: Beauty Bay))

OK, I kind of cheated with this one but I had this in my stash along with the candle and couldn’t stop smelling it. Without the goal of including it in my feature, I ended up spritzing it quite a lot throughout the weeks and realised it made my office feel so much brighter—boosting my mood without meaning to. I love a hit of citrus, and although it transports me to sitting on a beach with a cocktail (the place I’d much rather be than sitting at my desk), I find that it helps my focus because it elevates my mood. Because my job revolves around writing, I find my mood is reflected in my work. I struggle to write when I’m feeling a bit ‘meh’ and this scent perks me right up, thanks to the bergamot and pink grapefruit notes. It’s great for those who don’t necessarily want to wear perfume indoors but still want the benefits from scent.

5. Cosmoss Sacred Mist Eau De Parfum

((Image credit: Cosmoss))

Created to boost and uplift the mood, Kate Moss’s Cosmoss Sacred Mist was top of my list to give a whirl whilst working. Now, I’ll admit, it’s not a scent I’d naturally gravitate towards every day as it didn’t immediately excite me as other fragrances in my stash do. But there was something about this that I kept coming back to; kept misting when working.

It’s definitely more of a wellness mist (the brand calls it a holistic aura mist) than a perfume, and although it’s said to be calming, for me, it evoked a sense of clarity making the words flow. With notes of orange, bergamot, geranium, tuberose and cedarwood, I hope this wouldn’t be a coincidence but rather a boost for my brain to focus.

6. Experimental Perfume Club Bergamot Noir

((Image credit: Experimental Perfume Club))

This has been one of my favourite perfumes ever since creating it at the beautiful Experimental Perfume Club in Seven Dials years ago. I’ve worn it a lot, nearing the end of my second bottle now. For that reason, although I love it, I didn’t think it would do much in the way of productivity. But I kept coming back for that bergamot. Bergamot Noir blends Bergamot Incense and Sandalwood Musk together, giving the perfect balance between playful citrus and addicting sandalwood. I truly think it helped me focus and helped up that inner confidence.

7. Altra Skin

((Image credit: Altra))

I didn’t think a skin scent would make the list, since it doesn’t necessarily fit the theme of the others but when I didn’t feel like wearing anything too strong, I’d go for Altra Skin. Already a top skin scent of mine, this fragrance uses plant-based musks, it’s subtle but confident. I felt like wearing this whilst working made me feel a bit more put-together and therefore a little more focused. Perhaps faking a polished appearance makes my mind feel polished, too. It’s a fantastic fragrance housed in a sleek bottle, which also looks great sat on my desk.