Clean Skin but a Kinky Mind…iho

Do you know in Finland, you can drink straight from the stream, eat wild berries from your garden and leave your doors unlocked? For a couple of months, the sun never really sets. Then, for balance, comes a time when the sun sets below the horizon for months on end.

To help Finnish people endure the cold and darkness of those endless nights and endless days, they need their escapes. In the summer, they travel and explore the world to hear the noise and see the chaos, because that’s how life is. They explore the scents, tastes, and colors of the South and bring them back home to help them endure the bleak winter months. They love Finland but simultaneously dream of being somewhere else. That is what Nakuna Helsinki is all about.

Nakuna Helsinki founded in Finland, is a new wave Nordic luxury perfume brand with a strong Nordic visual identity. Nakuna Helsinki works with leading perfumers of Givaudan – Yann Vasnier, Nadège Legarlantezec, Fernandez Jorge and Olivier Pescheux for its unique fragrances.

Nakuna is the Finnish word for naked, and iho means “skin”. IHO IS INSPIRED by the Finnish people, whose nature is the strangest mix of shyness, introversion, and boldness. People who barely say Hello to a neighbor but are willing to bathe naked with total strangers.

An interplay of kink and cleanliness. Creamy sandalwood and sweet musks form an intimate accord of clean warm skin elevated with animalic guaiac wood and sensuous vanilla. A gentle fragrance that invites a caress. NAKUNA Helsinki

iho is an amber woody fragrance and was launched in 2020. Yann Vasnier is the nose behind this creation.

Notes

TOP: CEDARWOOD, OLIBANUM

MID: GUAIAC WOOD, SANDALWOOD

BASE: AMBER, BENZOIN, VANILLA

Performance: It is not a heavily projected fragrance but it sticks to the skin and lasts for over 8 hours on me which is very impressive for a light fragrance.

My thoughts: For me, iho is a very soft, delicate, and sophisticated blend. It has a vibe of Molecule 01. It is an intimate fragrance that stays close to you. It has that sandalwood, ambery vanilla goodness that makes it slightly delicious and creamy. It is very smooth and airy. We’re talking clean skin but dirty mind here…Call it a second-skin scent with a character!

For me, it is a great chilling-at-home, Netflix evening kind of scent when I want to smell interesting and addictive but not trying-too-hard types. This is a great scent for close encounters – A gorgeous bedtime fragrance for when you’re with your partner. Imagine clean white sheets and some silk lingerie (hush!!). This fragrance CAN WORK in some work settings like hospitals, schools, etc., or in general if you’re shy of wearing heavily projected scents. It is a superstar for intimate settings.

If you haven’t tried this fragrance house before, I recommend checking out the sample set which includes a vial of each fragrance from the brand’s collection. Each sample contains 2 ml of fragrance and detailed information about ingredients and notes. I tried the other fragrances via the sample set and Mittumaari as well as Ralli got my attention. These both are projection-beast! Have you tried any fragrances from this brand?

Until next time, Ashh xo

*This post features press samples. Opinions are my own and unbiased.