In Their Own Words
Jennifer Hudson, the singer and Academy Award-winning actress who broke through on American Idol and won her Oscar for Dreamgirls, doesn’t reach for perfume at all. Her signature is the soft, clean smell of baby lotion.
“I’m into baby stuff. I use light products because my skin is sensitive. Since I don’t wear perfume, it’s like my fragrance. It smells like a baby—fresh and new.”
Jennifer Hudson, on Johnson’s Baby Lotion
Why a Skin Scent Works
Hudson’s choice is more common than it sounds. The powdery, clean smell of baby lotion is one of the most recognized comfort scents there is, and it sits close to the skin instead of filling a room. For anyone with sensitive skin, a light scented lotion can be a gentler way to wear a scent than an alcohol-based spray, and the effect reads as “you, but freshly showered.”
Wearing It Yourself
If that clean, powdery feel appeals to you, look at soft musks and powdery florals, which build on the same idea with more staying power. Test anything new on a small patch of skin first, especially if your skin reacts easily, and give it a full day before you decide.