I pair my perfume with frag-bro fragrances and it's the best decision I ever made.

Half of what's on this list is marketed to men. I don't care, and neither should you.

Welcome to Perfect Pairings, where I show you what I actually layer with the perfumes I made. Not a theoretical pairing. Not a "these share a note so they'd probably work" pairing. The bottles on my dresser, in the order I reach for them.

Today it's Serotonin Spritz.

Worth knowing while you're here: Serotonin Spritz was made with Carlos Benaïm and Laurent Le Guernec at IFF. Benaïm became IFF's first-ever Master Perfumer in 2013 and has Euphoria, Flowerbomb and Spicebomb behind him. The tequila accord was never in the brief. It arrived from an imagined drink in front of the sea, which is the most L'Epoque origin story a note has ever had.

The method

Creams first. Fragrance second.

Body products go down as the base layer. This order matters more than which products you pick. Scent needs somewhere to sit, and dry skin is a bad host. Moisturized skin holds a top note for hours longer than bare skin does, which is the least glamorous and most useful thing anyone will tell you about perfume this year.

Start easy. It gets more interesting.

01 · Josie Maran Topless Tangerine Cream

Tangerine underneath grapefruit.

This is the gentlest entry on the list and the one I'd start with if you've never layered anything in your life. It doesn't change Serotonin Spritz. It gives the top notes something to hold onto. Same perfume, longer day.

02 · Cyklar Naked Neroli Cream

Neroli is the bridge.

Neroli is citrus, but it's the soft, slightly indolent, slightly floral version of citrus. Putting it under grapefruit slows the whole thing down without dulling it. If Tangerine Dream extends Serotonin Spritz, this one rounds it. Use whichever depending on whether you want the day to last longer or feel warmer.

Now the turn. Men's summer fragrances. And if you're a man reading this, these pairings are yours too.

03 · Louis Vuitton Pacific Chill

Blackcurrant is the bridge, not the citrus.

Pacific Chill opens with citron, lemon, orange, mint, black currant and coriander. Heart of apricot, basil, carrot seed and May rose. Base of fig, dates and ambrette.

The obvious read is citrus on citrus. The real connection is the blackcurrant meeting Serotonin Spritz's cassis leaf, and the coriander and basil shaking hands with the thyme. What you get is cooler and greener than Serotonin Spritz on its own, because the mint drops the temperature of the whole thing, and then the fig and dates in Pacific Chill's base give it a soft fruity weight that Serotonin Spritz doesn't have on its own.

This is the pairing for a genuinely hot day. It's the easiest one to like and the hardest one to explain to somebody who thinks perfume should only smell like one thing.

04 · Xerjoff Torino 21

Thyme on thyme. This is the closest thing to a technical match on the list.

Torino 21 is mint, lemon, basil and thyme, then blackcurrant, lavender, rosemary and jasmine, over lemon verbena and musk. Serotonin Spritz has thyme in its heart and cassis leaf beside it. You are stacking the same two ideas on top of each other, deliberately.

The result pushes Serotonin Spritz green and aromatic instead of fruity. The tequila accord reads drier. The grapefruit reads sharper. If Pacific Chill softens the fragrance, this one sharpens it, and that's the whole reason both are on the list.

Yes, Pacific Chill and Torino 21 share mint, lemon and blackcurrant and yes, they're doing related jobs. The split is in the base. Pacific Chill lands creamy on fig and dates. Torino 21 stays clean and green on verbena and musk. Pick based on how you want the last three hours to go, not the first ten minutes.

05 · Ex Nihilo Lust in Paradise Extrait

The feminine one I knew you'd still ask for.

Lust in Paradise Extrait opens on Rosyfolia, blackcurrant, pink pepper and ginger. Rose absolute, Petalia and jasmine sambac in the heart. Musk, Ambrofix, akigalawood and cedarwood in the base.

Look at what that shares with Serotonin Spritz: pink pepper in the top, blackcurrant against cassis leaf, and a base of cedarwood, musk and amber that is nearly a mirror of Serotonin Spritz's own. It slots in almost exactly. What it adds is a rose and jasmine heart, which Serotonin Spritz doesn't have anywhere, so you get a floral, slightly ginger-warm version of a fragrance that's otherwise all citrus and herbs.

This is the going-out one. This is the one that makes a bright summer scent work at 9pm. If you own the original 2019 eau de parfum instead of the Extrait, it still works, since the pink pepper, white cedar, amber and musk are all still there.

The aisle is fake

Two of these five are Xerjoff and Louis Vuitton. Neither of them smells masculine. They're shelved that way, marketed that way, and reviewed by men on the internet that way, and somewhere along the line that turned into a rule nobody actually wrote down.

There is no molecule in a bottle that knows your gender. There's a shelf, and the shelf was a merchandising decision made by someone who has never met you.

L'Epoque has never made a fragrance for women or a fragrance for men. We make fragrances for a version of you that exists right now, in a specific month, in a specific mood. Serotonin Spritz is for the part of your life that's happening outdoors at 4pm with nowhere to be. That's the only category that's ever mattered.

So go stand in the wrong aisle. It's better over there.

What to do with this

Creams first, then the fragrance. Start with a cream if you're new to layering. Go straight to the heavy hitters if you want the one that makes people ask questions.

Serotonin Spritz is an Eau de Parfum at 20%, 30mL, $125. It's a chapter, not a signature. Wear it while the weather still agrees with it.

Shop Serotonin Spritz

Not sure yet? The Discovery Set is five 1mL vials for $30, and the full $30 comes back as credit toward a bottle.