Image of Plume Impression LOVE no shame by Karl.
Love is never linear. It intoxicates, unsettles, soothes, and haunts—an experience both visceral and ephemeral, where scent becomes memory, and desire lingers on skin like the echo of a whispered confession. Few understood this paradox better than Charles Baudelaire, the poet of decadence and sensual abandon, whose words painted love as a narcotic, both pleasure and poison. In Les Fleurs du Mal, Baudelaire speaks of love as something devouring: “I know the art of losing myself in a voluptuous dream, / Of making my pillow a tomb where I may lay my brow.”
It is this same uninhibited surrender that Plume Impression LOVE no shame, created by Stéphanie Bakouche, evokes. A fragrance constructed not merely of notes, but of love’s biochemical and poetic anatomy—from the rush of infatuation, through the hedonism of passion, to the inescapable imprint of memory.
Co-owner Sabine Shaffer, Stéphanie Bakouche and co-owner Gabriel Chami courtesy of Stéphanie Bakouche
The Alchemy of Attraction: Dopamine and Red Berries
Love begins in urgency—pupils dilate, the heart quickens, and the brain releases a cascade of dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for reward and pleasure. This is the thrill of first touch, the fevered anticipation of the unknown.
Plume Impression’s LOVE no shame captures this electric moment with red berries, their tart brightness like the spark of new attraction. Scientifically, sweet and fruity scents have been shown to activate the brain’s limbic system, which governs emotion and memory. Studies on olfactory perception indicate that fruity aldehydes and esters—such as those found in ripe berries—trigger a cognitive association with vitality, youth, and desire. Layered with the spiced lift of cinnamon, this opening is an invocation of infatuation—a sensory parallel to the flush of skin and the weightless delirium of being near someone for the first time.
Image of two lovers at a table with red berries, courtesy of Karl.
The Hedonism of Passion: Chocolate and Whipped Cream
Desire intensifies. The brain, now under the spell of phenylethylamine (PEA)—a compound naturally present in chocolate—begins to crave more. Studies show that PEA enhances mood, increasing attraction and emotional focus much like amphetamines. Baudelaire called pleasure an “abyss of fire”, and here, the fragrance moves deeper into indulgence.
Chocolate, lush and dark, is a note that both satisfies and demands. Its gourmand depth is heightened by a whipped cream accord, which envelops the composition in a texture of indulgence. Sensory science tells us that fat-based accords—like those mimicking dairy—prolong olfactory perception, making the experience feel more tactile, more prolonged, much like the lingering euphoria of oxytocin, the hormone responsible for emotional bonding. This stage of the fragrance is unapologetic in its decadence, mirroring the limbic system’s reinforcement of desire. Love, after all, is chemically engineered to be addictive.
Image of the heart influenced by gourmand ingredients, by Karl.
The Linger of Memory: Musk, Sandalwood, and the Animalic Base
Not all love burns bright forever. Some settle into the body’s rhythms, becoming familiar, irreplaceable. Others fade, but not completely, leaving behind a scent that resurfaces in moments of solitude—a scarf that still smells of someone who has left, a pillow that holds the trace of another’s presence.
Plume Impression LOVE no shame descends into this final, inescapable phase with sandalwood, musk, and an animalic base, shifting the fragrance from overt pleasure into something deeper, more primal. Sandalwood, rich in sesquiterpenes, has been studied for its calming effects, activating areas of the brain linked to long-term attachment and meditation. In perfumery, it serves as a bridge between the transient and the eternal, much like the way love lingers even after passion has ebbed.
Beneath it all, the animalic facets of musk and subtle skin-like accords emerge—not overt, but instinctual. These notes echo the influence of pheromones, chemical signals that enhance subconscious attraction. Baudelaire understood the power of scent as something beyond the tangible, writing in Le Parfum: “Perfume, mysterious enchanter, / Makes everything one sees more beautiful.”
Here, scent is no longer about indulgence but about presence. LOVE no Shame becomes the ghost of love itself, refusing to be forgotten.
Love, Like Scent, Is an Act of Devotion. Plume Impression’s LOVE no shame does not ask for restraint. It moves through the emotional spectrum of love in phases that mirror both the biological and poetic realities of desire—from the dopamine-fueled rush of berries to the serotonin-soaked comfort of chocolate, and finally to the residual imprint of sandalwood and skin.
In Stéphanie Bakouche’s hands, this is a fragrance that speaks in a language of hunger and memory. Baudelaire, ever the romantic decadent, once wrote: “Love is a crime that requires an accomplice.”
So too is this fragrance—a scent that lingers, devours, and refuses to let go.
Notes: Whipped Strawberry Cream, Cherry, Almond, Rose, Violet, Cinnamon, Cocoa, Vanilla, Musk, Sandalwood, Oud
Plume Impression Love no shame courtesy of the brand.
Karl Topham, Senior Editor.
Thanks to the generosity of Plume Impression, we have an 80ml bottle of Love no shame for one registered reader Eu or USA. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you find most interesting based on Karl’s review of Plume Impression Love no shame and where you live. Draw closes 03/30/2025
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