(Scent Stories)
Anok Yai Says Wearing Fragrance To Bed Is The Key To A Good-Night’s Sleep
The face of Mugler Angel Hypersense prefers florals.
Every scent evokes an emotion. In Scent Stories, TZR asks tastemakers, celebrities, and industry insiders to share the stories behind the smells of their past and present.
In just six short years, Anok Yai has skyrocketed to supermodel status, walking top runways around the world and gracing multiple covers of major fashion magazines. It all started when the then-student was discovered in 2017 while attending Howard University’s homecoming where a professional photographer asked to snap a photo of her. The rest, as they say, is history — quite literally as Yai became the first Sudanese model (and second Black woman) to open a Prada show during the Fall 2018 season. Further cementing her status as a next-gen super, Yai has landed her first fragrance campaign. The model is the face of Mugler’s Angel Hypersense, the latest scent in the brand’s iconic fragrance range.
In line with the original Angel eau de parfum, a gourmand fragrance made with 27 notes, which at the time, was groundbreaking. Hypersense takes on the floral scent family albeit with a modern twist. The juice is sweet yet sultry, thanks to base notes of cashmeran woods. “I love florals, so I’m really drawn to the jasmine note in the fragrance. I wear it at night because it makes me feel sexy, confident, and mysterious,” Yai shares. “The scent evolves as it wears down and it becomes more floral, which is really nice.”
Off duty, fragrance plays a huge role in Yai’s life. Discover the top model’s most vivid scent memories that accompany her wherever her next modeling gig takes her.
The Role Scent Plays In Her Life
“Fragrance is everything. I never leave my house without it and I even wear it to bed. I’ve been wearing this one [Alien Hypersense] every day for the past week. Sometimes I’ll base my fragrance off my outfit, and other times I’ll base it off the mood I’m going for. But I usually wear the same base layer and layer in other ones throughout the week.”
The Art Of Scenting Her Bed
“I don’t remember exactly when I started doing it, but I can’t go to sleep if I don’t smell something on my bed. I don’t really like the smell of new linens, I don’t know why, but I want to smell florals like lavender or rose. I spray my bed so much that I go through a bottle a month. I even spray my hotel pillows.”
The Scent Of Joy
“Joy smells like prancing through an open flower field.”
The Scent Of Creativity
“For me, creativity smells like turpentine. I do oil painting, so whenever I’m painting I just smell the varnish and paint thinner.”
The Scent of Confidence
“Mugler Alien Hypersense. What more can I say?”
The Scent of Comfort
“Comfort smells like bakhoor and vanilla. Growing up, my mom used a lot of sandalwood and incense. In my country [South Sudan] we call it bakhoor, so whenever I smell it, I feel like I’m back home with my mother.”
