What if your moisturizer did more than hydrate—what if it made you feel something? Calm. Energized. Sensual. Even aroused. This is the promise of beauty’s latest obsession: mood-altering skincare. Once a whisper on the wellness fringe, emotional beauty is now stepping into the mainstream—and it’s coming for your nightstand, vanity, and maybe even your love life.
It all started with perfume. “Functional fragrances” arrived promising more than a pretty scent. They claimed to ease anxiety, boost confidence, and even spark desire. Vyrao bottles their scents with crystals, Moods names theirs after emotions, and The Nue Co literally calls theirs “Functional Fragrance.” Charlotte Tilbury, never one to miss a magic-meets-science trend, quietly dropped her OG scent (RIP Scent of a Dream) and returned with a full neuroscent lineup created in partnership with psychologists and brain experts.
But if scent could sway your serotonin, skincare was always going to be next.
For years, we’ve dabbled in bedtime balms with lavender and rolled chamomile oils on our temples. But 2025 is asking a more provocative question: What if your skincare turned you on?
Enter Mienne, the brand billing itself as “the first luxury house of desire.” It’s not a metaphor. This is literal sensual skincare, engineered with aphrodisiacs and neuro-active ingredients to blur the line between beauty routine and erotic ritual. Think: a sex serum that doubles as skincare. A massage candle made for more than ambiance. Body washes, hand creams, and soaps infused with a philosophy of pleasure. “Mienne formulas are erotic recipes that ask, ‘If skincare can turn you on, what else can?’” reads the brand’s press release.
It’s not just the products that are seductive. The brand launched with a campaign featuring Julia Fox (no stranger to making headlines), Parris Goebel, and Lourdes “Lola” Leon in a moody, high-glam campaign that feels more like a short film than a beauty ad. The message is clear: beauty is no longer just about appearance—it’s about emotion, experience, and embodiment.
While science-backed beauty used to mean peptides and ceramides, today it might also mean dopamine, oxytocin, or arousal. Brynn Valentine’s recent exploration of a face cream that mimics the “love molecule” only confirms it—this industry is flirting with emotional biohacking.
So yes, your beauty products might soon know how to make you glow inside and out. The question isn’t if it’s happening. The question is: How do you want to feel today?
