sillage

Definition

The trail of scent left behind by one who wears perfume.

Etymology

Borrowed from French sillage (literally “wake”).

Example Sentences

• "The smell was everywhere back then, especially at college parties, which reeked of the stuff (I also remember sillage clouds of Eternity For Women hanging in the air as well). […] [Drakkar Noir] had face-melting power, with 24-hour longevity and sillage that could kill a plant."
• "Perfumers prize sillage—the wake of aroma that trails the wearer, lingering after she's gone—precisely because its sensory residue must be manufactured to exist."