by Amely Greeven
When the luxury skincare line The Perfect V launched last month, it caused a bit of a kerfuffle in the tweet-o-sphere. A few click-seeking websites declared that the Scandinavian-based brand was hustling high-priced “highlighter for your vagina” and a minor media storm was born. Clearly, the outraged tweeters were missing the cheeky Nordic humor in the brand’s name, not to mention getting confused about anatomy (did they skip the day in school when it was explained that the vagina is actually inside the body?). From this upstart beauty co’s point of view, the “V” is the often-overlooked bikini area that women laboriously wax, shave, pluck, or laser as part of an average grooming regimen, but that gets minimal aftercare or pampering after these depilatory assaults.
I did feel an initial flush of skepticism myself: Long-ago laser sessions have left my own bikini line fairly effortless to manage, without bumps and irritation, and the concept of applying specialty cleansers, lotions, and serums “down there,” even those infused with soothing, Nordic-derived ingredients like Arctic cloudberry, bilberry, and elderflower felt vaguely crazy. And the brand’s origin-story about carefree Scandinavian women—who presumably lavish their V with luxury cremes after liberating nudie saunas and frigid plunge-pool sessions?—made me feel a bit defensive. But then I fell just a little bit under The Perfect V’s spell. The fact that I never even consider the care and pampering of my nether regions suddenly struck me as a sad and glaring lack—I may be married with a pre-schooler, but I’m still a woman in my prime!
I shyly befriended the gold-and-rose-packaged products—a touch of lingonberry-enhanced hydrating cream here, a spritz of revitalizing “beauty mist” there—and realized the breathy genius behind this upstart brand. Though it purports to be offering a woman skincare solutions, it actually exists to kindle her connection to her sensual self, which is typically the first thing to go in the non-carefree rush of life. Apply your Perfect V product after your bath or before dressing for a date and this intentional act wakes up what might be lying dormant—the sultry femme living somewhere within the extremely busy one. Call it “boudoir beauty,” an indulgent skincare line designed to sit near your lingerie and be gifted, with a smile, at bridal showers (of close girlfriends!) or Valentine’s Day. Whether a woman goes so far as to add shimmer to her most shadowy lines and curves or not—if the bikini is that sensational, it might be worth it—the Perfect V wants to whisper at you to adore your body, relish your femininity, and turn it up a notch or two.
