The same fragrance – even when taken from the same bottle – will never smell exactly the same on any two women. How a fragrance smells on you depends on your individual body chemistry; your body warmth, the acidity of your skin, and so on all have their effect on the complex mixture of essences in the perfume's formula. Because fragrance is so personal, it is worth spending a little time to choose a perfume that really suits you.
Choosing a Perfume
You will first need to decide on the type of fragrance you want. Are you looking for one that is light and flowery, modern, and sophisticated, warm and sensual; or rich and oriental in character?
Perfumer's advertisements and the packaging they choose for their fragrances will give you some idea of the character of the scent – you would not expect to find a true flower scent packaged in an oriental style lacquer bottle, for example.
The next step is to try the perfumes that interest you on your skin. Never try more than three or four fragrances on the same day, or your sense of smell will become thoroughly confused. Keep the perfumes well apart on your skin, too, or you will be unable to distinguish one from another – try a sample on the inside of each wrist, and in the crook of each elbow. Wear your test fragrances for at least an hour before making any decision: it takes at least 30 minutes and often longer for the full, true scent to develop on your skin.
Once you have picked a fragrance that you find appealing on your skin, take it away and try it for a few days. This will give you a better chance to see if you really like it, to get your friends' opinions, and to see how other people react. If no samples are available, buy the smallest, cheapest bottle of the fragrance that you can, and try it out in the same way. Perfume is expensive – so any mistakes you make with it are also expensive!
Wearing Perfume
The true smell of a fragrance develops best on your pulse points, where your blood vessels are close to the surface of your body and your skin temperature is slightly higher. These points are found on the insides of your wrists, the crooks of your elbows and knees, behind your ears, on the nape of your neck, at the base of your throat, around your ankles, and between your breasts. It is also a good idea to put on your perfume immediately after your bath or shower, while your skin is still warm. But be careful where you apply your perfume if your skin is going to be exposed to the sun. Some perfume contains ingredients that react with your skin in sunlight, leaving a dark stain.
Choose the strength of your fragrance to match the time of day and your choice of activities. Most people prefer the lighter forms of fragrance during the day or when they are at work, building up to the full strength perfumes later in the day or on social occasions. Remember that you will need to reapply your perfume at intervals during the day – how often will depend on the strength of fragrance you are using and your body chemistry.
Many fragrances are now available in a range of products, and you may be able to buy dusting powder, bath oil, and so on to match your perfume. Using these will help to intensify the effect of your chosen fragrance. As an alternative, you could use unscented bath products which would not clash with your perfume. If you mix bath products and perfumes from different ranges, make sure that they are of the same type (all florals, or all citrus for example), or the combination of fragrances may be less than pleasant.
Watch out too for highly scented deodorants and hairsprays, as they may also combine unhappily with your perfume. Try to avoid getting perfume on your clothes or jewelries, as it can stain or damage them. However, an empty perfume bottle paced in a drawer or closet will add fragrance to your clothes as the last few drops clinging to the inside of the bottle evaporate away.
Storing Perfume
Exposure to air, heat, and moisture makes perfume deteriorate, darken, and lose its character and true smell. Keep your perfume in a cool, dark place and always make sure that the bottle is properly closed.
Perfumes in sealed atomizers will last longer than those in bottles – besides being protected from the air, they are also protected from your skin's chemicals and oils. These are transferred to the bottle every time you rub the stopper on your skin or use your fingers to apply your perfume, and they can also cause perfume to deteriorate.
Although large bottles of perfume are very glamorous, you will get the best from your fragrance if you only buy bottles that contain enough scent to last you for 6 to 8 weeks.
Remember that the more concentrated the fragrance, the more rapidly it will break down. Keep your fragrance in its original bottle if at all possible. If you must decant it into another container, choose one that is made of glass, not plastic, and make sure that it is perfectly clean and dry with no trace of detergent remaining in it.
Perfume Notes
Great perfumes are noted for their "nose" or perfect sense of smell, they use their skill to blend natural and synthetic oils, essences, and fixatives to produce a particular fragrance. Perfumers design scents to have three "notes" - three distinct but coordinated levels of fragrance that gradually develop as the perfume remains on your skin.
The top note is the fragrance that you notice as soon as you apply your perfume. It lasts for only 10 to 20 minutes before giving way to the middle note. The middle note provides the fragrance for 20 to 30 minutes after the top note has disappeared, so giving the base note plenty of time to develop. The base note is the strongest and longest lasting part of the perfume.
Initially it can smell unpleasant on the skin but this smell is hidden by the top and middle notes. It needs at least 30 minutes for the base note to develop its true fragrance, and it will then last for about 6 hours.
Because the base note is the most lasting part of the perfume, it is the perfumer's starting point when a new perfume is being developed. A little residual fragrance is left when the base note has evaporated: this residue is known as the dry-out, and in some circumstances it can last for months, or even years!
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