FRAGRANCES

Being faced with a plethora of perfumes to choose from can make you feel overwhelmed and even intimidated. Follow our guide to finding the fragrance that’s just right for you.

Our guide to finding the perfume that’s just right for you

1 GIVE IT TIME

It doesn’t take just one spritz to reveal all the subtleties in a perfume. According to Ruby Brown— Canadian fragrance designer and founder of rubybrown.com—finding the right perfume should be done in two stages. First, you need to identify your favourite olfactory family. “There are seven,” she explains. “Floral, by far the most popular, amber, citrus, woody, chypre, leather and fern.” Then you’ll be ready to smell some targeted blends.

2 APPLY IN THE RIGHT SPOTS

It’s no myth: pulse points are the places to go when it comes to applying fragrance. (Pulse points are wrists, behind the ears and inner elbows.) Why? “By releasing more heat, these areas allow a better diffusion of the perfume,” says Brown. Just be sure to avoid applying perfume on sensitive areas of the skin or spots that are exposed to the sun.

3 KNOW THE OLFACTORY PYRAMID

To find out how a perfume is composed, we look at the olfactory pyramid, or the three layers of notes that go into its development. “The top notes come immediately to the nose,” says Brown. “Then the heart notes, which appear after about 30 minutes, then the base notes or, in other words, the trail.” The lesson to be learned? You must let the scent develop on the skin for at least half an hour before knowing if you’ll like it for the long haul.

4 MAKE IT LAST

If you feel that your fragrance doesn’t last very long, chances are it’s because you have dry skin. Apply an unscented moisturizer to the area before spritzing or dabbing on your perfume. In winter, Brown recommends “perfuming your hair, or even clothes made from natural fibres, which are good at capturing scents.”

5 YOUR PREFERENCE MIGHT CHANGE

While many things influence the way a fragrance develops on the skin, hormones are often to blame. “Pregnancy, menopause, your period and even certain medications can have an effect on the perfume we wear,” says Brown, who reports that many women have told her that the perfume they wore their whole life no longer suited them after they’d had a child.

6 DISCOVER THE RIGHT FORMULA

There are different formulations and applications for fragrances, such as eau de cologne, eau de toilette and eau de parfum. Among those three, there are no bad choices. “The same formula but with different concentrations of raw materials is often used to create each type,” says Brown. Thus, the eau de toilette is lighter than the eau de parfum. As for solid formulas, “you won’t find the same complexity, but they’re a great alternative for dry skin.”

7 TIMING IS EVERYTHING

The nose is always better prepared in the morning. First spray the fragrance on a paper card, then, if the notes appeal to you, give it a try on your body. However, Brown recommends, test a maximum of three scents at a time.

8 DON’T MIX

Brown says that “an already complex quality scent is not meant to be mixed.” She suggests to those who wish to experiment with layering fragrances to stick to simple marriages in the same olfactory family.

9 STORAGE IS KEY

Like a good wine, perfume bottles should be stored in a dark and dry place. In short, far from the bathroom! “A perfume has no expiration date and will keep for years in a drawer or closet,” says Brown.

10 BE OPEN-MINDED

Just because you think you hate roses doesn’t mean you’ll never fall in love with a perfume that contains their scent. “Especially as with age and the events of life, our tastes will change and the way a fragrance develops on our skin will change,” says Brown.