Choosing the right fragrance can feel like a daunting task; how do you even differentiate between all those floral spritzes and citrus aromas? Since each one is packaged in a delicate and beautiful bottle, it’s tempting to buy every fragrance that catches your eye. To find your perfect match, there are a few simple measures you can take to make sure you’re choosing the right scent for you. Keep reading for our top suggestions.
Fragrance Types & Terms
You might be used to seeing names for various types of fragrance, but being able to tell the difference between them all can be tricky. Thankfully, Gabrielle Blair of the blog Design Mom breaks each variety down for us in simple terms with the following definitions:
Eau de Cologne: Three to five percent oil in a mixture of alcohol and water. It tends to be lighter and refreshing, typically with a citrus oil component.
Eau de Toilette: Contains about the same amount of perfume oil or a little more—somewhere between four and eight percent—than Eau de Cologne. Eau de Toilette is mixed with alcohol instead of water.
Eau de Parfum: A higher percentage of perfume oil—roughly 15 to 18—mixed with alcohol makes up Eau de Parfum. It is more expensive than Eau de Cologne and Eau de Toilette.
Perfume: 15 to 30 percent perfume oil mixed with alcohol. Because it contains such a high percentage of perfume oil, it is far more expensive than Eau de Cologne, Eau de Toilette, or Eau de Parfum, and lasts much longer.
Note: An odoriferous element in the perfume or cologne. A composed fragrance contains different notes within it. When the first scent—or top note—dissipates, we smell the middle note, also known as the bouquet. As that fades, we are left with the basic note, which is the third element of a composed fragrance.
Fragrance Families
Once you’ve decided which fragrance type you’d like to purchase, it’s time to choose which kind of scent you’d like to wear. There are a few basic types of fragrance families you can choose from.
Floral: As you can imagine, these fragrances will remind you of a freshly blossomed spring garden, minus the allergies. They work perfectly during the daytime for a fresh boost.
Citrus/Fruity: Lemon, limes, oranges, grapefruits, oh my! These light scents are clean and invigorating, which are perfect for the warm summer weather, and during the day for an instant boost.
Spicy: Think amber, cinnamon and warm vanilla. These comforting scents are relaxing and rejuvenating. These are greats for the fall and winter months, and during the evenings, like for date night.
Woody: These types of fragrances can be very mossy and often contain notes of bergamot, so they’re very earthy and natural. Just like the spicy scents, woody scents work well in the fall and the winter, and during the evenings.
Fragrance Shopping Tips
Now that you’re armed with the information you need to choose your perfect fragrance, it’s time to go shopping and actually find the best one for you. Here are a few tips we recommend when shopping for fragrances:
1. Before spraying the fragrances onto your skin directly (since you only have so much space to test on your skin with!), use the testing papers to smell several fragrances in a short amount of time. From there, you can eliminate fragrances you don’t like and put aside the ones that you do to try later on your skin.
2. There is no rule that says you’re required to “cleanse your palette” by smelling coffee beans in between fragrances—in fact, the scent of coffee might actually overwhelm your sense of smell even more. If you've smelled so many fragrances you feel like you can no longer keep them all straight, you can take a whiff of a fragrance-free tissue or a jacket sleeve to avoid the “olfactory fatigue” that may come with smelling too many scents in a short amount of time.
3. Take your skin type into account. If you have very dry skin, you may need a highly concentrated fragrance so the scent doesn’t fade too quickly.
4. To get a true sense (pun intended) of how you feel about a particular fragrance, ask the sales representative for a few tester fragrances to take home once you’ve found a scent you think you’ll want to purchase. They are often more than willing to provide you with a few samples if they can tell you’re interested in the scent. Wear it for a few days consistently so you can decide if it’s a perfume you’d like to have on your vanity.
Fragrance Longevity
Once you’ve found your signature scent (congratulations!), help it last a long time by following these easy tips.
1. Beyond your favorite scent, have a second scent on hand so you can swap between the two to prevent scent boredom and to make both fragrances last longer.
2. Just like you would take care of fine wine, store your fragrances in a cool, dark place. Avoid placing them in direct sunlight or very cold temperatures, as these conditions can alter the fragrance and reduce its shelf time.
3. When applying your fragrance at the beginning of the day, make sure you spray it strategically for the best results. We suggest applying it to your pulse points: the center of your neck, behind your ears, your inner wrists and behind your knees. Coco Chanel also once said, “apply perfume where you want to be kissed.”
4. Besides applying the fragrance to your pulse points, we suggest applying a small amount of petroleum jelly to the areas where you will be applying the fragrance so it will not be applied directly to your skin. This will increase the concentration of the scent so you can use less, which can help you to save time and money in the long run.
With these tips, we know you’ll be able to shop for your perfect fragrance with confidence. Let us know what your signature scent is!