| Product: |
How to choose the perfect perfume. |
| Date: |
04/04/08 (342 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Knowing the type of perfumes you prefer, you won't buy perfume that doesn't suit you
Disadvantages: You may become quite selective, only accept the best quality, cost of perfume becomes higher
~ Introduction ~
Choosing a perfume that suits you is not easy. First of all we need to know ourselves a bit. We have to be honest and not just following trends and fashions and just because everyone's wearing it, it doesn't mean it's right for you.
Below I have written a quick introduction into perfume notes and the different olfactory families that perfumes are put into. This guide will help you understand your olfactory preferences and when you're in the shop, choosing your next perfume, you are able to recognize the type of perfume you're sniffing so you'll spare yourself some heartache by choosing a perfume that 'smells gorgeous' but when you get home with it, you realize, it doesn't suit you at all. I have made quite a few mistakes in the beginning of my twenties by buying the latest trends not knowing what they actually contained or smelled like. They just smelled 'perfume' to me.
~ Music to my nose - What are fragrance notes? ~
Different plant oils break down at different rates, light molecules evaporate quickly, heavy ones slower. The composition of a perfume is called an accord where there are three set of 'notes' that appear gradually on top of each other thus creating an olfactive harmony.
Top notes (head)
The compounds that make up the top notes are usually sharp and volatile. When you spray the perfume on, you get the impression of these notes first. This note will last for about 10 - 20 minutes before it evaporates.
Middle notes (heart)
These scents appear just before the top notes die down and are usually rounded and soft. Rose, jasmine and lily scents are typical middle notes. The 'heart' gives the perfume its main character together with the base notes. The middle notes can start appear a few minutes after application and will last about 3 - 6 hours on the skin.
Base notes (dry-down)
These scents are heavy and large molecules that evaporate slowly. They emerge last and have a rich and deep character. They are also used to give lasting power to the perfume. You'll probably detect the first base notes between half an hour to an hour and they can last up to 24 hours on the skin.
~ How to choose your perfume ~
Each of us has a different preference when choosing a perfume. Why?
Firstly, perfumes are a mixture of essential oils and aromas. The smell of a particular perfume will vary slightly from person to person, as each person's individual skin chemistry and body temperature will react slightly differently to a given scent.
Secondly, our olfactory memories are continually formed since the day we were born. Memories are formed in a biochemical process as an 'emotional imprint' in our nerve cells. We can unconsciously identify a staggering 10,000 different smells. so what we like in a perfume may be the smells our brain registered as a positive olfactory memory associated with people / events in our lives and the comfort / contentment we were experiencing at the time with them.
You will notice that even if you don't stick to a particular brand, you will most likely to choose a perfume from the same olfactive group(s). Personal preferences do change as we get older mostly due to the fact that our skin texture and its chemistry changes.
You have probably noticed that even wearing the same perfume day after day, it can develop itself differently. The different behaviour is due to the hormones your skin secretes during its monthly cycle which fluctuate periodically.
~ Which group my perfume belongs to? ~
Fragrances are put into 9 main olfactory families or groups. I added another one, aromatic, which is a group made up of aromatic plants. Widely used in aromatherapy and herbal medicine their popularity has lately increased in high-end perfumery as well.Perfumes rarely belong to a single olfactory group nowadays. You'll see that often 2 or 3 names of these groups are combined when classifying a particular fragrance e.g oriental woody, floral fruity, floral aquatic.
* aldehydic *
An aldehydic perfume contains chemicals from the aldehyde group. Character: pure and fresh. Example: Chanel No. 5 (Chanel)
* aromatic *
An aromatic perfume is made up of various herbs e.g rosemary, basil or thyme. Character: rustic and herbal. Example: Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca (Guerlain)
* aquatic *
An aquatic perfume will have a base of synthetic ingredients that give the sensation of the sea, mountain air or fresh linen. Character: clean and modern. Example: L'Eau d'Issy (Issy Miyake)
* citrus / fruity *
A citrus / fruity group includes bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, mandarin and sweet orange and fruits such as peach, red berries, watermelon. Character: fresh and light. Example: Dior Addict 2 (Dior)
* floral *
A floral perfume will contain extracts of flowers such as rose, lily or jasmine. Character: sweet and delicate. Example: Pure Poison (Dior)
* fougere *
A fougere type of fragrance (mainly men's colognes) will contain herbaceous and woody notes such as lavender, oak moss or amber. Fougere means 'fern' in French. Character: herbal and woody. Example: Cool Water (Davidoff)
* green (chypre) *
A green perfume formerly known as chypre is made up of bergamot, labdanum, patchouli and oakmoss. Character: woody and floral. Example: Coco Mademoiselle (Chanel)
* gourmand *
A gourmand perfume contains notes like vanilla and tonka bean, chocolate or caramel. Character: sweet and edible. Example: Delices (Cartier)
* oriental *
An oriental perfume will have a base of amber, musks, vanilla and other exotic plants. Character: warm and sensual. Example: Dior Addict (Dior)
* woody *
A woody perfume is made up of woods such as cedar, patchouli, sandalwood and vetiver. Character: earthy and masculine. Example: Mediterranean (Elizabeth Arden)
~ How to try a perfume ~
The worst place to sample a fragrance is in the fragrance shop where all the different odours mix and float about.It's best to take a fragrance sample home and try it out for a day. If you want to test the perfume in the shop,make sure you squirt once on your wrist and once inside of your elbow.
Never rub it in your skin as it will destroy the small molecules of the more delicate notes. Make sure you're not already wearing a perfume on your wrist as this can alter the composition you're about to test. When you leave the shop, cover your arm up with a sleeve if possible so the volatile ingredients do not escape.
Let it settle for a few minutes until the alcohol evaporates and the top notes appear without the alcohol fume.
~ How do I choose my perfect perfume? ~
Perfumes are like other fashion items or accesories, we get to know them like the types of tops or jeans we wear every day or suits and skirts on occasion. To see if a perfume 'my perfect perfume' or at least 'one of my perfect perfumes I've chosen', I 'test' it against a number of personal associations and see the way my brain responds to them. Here are some examples of the 'associations' I use below to see if the perfume in question has an image for me.
1. Where was I when I picked up on the smell? Is it something new or I've smelled it before and when, maybe even in childhood?
2. Texture - what tactile experience did I have at the same time when I felt the scent?
3. What mood, emotion was I in when smelling the scent?
4. What colour(s) does the scent remind me of? (not necessarily the colour of the bottle, perfume itself, or the colour of the flower of one of its essences, but my own 'personal colour(s)'.
5. What does the colour I've chosen for the perfume remind me?
If there's not much that your brain can say about these, then you can safely forget that perfume. The smell wasn't significant enough to even remember the basics. Smells can trigger the strongest associations and memories, so wearing something that you cannot even say what it reminds you of seems clearly pointless.
When you are able to describe what the perfume's smell mean to you, you can further dvelve into the practical, 'wearability' side of the scent. With this I mean, I have a few perfumes that I love the smell, the composition and the image about it (see above) but only collect because I know they are not wearable for me.
6. Do I feel comfortable wearing this perfume? Does it suit my skin type? and expresses who I am?
7. Am I going to like / wear this perfume for the years to come?
This is essentially the opposite as when you smell a perfume on someone and go 'that smells gorgeous, I want it!'. It's your gut feeling that told you that you liked the scent, however you didn't give enough time for your brain to think about the scent long enough to pick up anything personal about it or anyting about yourself. You'll need time, just like when choosing a dress, to try it on, walk in it, look at it, in a word, know it. This way, you'll save yourself having to get rid of a lot of unwanted smellies, but you'll wait until your brain is ready and you know if that fragrance is going to be (one of) your signature scent(s) or not.
Conclusion
Go wild...! :-)
Thanks for reading my review.
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Summary: Know yourself and the scent
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