An easy guide to buying, wearing, and loving perfume.
The French novelist Colette once wrote that she was “honored to belong to those groups who know whether a perfume is for a brunette or a blonde, whether it is for night or day, whether it flows on the austere steps of a temple or floats, like incense, in a secret garden.” This, of course, is the sort of snootiness that makes many of us think we can never master the arcane mysteries of fragrance.
Well, news flash, mes amies: You can enjoy whatever perfume you like without a graduate degree in chemistry (or French). That said, with 174 new women’s fragrances having debuted in department stores last year alone, finding your favorites isn’t so simple. To help clear the (fragrant) air, we offer you this guide to tiffany scent like a pro.<!–removed nitpicker #1# (2008-10-21 05:10:32.152)–>
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Fragrance Strengths
As with computers, wine, and numerous other esoteric topics, learning the lingo is half the battle. Here, an explanation of the types of fragrance concentration.
Perfume: The longest-lasting (and most expensive) form of fragrance, perfume contains the largest percentage of perfume oil–usually 20 to 25 percent. It typically comes in a small bottle and is intended to be dabbed–not sloshed–on. Just one or two drops keeps you scented for 8 to 12 hours.
Eau de parfum: One of the most popular formulations, it usually comes as a spray, contains 15 to 18 percent perfume oil, and lasts six to eight hours on the skin.
Eau de toilette: Less expensive and less concentrated than eau de parfum, with 4 to 10 percent perfume oil. Nearly always in a spray bottle, this is a good choice for those who like a lighter dose of scent.
Cologne: Centuries ago, the term referred to fragrance from Cologne, Germany. Now, it describes the most diluted form of fragrance, which is available either as a spray or a splash, in men’s or women’s scents.
Essential oil: A pure oil distilled from a single plant or flower–meaning no synthetic tiffany key rings–which is diluted with alcohol or vegetable oil.
Solid perfume: Made by mixing perfume oil with wax, solid scents tend to smell stronger than liquids.
Behind the Notes<!–removed nitpicker #2# (2008-10-21 05:10:32.152)–>
The notes of fragrance are like the instruments in an orchestra–they all play their part. Here’s how they come together to create the score.
Top (or head) notes: The first smell when you apply a fragrance. Top notes contain ingredients that evaporate quickly: delicate florals, bergamot and other light citruses, and herbs such as coriander and basil.
Mid (or heart) notes: The smell that kicks in a few minutes after the top notes. It usually contains rich florals–even in a fragrance that isn’t considered part of the floral family–because these compounds tend to be less volatile. The heart notes are important because they weave all the notes together to define the personality of the fragrance as a whole.
Base (or bottom) notes: The longest-lasting ingredients that stabilize the fragrance and extend its staying power. They contain thick, heavy oils, such as those derived from plants (including vanilla, oakmoss, sandalwood, and patchouli), or those that are synthesized to smell like animal-based ingredients (including musk, civet, and ambergris).
Dry-down: The notes that stand out and linger after the fragrance has dried on your skin. The dry-down scent varies from person to person, since it mixes with your skin’s natural scent.
Body Products<!–removed nitpicker #3# (2008-10-21 05:10:32.152)–>
Coco Chanel famously remarked that you should put fragrance wherever you hope to be kissed–which may be all over…necessitating scented body products.
If you like to wear more than one scented product at a time, make sure they’re all the same tiffany necklaces–notes from different fragrances may clash with one another, producing the olfactory equivalent of mixing a Coldplay song with a Strauss waltz.
For a more discreet way to wear your favorite scent, layer a maximum of two forms of the fragrance (for instance, a shower gel and a body lotion), but skip spraying on the actual perfume.
Of all scented bath and body products, bath oils tend to be the most concentrated (and therefore the most fragrant and long-lasting on the skin).
If the fragrance you love isn’t available in bath or body products, try making your own by mixing a few drops of eau de parfum or eau de toilette into an unscented cream.
Women with sensitive skin should test a scented product on their inner arm before slathering it all over.
How to Find a Scent
Shopping for fragrance is like approaching a new romance: The less you rush things, the more likely you are to end up with a match that lasts.
If you’re a novice and not sure of what you like, check out descriptions of new and classic scents in a fragrance-review book, such as Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez (Viking Adult), or at online fragrance blogs, such as basenotes.net and sniffapalooza.com. If you already know you’re fond of a certain family of fragrances, such as florals, ask the saleswoman to show you the newest ones.
At the store, spritz a fragrance first on a testing blotter (available at most fragrance counters). Wait a minute for the alcohol to dry before you smell the blotter. Continue to sniff it every few minutes to see how the scent settles; after about ten minutes, the full fragrance should be revealed.
Sniff coffee beans or your sleeve between tests–this will help clear your scent receptors.
Narrow down the scents you like to no more than four. Test up to two on each arm: Spritz one on each wrist at the pulse point, and one on each outer forearm.
See how the perfume settles on your skin after a few hours before deciding to buy it. If you’re in a hurry, allow at least 30 minutes before making a decision.
How to Make It Last
The way you apply fragrance–and where you store the bottle–can make all the difference in how long it lasts.
Spritzing on fragrance can be like consuming cocktails–one too many and everyone around you is cringing. A good rule is just one or two drops of perfume, up to three sprays of eau de parfum, up to four of eau de toilette, and no more than six of cologne.
Over time, you become desensitized to the smell of a fragrance you wear often. Resist the urge to pile it on, and stick with the number of spritzes you used when you first wore the fragrance.
The best place to spray fragrance is on your pulse points, which give off heat and help release the tiffany accessories. These include your wrists, inner elbows, temples, neck hollow, behind the ears, and behind the knees.
Light and heat (and fluctuating temperature in general) break down a fragrance over time. The bathroom is the worst place to store a scent; instead, keep it in the bedroom away from direct sunlight.
Once opened, a fragrance stays fresh anywhere from a year to eight years, with heavier orientals having a longer shelf life than light, citrusy scents. If you don’t plan to wear a perfume for some time, store it in the refrigerator. For maximum protection, refrigerate fragrance in its original packaging, inside a plastic bag.
Florals<!–removed nitpicker #4# (2008-10-21 05:10:32.152)–>
Pretty, feminine, and suitable for day or night, florals are the most popular fragrances.
If you’re looking for a soft floral, consider one with lily of the valley (such as Dior Diorissimo), honeysuckle (such as Kate Spade), or lilac (such as Versace).
For a bolder floral, look for one that includes notes of jasmine or tuberose, such as Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy, Dior Poison, or L’Artisan Parfumeur Tubereuse.
The strongest floral note is gardenia. It can be found in Marc Jacobs, Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia, and Kai.
Rose is one of the oldest ingredients used in fragrances, but it has experienced a modern revival in unexpected combinations: Try Ralph Lauren Romance (musky rose), S-Perfume 100% Love (chocolate rose), and Le Labo Rose 31 (woodsy unisex rose).
There are so many subfamilies of florals that every woman can find a variation she likes. Examples include Burberry Weekend (fruity floral), Elle Yves Saint Laurent (woodsy floral), Estee Lauder Pleasures (sheer floral), Elizabeth Arden Mediterranean (fresh floral), and Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey (green floral).
A few classic floral fragrances are Fracas by Robert Piguet, Joy by Jean Patou, and Lancome Tresor.
Citrus and Green<!–removed nitpicker #5# (2008-10-21 05:10:32.152)–>
Women who want to smell fresh, crisp, or outdoorsy–and not sexy–at work are drawn to citrus or green fragrances. Think of them as the pinot grigio of the fragrance world: light-bodied and suitable everywhere.
Green fragrances (which are sometimes considered part of the floral family) evoke a breezy, springlike mood. They’re comprised mainly of leafy, grassy notes, including vetiver, basil, mint, lotus, and sage. Many also contain galbanum, a resin with a pine smell.
Classic green fragrances include Gucci Envy, Bulgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert, and Creed Silver tiffany keys Water.
Citrus is the most recent addition to the fragrance-family categories–it wasn’t considered its own separate group until the ’90s, when citrus ingredients began being used as dominant notes. These scents have a summery feel, with notes such as lemon, grapefruit, lime, mandarin orange, and bergamot. (Both citrus and green scents can be worn at any time of year, though.)
Classic citrus fragrances include Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, DKNY Be Delicious, L’Occitane Verbena, and Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin.
Unisex
Just as a men’s button-down shirt can look equally sexy on a woman, some fragrances can go both ways. Here’s how to mix things up.
From a chemical standpoint, there’s no such thing as a unisex fragrance–it’s all a matter of marketing. That said, most scents sold as unisex are light and clean, without either the heavy floral and oriental notes associated with many women’s scents or the macho woody notes found in men’s colognes. Citrus is one category that tends to be worn by both sexes.
Some mainstream brands have introduced unisex lines: Check out Hermes Hermessence and Armani Prive. Other fragrance houses that offer unisex scents include Annick Goutal, Bond No. 9 New York, By Kilian, Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle, Jo Malone, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Le Labo, and Tom Ford.
Ask the fragrance saleswoman if there are crossover scents that both male and female customers have been snapping up. For instance, Tom Ford Black Orchid is a women’s scent worn by many men, and Guerlain Vetiver is a men’s fragrance favored by lots of women.
If there’s something you smell and like on a man, by all means, try it. You have the power to make it unisex.
Classic unisex scents: Calvin Klein CK One, Acqua di Parma Cologne, and Annick Goutal Eau d’Hadrien.
Orientals<!–removed nitpicker #6# (2008-10-21 05:10:32.152)–>
The richest and most seductive scents, orientals get their name because they’re often based on resins from the Middle East or spices from the Far East.
Orientals are thought of as sexy because centuries ago, they were comprised of animal-based ingredients (for example, musk was originally derived from the musk deer), which gave them a raw, animalistic quality. Today, these notes are synthetic, but the idea is the same.
A subfamily known as oriental gourmands, which evoke the smell of foods such as vanilla and cinnamon, are equally sensual–a 1999 study at the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation found that men were most turned on by food smells. Gourmand scents include Thierry Mugler Angel, Bond No. 9 New York Chinatown, Ralph Lauren Hot, and Laura Mercier Vanille Gourmande.
Although orientals are sexy, a softer, lighter subgroup of scents known as florientals (a mix of floral and oriental notes) are appropriate for daytime wear. Examples include Cartier Delices de Cartier, Ralph Lauren Notorious, Dior Addict, and Dolce & Gabbana The One.
Orientals may be called ambers when amber is the dominant note. Examples: Prada by Prada, Stella by Stella McCartney, and Cacharel Anais Anais Tentation.
Some classic oriental scents are Guerlain Shalimar, Calvin Klein Obsession, and Yves Saint Laurent Opium.
Buying Cologne for a Man
Guys tend to be conservative and finicky about fragrance. Paradoxically, that makes them easier to shop for than women, because there aren’t as many wild and crazy scents in the men’s market.
Don’t buy fragrance for a man you don’t know well. Yes, you can buy a scent for your father, but skip the boss–cologne tends to be viewed as a personal gift.
If you know what scent the man wears now, tell the salesman. If it’s, say, Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gio Pour Homme, one of the best-selling aromatic fougeres (which means “fern” and refers to woodsy, green colognes), find out what’s new in that category–or go with another classic, such as Davidoff Cool Water.
When you’re not sure what he’ll like, try a cologne with marine notes–they’re among the most popular. Or think of what you’d like to smell on his skin. Clean, manly fragrances that perfumers recommend include Hermes Eau d’Orange Verte, Code for Men by Giorgio Armani, Burberry Brit, and Chanel pour Monsieur.
When in doubt, consider the Sephora Scent Sampler Gift Certificate for Him–ten sample fragrances, plus a voucher for a full bottle of the one he likes best.
If you’re not sure your man will wear a fragrance, give him an aftershave or other scented toiletry instead.
Buying Scent for a Woman
About one third of all department-store fragrance sales are made during the holidays. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to buy such a personal item for another woman. Here’s how to simplify the process.
If you know what fragrance she already wears, tell the saleswoman–she can guide you toward something in the same family. If you don’t, describe her personality. Is she outgoing? Ultrafeminine? Athletic? The more information you can give, the more it will help narrow the choice.
Think about her clothes. Whether she wears Chanel or Gap, many fashion lines have scents designed specifically to reflect the woman who wears the clothes.
Consider other clues: For example, a woman who often wears all white may prefer a pure floral, such as Vera Wang Signature, while the woman who wears strong colors may prefer an attention-grabbing oriental, such as Narciso Rodriguez for Her. If she’s eccentric, you may want to go with a perfume that few people wear from a small “boutique” company, such as Annick Goutal, Bond No. 9 New York, By Kilian, or Creed.
When she’s hard to pin down, a safe bet may be a classic perfume. Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gio, Estee Lauder Beautiful, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, Chanel No. 5, and Donna Karan Cashmere Mist are the top five best-sellers at department stores, according to the NPD Group.
Woody, Earthy, and Chypre<!–removed nitpicker #7# (2008-10-21 05:10:32.152)–>
It’s pronounced SHEEP-ra, with the final syllable clipped, and it’s French for the island of Cyprus, where perfume making goes back centuries. Chypre fragrances have an interplay of seemingly disparate notes: Fresh, citrusy ingredients make up the top notes, while earthy, mossy, woodsy ones serve as the base notes.
The first classified chypre, Chypre de Coty, was launched in 1917. It got its strong, distinctive smell from citrusy bergamot, the Mediterranean resin labdanum, and a lichen known as oakmoss. (The fragrance was discontinued in the ’80s.) In recent years, “chypre” has often been used to describe any fragrance with a woodsy scent–even ones that don’t contain any of the major ingredients of the first modern chypre. Most typically, newer versions use patchouli rather than oakmoss as the base note and are lighter and fruitier than their predecessors.
People tend to either love or hate chypres, and they go in and out of fashion. They were trendy in the ’70s, with scents such as Revlon Charlie and Y Eau de Toilette by Yves Saint Laurent. Chypres recently had a revival, with new scents such as Gucci by Gucci for Women, Pucci Vivara, and Leiber for Women by Judith Leiber.
Some classic chypre fragrances are Guerlain Mitsouko, Paloma Picasso, Givenchy III, and Dior Miss Dior.
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