The nose job
How to pick the right fragrance. The experts explain.
Last updated:
3 MIN READ
- Take time to let the fragrance develop. A perfume has several ‘notes'. The top note is the immediate scent, the middle note becomes apparent after a few minutes of wear and the base note is the lingering scent after a few hours of wear. Take your time to appreciate the layers of the perfume and decide if you like it.
- Pulse points like the wrists and neck are the best place to apply a perfume, because the temperature of these locations enhances the fragrance. It is usually better to try it on the skin than on a fragrance card so that it can warm up.
- As you sample fragrances, try to understand which fragrance family you prefer. Later, you can ask the sales assistant to recommend fragrances for you in that family. The four main families are floral, woody, spicy, and fruity.
- Hamad Abdullah, brand manager for Ted Lapidus and Jacques Bogart
- Pay attention to the colours and design of the fragrance, as these speak volumes about the personality of the perfume. They can help you know the kind of fragrance it is intended for (daytime wear, evening wear, at parties, at work etc). This will help you assess whether your sense of style matches romantic, casual, flowery, or citrusy.
- If you receive compliments on your choice of perfume, stick with it. A signature scent that suits you will never be out of style.
- Gassan Mami, creator of Franck Olivier's Sunrise for Men
- When you wear it, you have to decide whether you like it or not. You have to listen to your own point of view. As Christian Dior used to say, it doesn't matter if you have good taste or bad taste, what matters is that you have your own taste. Fragrance is a joyful thing when it gives you pleasure to wear it.You have to wear it, put it on your skin, because smelling it on blotting paper is not enough. Wearing the fragrance is important.
- I think in terms of colours, so for a wedding for example I would think white. I would think of jasmine, fresh citrus notes. You think of ingredients then you build a story around it.
- Aurelien Guichard - perfumer of Davidoff Champion
- Give the fragrance time to evolve when you are smelling it; smell it initially and then after 5 minutes or so, to see how the fragrance changes. Something you love in the first minute might not be the main character of the fragrance as it dries down.
- Remember the consultants in-store are a great source of knowledge, they can help you find the right fragrance, from the type of notes you like.
- Lewis Peacock, fragrance expert, P&G
- I will compare it to love. Are you looking for a long-term relationship or a fling? Are you looking for a signature fragrance or a "one-night stand fragrance" - something that follows your mood. In the first case, you will need time to try the fragrance on you skin and wait to see how the people you know react. If you don't get any feedback or comments, you may want to try something else. If you consider fragrance as an accessory that completes your look and follows your mood, then you might buy what you like at the moment.
- Francis Kurkdjian, perfumer Custo Barcelona
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