Start by smelling a perfume
with a blotter to see if it is a perfume you think that you
could wear. There is no point in trying on your skin a
perfume that you will not like.
Smell coffee beans between each sampling to clear your nose
and to get it ready for the next one.
Once you have selected a few perfumes to try, apply some on
your wrist. You should not try more than about two perfumes
at once on your skin because they will confuse your sense of
smell or blend together.
Let the perfume blend and settle in your skin for about ten
minutes, walk around, do something else and then smell it
again. This enables you to experience the full character of
the perfume and to obtain a hint of the different levels of
the fragrances notes as the scent mixes with your body
chemistry.
Your nose is the best judge in determining which perfume
fits you the best. You must simply love the perfume you
choose and feel good about wearing it.
Finally you should experiment with different fragrance
families and different types of perfume. A fine fragrance or
designer perfume should be seen as a fragranced part of your
wardrobe. Just as you wear different clothes for different
seasons, occasions and moods, your fragrance collection
should be rotated and balanced in this manner to include
different variety of fragrances for that perfect occasion.
How to wear
perfume
Perfume and Eau de toilette
will stay longer on your skin if you layer the scent. By
layering we mean by using different products with your
perfume so that it stays with you for a long time, about six
hours. For example:
Start by using a
perfumed shower gel or perfumed soap for your shower. If
you prefer taking a bath, you can put a drop of perfume in
your water.
Apply a perfumed body
lotion on your body before getting dressed. If you do not
like wearing body lotion all over your body, put it only
on your pulse points where you will apply your perfume.
Then, apply your perfume
or eau de toilette on your pulse points: the inner wrists,
behind the ears, and lower neck. Do not rub your perfume
within your skin as you will break some of its molecular
composition.
Another tip to making your perfume last a long time is to
spray your fragrance onto your hairbrush and running the
fragranced brush through your hair. This is because the hair
is more porous than the skin and absorbs the perfume quickly
and effectively.
Finally, another way of making your mark with your perfume
is to lightly spray it on your mattress as you make the bed
- the fragrance will subtly remain on the sheets.
How to choose a perfume as a
gift for a loved one
Start by asking yourself
what are the perfumes that the person already has. Does she
usually wear floral, fruity, green, citrus' or spicy and
warm perfumes. People tend to own many perfume brands, but
within the same family of perfume.
Lighter skin and hair people tend to prefer lighter perfumes:
floral/citrus, fruity/green, and darker skin and hair people
tend to prefer more spicy and warm perfumes. Young people
usually prefer light floral, fruity and citrus' perfumes.
Fresh floral and fruity fragrances are often more
appropriate in the summer months, whereas spicier and warmer
scents are more suited to the colder months.
How to Store
and Care for your Perfume
Always keep the cap on your
perfume bottle closely tight. Oxygen is a big enemy to
perfume and will spoil its chemical composition.
Keep your perfume away from heat and direct sunlight. Your
perfume should be kept in a cool dark place if you want it
to retain its quality for a long time. If you like to keep
your perfume on a counter, use it within a year.
Apply your perfume with the stopper that comes with your
perfume bottle and not with your fingers, so that you do not
spoil your perfume with residues off your fingers.
Your perfume should last about 5 years if properly stored
and cared. However, be aware that it could spoil earlier
than that. If it changes color, darkens or clouds, it means
that the perfume molecules are breaking down and that your
perfume has spoiled.
What is the
difference between Perfume, Eau de Parfum and Eau de
Toilette?
Perfume
This is the extract of a
fragrance and represents the scent in its purest form. This
often creates a smooth and round texture, which is hard to
achieve with the dilution represented in the other
concentrations of fragrance.
Eau de Parfum
Eau de Parfum or EDP is one
of the most popular forms of fragrance. Eau de Parfum
contains between seven to fourteen per cent of essential
oils and is the second strongest and longest lasting means
of wearing a fine fragrance.
Eau de Toilette
Eau de Toilette or EDT is
fast becoming the most common means of wearing a fragrance.
EDT's are not as highly concentrated in essential oils as an
EDP or Perfume would be and contain one to three per cent of
fragrance oils. This impacts the ability of the fragrance to
last and around eighty percent of the oils in an EDT
fragrance will evaporate within three hours of application.
