Are you making music with your scents? To better understand fragrances we must first get to the heart of them. Perfume is often described in a musical metaphor as having three sets of notes. The notes unfold over time. The top note leads to deeper middle notes, and base notes appear as the final stage. These notes are constructed carefully with extensive knowledge of the evaporation process of the perfume.
The top notes are the scents that you notice immediately. They are your first impression, often capturing your olfactory sensors and never letting go. The top notes are the lightest molecules that will evaporate quickly, but often these are the best selling features of a perfume. These notes are also known as the head notes.
The middle notes are the scents that emerge just prior to when the top note dissipates. This is considered the main body of the fragrance. This often can cover up or mask the initial impression of the base notes. These notes are also known as the heart notes.
The base notes are the scent of the perfume that appear close to the departure of the middle notes. The base and middle notes combined are the main theme of a perfume. They bring intensity and depth to the perfume. These scents will take at least 30 minutes to develop after you apply the perfume. So, when you are walking around a mall or department store, give it some time before liking or disliking a fragrance on your skin. It is also recommend that you do not try out more than 3 perfumes in a day because you do not want to overload your sensors.
It is also important not to overload our bodies with fragrances. Everyone has encountered a person that smells like they literally bathed in their perfume before venturing out for the day. In an article published by Medical New Today, there was a study done by Proffessor Yehuda Shoenfeld at Tel Aviv University in New York, which linked depression to a biological mechanism that affects the olfactory glands. This may explain why some women, without even realizing it, may be wearing too much perfume.
To test if you’re wearing too much perfume, hold out your arm after you’ve spritzed the perfume on your wrist, if you can smell your perfume beyond the length of your arm you are wearing too much. Our senses actually get stronger as the day wears on, so you may be applying too much in the morning. Remember that perfume doesn’t smell the same in a bottle or a test strip as it does on your skin. The magazine tester makes for a tough representation for how it will smell directly on your skin, so we recommended purchasing tester sizes of scents you like; you can mix and match and won’t run out of options. We suggest the Calvin Klein Women’s Coffret Set; there are five fabulous perfumes to choose from.
We all have different emotional responses to smells and aromas. The average person can recognize approximately 10,000 different smells. So how do we know which one is right for us? There are florals, aquatics, citrus, barks, blossoms and even gourmand scents (dessert like qualities). Perfume being the strongest of potions has the highest aromatic compound at a 20% concentration of fragrance. Splash and aftershave are considered having the lowest amount of compounds at a 1-3% concentration. This is important to know when layering our scents. First you’ll want to apply a scented bubble bath or shower gel; this will prepare your skin for the scents ahead. Then you should apply a body lotion or body cream, followed by a powder, deodorant, or cologne. Yes this works for men as well!
If you choose to do these steps it is not recommended that you apply the strongest scent last, this being the perfume. Finish it off with cologne or perfume de toilette instead.
Try out the Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely Set. This has a parfum, body lotion, and parfum rollerbal. Perfect for when you want your fragrance to last all day long! Also a great product for men is the Calvin Klein Men’s Coffret Set. This set includes 5 different men’s fragrances.
Your natural body chemistry will influence how your scents smell on you. This includes diet, acid balance, skin oil, and medications. Your mood and environment can play a vital role as well. People with oiler skin may experience a stronger scent, with that said if you have dry skin you may have to reapply more often.
The trick is listening to what your perfume is telling you. There is a symphony of harmonic notes playing on your pulse points. Be patient when selecting the right fragrance and you will be hearing music in no time.
Sources: Perfume, www.senseofsmell.org, Medical New Today: Depression In Females Linked To Sense of Smell.
How Your Fragrance Can Leave a Lasting Impression
