What does your fragrance say about you? Does it capture your personality and style or do people smell you coming from miles away? The scent we choose to wear says a lot about us, and it should be a subtle accessory to our overall style.
It should be just enough that people get a whiff and want more when they get a hint of your aroma. So how do you choose what scent to wear?
Don’t stick with that scent you have worn with high school. You wouldn’t wear the same clothes or hair style ten years later, at least I hope not. Don’t go straight for the scent your best friend wears that you happen to like, either. Fragrances smell different on everyone because of our body chemistry. What smells good on them might smell like a different perfume on you.
Discover the different scent families like Hugo Boss and find which one you are most attracted to before you make any purchases. There are a handful of scent families that each have their own specific elements.
Narrow Your Choice To One Family Of Scents
Floral
Many women are drawn to floral scents, and it is a large fragrance family. From subtle notes of one flower to full bouquets, the florals have a wide range that can be soft and feminine or rich and sexy. It is a very classic choice.
Oriental
These scents have deep and rich notes with distinct aromas. Fragrances with vanilla, musk, amber, and cinnamon are Oriental. They are warm, sensual scents often worn when you want to feel sexy.
Woods
Simple and clean, the woods family has a variety of natural smells like sandalwood. If you don’t want a lot of attention from your fragrance or you like an earthy aroma, this is a good place to start.
Fresh
This family captures a large selection of scents from fruity to seaspray. There are many options in this family from flirty and fun to the freshness of a spring day.
Take your time discovering each family and deciding which one you like best and if it fits your personality. Don’t spray the scents on yourself while testing. Spray them on cards and smell them on their own first.
Once you know what scent family you like best, then you can decide where to go from there.
Explore The Varying Levels Of Fragrance
Each family has options and some vary widely across their spectrum. Take your time smelling the many options. Once you have decided what you like best, wait on buying it. Instead, take a sample home and see how others react to it.
Your opinion of it might change after a few days. It might also smell differently once it mixes with your hairspray, daily lotion or even just the soap you use to wash your clothes. You might also find that it gives you a headache after wearing it to too long or you just don’t like it as much the more you smell it.
So wear it around for a few days and see how it fits into your daily routine.
Select A Perfume That Captures You
In the end, choose a scent that you love to smell every time you put it on. It should be the finishing touch to your daily style not a bargain find or random choice that smelled “good enough” in the store. People will recognize your fragrance and associate those delicious scent notes with you so make sure it is the perfect perfume.
Wear Your Scent In The Right Spots
There are a lot of places to wear perfume without overwhelming those around you. Instead of dousing your clothes in your new favorite scent, try hitting pulse points and other areas that will hold the fragrance without overpowering those around you.
- Hair – Your hair will hold the scent the best. Spray some on a comb and work it through your hair. Spraying it directly on your hair can dry it out.
- Earlobes – This warm pulse point is a great spot to dab some perfume for a nice subtle scent that works all day.
- Wrists – As another pulse point, it will waft you scent as your body heats up and people will get a hint of it as you use your hands to gesture.
- Collarbones – Spray some of your perfume across your chest and collarbones. The fragrance will sit in the dips of your collarbone and carry the scent as you move.
- Inside of the Elbows – The inside of the elbow is also a nice warm spot that will hold your scent throughout the day without making it obvious.
If you prefer a body mist with a soft, subtle smell, try the Vera Wang Embrace Body Mists. It mixes fresh and floral scents to create a feminine fragrance with delicious juicy notes. You can get the body mists in Rosebuds and Vanilla, Green Tea and Pear Blossom, Periwinkle & Iris, and Marigold and Gardenia.
They each have a gentle, dreamy quality about them that isn’t overpowering but still offers up a great scent that will stay with you all day. The line is a great idea for summer with those long warm nights and romantic strolls.
I received samples of the Vera Wang Body Mist. All opinions remain my own.
Oh the vera wang perfume looks so great! Never tried this before but i will definitely try this.
Awesome tips, seriously. I like strong and long lasting that are almost with a wild smell of non-floral elements.
I could only wear a lightly scented fragrance as the scents bother my asthma. I used to love to wear perfumes at one time.
This is seriously the most helpful guide ever. I am a HUGE perfume lover and never really paid much attention to how much goes into picking a perfume. I usually just sprayed and smelled to see if I liked it. I am totally more intrigued now.
These are some great tips. I almost never wear perfume but want to start – at least a few times a week. I might have to try these out!