Perfume can be a very personal touch to your final look. Some of my friends have been wearing the same perfume for years and even with my eyes closed I can guess who it is by their signature scent. I personally love to change up my perfume scent on a yearly basis and I wear different perfumes for different occasions. I work in a hospital so I try not to wear any scents that are very heavy to avoid allergies in patients, but when I go to dinner with friends I think to wear something a little more bold. I would personally recommend going to Sephora for a small sample. When the perfume mixes with the oils of your skin and can take on a very different smell once worn. I would wear for about 3 days to make sure you really like the smell throughout the day as perfume is very expensive. Here are my top 5 favorite perfumes over the years!
Jo Malone Velvet Rose & Oud Cologne Intense
Description: Darkest Damask rose. Rich and textural, wrapped with smoky oud wood. Spiked with clove, decadent with praline. I personally find this scent multi-dimensional and complex because it isn’t a super concentrated floral or rose scent given the hint of a clove and a woodsy-scent. When reading reviews most people described the scent as mysterious, a fragrance with a sparkle with a smokey warmth, and great for a date night.
Description: Sì has a top note of blackcurrant nectar, a heart of freesia and Rose of Mai, with a musky blond wood base. I have been wearing Si for about 5 years. It is more of a floral/sweet scent that I wear during the day. For me, it is extremely long lasting and a very clean perfume.
Description: A lavish floral perfume with an intoxicating whirl of cattleyas, freesia, sambac jasmine and rose petals. This scent reminds me of more of a musky floral scent that is still light enough to be worn during the day. Once the perfume fades I do get hints of a vanilla smell.
Description: The scent is described with the notes of mandarin, rose, and musky wood. Even though the scent profile does seem similar to those above, this scent is both sweet and spicy at the same time. Most might not be familiar with this brand. I actually discovered this in Chicago at the Bloomingdales while perfume shopping with my now husband! The perfumes are expensive but you only need 1-2 sprays for the scent to last the entire day. The scent is very unusual and unlike more commercial brands. If you buy off the Penhaligon website, you can engrave the bottle!
Description: The smell has notes of bitter grapefruit, lush greens, cassis, white jasmine, peach nectar, tuberose, and a base of warm patchouli, golden amber, rich vanilla musk. It doesn’t smell super sweet, it’s more of a floral refreshing crisp flavor. To me the smell is very light and perfect for a day perfume. I keep the roller ball size in my purse at all times as I think it really freshens up your scent mid-day.
How to Apply Perfume:
- Don’t rub perfume into your skin. Rubbing perfume into your skin causes the top notes to fade and evaporate before they can settle. This means the notes that made you fall for the scent to begin with never truly translate onto your skin!
- Spray it onto your pulse points. Your pulse points, located on the inside of your wrists, inner elbows, below your belly button, and behind your ear lobes and knees. These warm spots on your body emit extra body heat, which helps to naturally diffuse a scent.
- Store your perfume properly. Do not store your perfume in your bathroom as large temperature differences change the composition of your perfume and shorten the shelf life. Additionally, any form of light (especially sunlight) can break down a perfume’s makeup. Think about where you would store medications…a cool, dark, dry place. The best place would be in your bedroom on a dresser or in a drawer in the original packaging if possible.
- Walk through a fragrance cloud to lightly cover your clothing. Please do not inhale the fragrance as you walk through it. In addition, only spray your perfume on clothing you can wash! Some perfumes are oil based, so they can easily stain silk fabrics.
