Signature Scents: How to Build Your Fragrance Collection
1. Discovering Fragrance Groups
Discovering the groups helps in choosing the perfect scents for your fragrance collection. There are 4 main perfume categories: floral, oriental, woody, and fresh.
The floral scent gives off the smell of fresh flowers. It’s the most typical scent women use as it presents a feminine vibe. However, as with all fragrances, anyone can wear this if it suits their personality and style.
Floral scents are perfect for everyday use because of their light and soft smell. There are sub-group under this scent: fruity, floral, soft floral, and floral oriental.
The oriental scent is ideal if you want a warm and spicy fragrance. It exudes a deep and sensual feeling because of its strong smell.
Perfumes with oriental scents are best for the cold weather. You can expect them to last their longest at this time. The sub-groups under oriental scent are oriental, soft oriental, and woody oriental.
The wood perfumes produce warm and rich smells like oriental scents. However, wood scents have fresh notes rather than spicy ones.
It’s a fragrance that radiates masculinity. The sub-categories for woody scents are the woods, mossy woods, and dry woods.
A fresh scent is the best perfume if you want to feel refreshed for the entire day. It’s the type of fragrance giving a bright and zesty scent. It’s a smell perfect for summer.
Aromatic, citrus, water, and green are the sub-groups under fresh fragrances.
2. Strength of Fragrances
The strength of fragrances talks about the scent’s level of concentration.
It determines the amount of perfume oil it contains. Thus, the higher the concentration of a fragrance, the higher the amount of perfume oil it holds.
You can expect a scent to last longer when it carries a higher amount of perfume oils. There are 5 fragrance strengths: eau de cologne, eau fraiche, eau de parfum, parfum, and eau de toilette.
Eau Fraiche or body mist contains 1% to 3% concentration of perfume oils. You can expect this type of fragrance to last for an hour or 2 hours.
Body mists don’t last that long because they contain less alcohol, too. It has more water than alcohol and perfume oils.
Cologne or eau de cologne has 2% to 5% perfume oils and can last for 3 hours. There are up to 5% to 15% of perfume oils in eau de toilette, making it stay for 3 to 4 hours in your skin.
Eau de Parfum can stay up to 4 to 6 hours. It can last that long because it has a concentration of 15% to 20% of perfume oils.
Parfum fragrances are the best if you want the fragrance to last for 6 to 8 hours. These scents hold 20% to 40% of perfume oils.
3. Fragrance Notes
Fragrance notes are the layers of different scents in a perfume. There are three notes in every fragrance: top, middle, and base notes.
The top note is the first scent you smell upon applying or spraying the fragrance. The middle is the most striking as it’s the basis for the whole perfume. The base note is the scent you can smell after the perfume dries down.
4. Determine the Scent You Like
Determine the smell you like after knowing the different scents. Take a personal scent test if possible. It will help you determine which you prefer.
It’s better to try scents in person because the smell of perfume can change over time. In addition to this, you will get to know the actual scent of the fragrance and determine if it is the right scent for you.
5. Associate to Your Lifestyle
Another perfume guide to consider when creating your scent profile is your lifestyle. It’s vital to associate the fragrance with your lifestyle. The perfume you use says many things about you.
Choose the scent you’re comfortable and confident in using. Perfume can make you more attractive when you pick the right one to match your personality.
Go for fragrances that can enhance or highlight your personality when you wear them. You can match scents with your day too. Wear a fresh scent for a fun outdoor activity, or wear a more musky scent for a formal occasion.
It is always important to be conscious that your scent is not overwhelming to other people.
6. Take Perfume Samples
There are perfume shops that offer samples you can try. Try using these testers to determine which specific scent you like.
Some perfume shops sell their samples at a discounted price. You can also try these samples as well. Using samples prevents you from hoarding lots of different perfumes that you won’t be able to finish.
7. Buying Tips
Get small bottles of the perfume you want before opting for the larger sizes. It’s possible you won’t like the scent in the long run. Only buy the larger size when you’re sure about it.
Choose the best fragrance for you from your other favorite perfumes with similar scents. But never be afraid to try new, different fragrances when expanding your signature scent.
8. Consider Skin Chemistry and Weather Condition
Skin chemistry can affect how the perfume reacts to your body. The more moisturized your skin, the more the scent stays. Your skin pH can also affect how the perfume would smell when applied to your body.
Choose perfumes that are ideal for the weather in your location. Opt for aromatic scents if you live in a warm area. Whereas oriental scents come into their own in colder conditions.
Building Your Fragrance Collection
These are some of the things you need to remember when building your fragrance collection. Make sure to learn the different scents, their strengths, and notes before buying.
Ready to start building a perfume collection? You can reach us here if you need help in making your fragrance collection. We can offer you scents that suit you best!
