look good, feel good, SMELL GOOD

Admin
May 13, 2017
3 min read

Seasons change and so should your desired scent.

While in Sephora on one of my wife’s make up escapades, I headed over to the fragrance section to see what was new in the world of smells and potentially take home something new to add to my collection.

Currently, my go to colognes is L’Eau d’lssey Pour Homme by Issey Miyake and I wanted something that would still agree with my natural body aroma the same way this timeless gem does. The amount of compliments I receive when sporting this scent merely solidifies my belief that fragrance is an invisible part of our personal style, and it has a powerful effect on how people see and remember you.

Here is what I learned during my session with the more than helpful sales rep, Brittany.

Figuring out your Notes

There are three different types of notes that comprise the scent of most fragrances: top, medium, and base notes. Each of the three sections contain individual scents, or notes, that are belted together into what you smell.

Top note - The top note is the initial, lighter smell of the fragrance that hits the nose immediately after application to the skin. The top note lasts from 15 minutes to 2 hours. Typical top notes are various light floral scents, citrus, fruity scents, powdery scents, marines and aquatics, and spices such as cinnamon.
Medium note - Also referred to as the middle or heart notes. The middle note showcases the main element of the fragrance. Middle notes develop after the top note clears and can last 3-5 hours after being sprayed. This is in addition to the top note; they build off each other. Heart notes most often include heavier floral scents such as jasmine, or green scents such as grass or stone. Spice scents such as cinnamon and clove can appear here, along with fruity scents as well.
Base note - The last to develop, these scents are often the bolder notes of the scent which become more noticeable later in the day. Base notes lay the foundation and will determine how long the fragrance lasts on your skin. They tend to last from 5 to 10 hours. Typical base notes are sandalwood, moss, vanilla, tar, leather, smoke, tobacco, and musk. I'm typically attracted to fragrances featuring the bold base notes

How to Select and Buy the Right Perfume/Cologne

The best method to find a new fragrance is to test if the perfume complements your natural body aroma in person over the period of a day.

Department stores, or in this case Sephora, are great for this purpose to ensure you don’t buy until ready (it’s easy to fall for the first note). The maximum number of scents to try at once is four!

Spray one scent on each wrist and inner elbow.

Avoid the cards the department store provides to smell the colognes. They enable you to only smell the top notes and not how it smells on you (this is a chemistry experiment, essentially).

Between smelling each cologne, refresh your palate with something strong, like coffee or tea.

There should be some on-site, ask the sales rep if you don't see it.

Try to smell all the notes. As explained, you can expect the scent to change over the next few hours.
Walk around the store and smell the fragrances at various intervals. Take notes on your phone or journal as to which you like and why.
Purchase a bottle of your winner and start to wear. Wearing a fragrance is a journey, not an arrival point. Many people end up owning and loving dozens of scents, so don’t feel you have to get it perfect with your first buy.

If you don't have the time to walk around the store/mall you can always ask if you can have a sample of the products and places like Sephora will gladly bottle this up for you. Here are the samples that I ended up taking with me to test out over the next few days.