Are you looking for a perfume and you don’t know where to start? Would you like to find the perfect scent that matches your personality? Whether you’re looking to buy a fragrance for you or for someone else, here we tell you how to choose a perfume based on a few factors.

You have probably heard about the fragrance wheel. A very visual representation of the families of scents based on the main accords that can form a composition. This classification can help you identify the type of scent that you like or, at least, that you fancy at this particular moment in time. The fragrance wheel connects all the accords that you can find in a scent: from oriental to woody, to aromatic, to floral, and fruity.  Apart from this first classification that can guide you a little bit, we will now discuss some of the factors that you should take into account when choosing a perfume, such as the season, the environment, your age, the projection or the longevity.

SEASON

Natural perfumes are affected by heat. They can smell much stronger (and sometimes become overwhelming) in hot weather. For that reason, it is a good idea to have different scents depending on the time of the year. For example, deeper, woody, or smoky notes are better for colder weather whereas citrusy, aromatic and fruity compositions are perfect for the summer time!

OCCASION

Attending a fancy dinner? Going out for drinks? Working all day? There are fragrances for every occasion. Some compositions are very uplifting and light. Some are sweet and seductive, others are deep and interesting. Depending on where you go and who you’re going to spend your time with, you can choose the type of scent that will accompany you. Just like a fashion accessory.

NOTES

Every perfume is formed of olfactory notes, which are the different scents noticeable in the composition. Every person finds different notes more or less pleasant and therefore, while some might find floral notes exquisite, others find them overwhelming, for instance. Everyone has a preference and leans towards the same type of scents and avoids certain notes that just don’t find pleasant.

PROJECTION

The projection of perfume or sillage refers to the ability of a scent to be smelled at a distance. The biggr the distance, the stronger the perfume sillage is. Certain fragrances have better projections than others: scents with oud, for example, can be noticed from afar whereas citrus compositions tend to have a weaker projection. You need to have this into consideration. Do you prefer to be noticed before you turn the corner or you are looking for a more subtle and discrete scent?

LONGEVITY

The longevity of the perfume refers to how long it last once applied on the skin. It depends on its composition as well as the concentration of essential oils that it contains. For example, an eau de parfum is more intense than an eau de toilette or a cologne (read more here) because of the amount of the essence in the formula. Therefore, you will be able to smell it for longer. Also, the weather plays an important part as some oils evaporate quicker with the heat.

SKIN

The body chemicals on our skin affect the scent that we wear. Have you ever liked how a perfume smells on someone else and when you try it is just not the same? Hormones are responsible for this to happen…Unisex scents smell completely different on men and women. They tend to go sweater for women and woodier/sharper for men. It is worth spending some time trying some perfumes on before purchasing a bottle. Every skin is different and you must like the scent on yours!

AGE

It is very common to choose stronger scents the older we get. The explanation can be related to the fact that the older we are, the weaker our sense of smell is. Some loss of smell is natural with aging, especially after age 60. For that reason, some perfumes might be a bit too intense for younger people but really pleasant for older generations. If you are going to choose a present for someone else, you might need to have their age into consideration.

MOOD

We always recommend having different perfumes on your shelf so you can vary what you wear depending on how you feel. Just like we don’t wear the same clothes every day, we should spray the perfume that best matches our mood. It is a good idea to have a range of scents with a variety of accords for different moods. Are you feeling relaxed? cheerful? Do you fancy a fresh composition with sharp notes or a sweet smoky scent with deep tones?

MEMORIES

The sense of smell is strongly connected to memory, more so than any of our other senses. Those with full olfactory function may be able to think of smells that evoke particular memories. A scent can then trigger a long-forgotten event or experience. Furthermore, we can evoke the emotions that we felt during different memories. If you spray the perfume that you wore during one of the most joyful moments of your life, it will trigger a happy emotion!

Are you still wondering what perfume should I buy? Take the perfume-match test and let us recommend you some scent for you! You will be shown some perfumes that we think you will like. Stop wondering what perfume you should buy, we will help you choose.