Fragrance Families and Finding What You Like

BEAUTY · GLOBAL

Fragrance Families and Finding What You Like

How scents are grouped, top and base notes, testing properly and seasons

Choosing fragrance becomes far easier once you know which family you gravitate towards, because the alternative is testing hundreds of bottles at random.

The main families

Floral covers everything from single-note rose to complex bouquets. Oriental or amber scents are warm and resinous, built on vanilla, benzoin and labdanum. Woody scents lead with sandalwood, cedar and vetiver.

Fresh covers citrus, aquatic and green scents, and chypre is a classic structure of citrus over mossy, earthy depth.

Most people find they prefer one or two families, which narrows the search enormously.

Notes unfold over time

Top notes are what you smell in the first minutes and are the shortest lived. Heart notes emerge over the next half hour. Base notes are what remains after several hours and are what you actually wear.

Judging from the first spray is judging the part you keep for the shortest time.

Testing properly

On skin rather than paper, no more than two at a time, and worn for a full day. Skin chemistry genuinely changes how a fragrance develops.

Decants and sample vials cost a fraction of a bottle and are the only sensible way to buy something unworn.

Concentration

Eau de toilette is lighter and suits daytime and warm weather. Eau de parfum carries more oil, lasts longer and frequently costs less per wearing despite a higher bottle price.

Season and occasion

Heat amplifies projection considerably, so something that works in January can be overwhelming in July. Three or four fragrances cover day, evening, summer and winter.

Buying as a gift

Fragrance develops differently on every person, which makes it one of the hardest things to choose for someone else. A discovery set lets them choose, which is a considerably better gift than a full bottle they will never wear.

Keep the receipt, since many retailers will accept unopened returns on fragrance.

Applying it

Two sprays at the neck and wrists, where warmth develops the scent, and do not rub the wrists together, which breaks down the top notes.

Moisturised skin holds fragrance longer than dry skin, so an unscented lotion underneath extends it by hours.

Building a small collection

Three or four fragrances covering day, evening, summer and winter is enough for almost anyone. Work out what your current one does not do rather than buying another version of it.

Buy smaller bottles of anything outside your daily rotation, since fragrance degrades slowly once a bottle has been opened.

Storage

Light and heat degrade fragrance, so keep bottles boxed in a drawer rather than on a bathroom shelf.

WHERE TO BUY

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