Fun with Fragrance -- G-Rated

1. Why is it that a perfume that is lovely for your best friend in December is so off when you try it on your own skin in July? Well, the aroma of a perfume depends not only on the perfume's ingredients, but on your body chemistry, your body temperature, and the season. Be sure to try a fragrance on your own skin before buying it. Also, be aware that you may need to wear a lighter scent in the summer and a somewhat heavier scent in the winter. Also, as your diet changes or you move into a different season of life, your body chemistry may change and you may want to re-consider your signature scent.
2. Try on a perfume and walk around for a while before deciding if you like it. Perfume has three "notes": top notes -- or scent molecules that evaporate quickly, middle notes -- or scents that appear just before the top notes evaporate and base notes -- which become apparent about thirty minutes after you have applied the perfume. The top notes are what gives you your initial impression of a perfume. They attract you to the scent. However, because they leave so quickly, the middle notes provide the actual heart of the perfume's scent. The base notes come in and provide richness. The middle and base notes determine how the perfume will wear on you.
3. There are many fun quizzes and methods on the Internet and in books and magazines for choosing a perfume. The quizzes are fun to take and might give you some insight into what type of perfume will appeal to you. Perhaps, you enjoy a single floral scent, such as rose, or you might enjoy a perfume that has a floral bouquet. Or, you might like citrus or fruity scents. Perhaps, chypres or green scents are your thing. Or, maybe you like scents that have a food theme -- such as vanilla. Certain personalities are attracted to certain types of perfumes: mysterious, light and feminine, sporty, etc. Again, however, the real test is when you actually apply a particular perfume and live with it for a few minutes.
4. When you apply perfume, do not rub it. This damages the molecules of the scent and ruins the effect.
5. Strive for an amount of perfume that leaves just a pleasant whiff as you pass by. Think in terms of someone next to you being able to detect your perfume. You don't want your scent to proceed a block ahead of you! Reapply as needed throughout the day. Remember, though, that your nose will become accustomed to your perfume, and you may think it has worn off though it hasn't.

Enjoy!
Elizabeth