How to pick the Perfect Fragrance

Picking the perfect parfum is a rite of passage as a person. (Say that 5 times fast!!) Your signature fragrance serves as a personal scent memory to friends, loved ones and strangers alike. Fragrance lingers on clothes, in rooms, and likes to hang around in the air, long after you’ve departed. Because scent and emotion are directly tied to memory, finding a signature perfume is sort of a big deal. (At least we’d like to think so) 

1. Try three to four scents a time.
Initially, especially if you don’t really have an idea of what you like, smell EVERYTHING. But limit your explorations to sniffing only three to four scents in one setting. “Your nose is getting more of a workout than it’s used to. Give each fragrance its own shot”

Check out our handcrafted fragrance collection HERE

2. Start with lighter fragrances first.
We’ve been told, it’s better to start with more aqueous or musky scents first; (50% of people can’t even smell musk btw)
Muskier scents are more clean-laundry-type scents; aqueous ones are fresher (think Acqua di Gio).

We recommend you go from musky to aqueous, then to citrus to fruity/florals into the heavier woodsy scents.

3. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t like oud or other unfamiliar scents.
Everyone loves talking about their love for oud like their love for birria tacos (I’m one of those birria ppl) don’t be bothered if you aren’t fond of the hype. Your fragrance preference is often rooted in familiarity.
If you smell a particular fragrance that you’ve never worn before, it’s not that you don’t like it, it’s that your nose is learning something new.

When trying new fragrances, focus on things like, do you get a headache when you wear the scent? Is it invoking the desired mood? How does it make you feel? Energized, Sexy, Bourgeois, Playful? 

4. Try to understand what you are smelling.
This will help you ask for more of the same thing or at the least it will help you narrow down what it is that you don’t like.

Musk: This may sound like the locker room after practice, but musk is actually a clean-laundry type scent.

Smoky: It can smell like a campfire, cedar chips, or blown out matches.

Citrusy: Lime, lemon, oranges. It often feels a little like a spa... bright, refreshing but soothing to the senses.

Woody: These scents can range from a creamy nutty flavor (like butter pecan ice cream), to sandalwood, spicy and dank (patchouli), to a freshly sharpened No. 2 pencil (cedarwood).

Green: Includes that chalky aftertaste of a wheatgrass shot or a dewy moss on a spring morning.

Floral: Floral encompasses everything from white florals (gardenia, lilies, ylang, etc.), to roses, to violets, to peonies.

Aquatic: Where 7 Up meets bubble bath... or salty ocean water 

Oriental: Incense sticks. It can be slightly powdery with a hint of spice or sweetness.

5. Replace coffee beans with your elbow.
Coffee beans are usually close by in most perfume shops you stumble upon. If you ask any clerk, they claim it’s because sniffing them “resets” your scent indicators.. well we’ve done the research, talked to the specialists... and they all call CAP! Instead, bury your nose in your elbow that doesn’t have any fragrance. It really works. Your own scent and pH recalibrates your nose to it’s home frequency!

6. Let it breathe! See how a scent evolves after four hours.
In scent nomenclature, you may hear (or read) talk about the “top note” and “dry down” of perfumes the same way people talk about the legs of a good wine. Fragrances are living organisms and like wine, they evolve over time. A top note lasts about 20 minutes and is your first impression of the fragrance. The heart lasts for the better part of the day, about four hours, and the base note may carry your scent for 6-8hours (More common with Eau de Parfums)

7. Understand the types of Parfums, & why some cost more than others.

Extrait de Parfum containts a high concentration of fragrance, typically around 40% perfume oil. Known for its exceptional sillage and longevity, it's the epitome of fragrance artistry, designed to linger on the skin and evoke lasting impressions. generally last between 8-12 hours

Eau de Parfum (EDP) is the strongest type of perfume. Our Eau de Parfums contain about 20% of perfume oil, and will generally last around 8 hours.

Eau de Toilette (EDT) is next, containing around 5-15% of perfume oil. Eau de Toilettes often have a quick burst of beautiful smells before fading; meaning they can make a great first impression. Generally, these fragrances will last about 4hrs.

Eau de Cologne is a much lighter choice than the previous two. Eau de Cologne has around 2-4% of perfume oil, and is often used as a body splash to freshen up at regular intervals. Eau de Cologne doesn’t last long; perhaps around 2-3 hours at the longest

8. Try a hair perfume.
Don’t tell your hair stylist we said it, but hair carries scent very VERY well. When you find the fragrance that you really like, try spraying it in your hair.. let it waft around, catch some air and carry your signature to the next level.