With a wide variety of perfumes and deodorants out there, it is difficult to choose the right fragrance—the one that does not overload your senses, and one that blends in well with your skin type and natural body smell. Here a few tips to help you make the right pick, and smell good all day.
Know your skin type: While this is something that most of us tend to ignore while buying a perfume, knowing your skin type is one of the first steps towards getting it right. And that is because each fragrance smells differently in different skin. How a perfume smells on your skin depends on whether your skin is oily or dry, and even the fat content under the skin. For instance, perfumes tend to last longer on oily skin whereas it quickly gets absorbed and fades off when applied in dry skin types. Oily skin best appreciates light, breezy notes of citrus perfumes because the skin holds on to it well. For light skin where the fragrance doesn't stay on, look for fragrances with heavier base notes. In fact, instead of perfume sprays, perfume oils are a better choice for dry skin types. If you have dry skin, layering your scent might work for you. Moisturise your skin before you wear the perfume. The moisturiser will keep skin moist, which means the perfume will stick to skin and last longer.
Pick according to the weather: Do not resort to one favourite perfume for all year round. In fact, there is an official fragrance family chart which includes four basic fragrance families—Floral, Citrus, Oriental, and Woody. Experiment with one citrus or floral perfume for the summer, and oriental scents for the winter. Oriental scents are rich perfumes derived from substances like musk, vanilla, and often associated with a hint of exotic florals and spices like cinnamon.
Try it out before you buy: Do a sniff test of the bottle first to get a basic idea of how the fragrance feels. If you like it, try it on your skin. This step is important, and that is why most cosmetic or perfume stores allow you to test the perfume before you buy it. To test, spray it on your wrist. It will be a good idea to wait for a few minutes before you decide to buy it. Also, take care you do not try out various perfumes in one go. A mix of these could overload your olfactory senses, and confuse you.
Apply at pulse points: After you have picked your perfume, the trick is to apply it properly so that the fragrance lasts through the day. Apply it to the pulse points (places where the blood vessels are closest to the skin)—behind the ear, behind the knee, inside your elbow, at the base of your throat, and inside your wrist. Though it doesn't fit in as a conventional pulse point, applying perfume on your hair is a good way to make you smell fresh all day long. However, do take care not to spray the perfume directly on to your hair as it might damage hair fibres. You may spray it on your comb and brush your hair with it. Also, do not rub perfume on to your skin after you have applied it, as this can damage the molecular components of the fragrance, making it smell different.
