What's Your Scent?

     Our choice of scent should be a reflection of our personality.  That's why we gotta know ourselves first before investing in a brand that becomes our smell every time we present ourselves to the world.

How well do you know yourself?

     Hey guys!  The Pinoy Wanderer is back for the conclusion of the article Cologne or Perfume? which I posted a few days ago.  I will be sharing with you some of the tips I found on the Internet on how to choose the perfume that's right for us and how to properly apply them.  Also included in this post are some of the perfumes (or colognes) that I'm recently using as well as the favorites I've had in the past.

How To Choose Your Perfume

First rule:  Know what you like.

     Ever heard of olfactory memory?  This refers to our ability to recall smells (tons of them) that are stored in our memory since the day we were born.  Throughout time, we associate smells with the events in our lives.  So when we like a certain perfume scent, that's probably because our brain recalls a certain olfactory memory associated with that smell such as a triumphant moment, the company of people we like, or probably the smell of someone we miss.

     Taking this in consideration, check out the previous perfumes you've owned and although they are of different brands, you might notice some similarity like they belong to the same classification (citrus, woody, etc) or they are a combination of the fragrance classifications of the ones you already have.  Therefore, choosing your next buy will be easy:  sample the ones coming from the same perfume classification because it is what you like, fasho.

Second rule:  Smell the perfume from your own skin.

     Do not just smell the perfume from the bottle or on the test strip nor check how it smells on someone else because perfume reacts differently on different individuals.  Dab it on your wrist, but do not rub it as it may destroy the molecules of the notes.  A person's body chemistry and body temperature reacts to a given scent, and the result varies from person to person.  So, apply it on yourself, and using the knowledge from my previous post, wait awhile for all the notes (top, middle, base notes) to appear and see whether you like the scent and then decide.  This goes without saying that probably you need an entire day to decide whether you like the prospect or not.  

Third rule:  Do not overdose your nose.

     Our nose might not be able to smell properly if overwhelmed with perfume scents (also referred to as olfactory fatigue).  So it's advisable to try just approximately three scents at a time and inhale coffee beans in between each sampling to restore your olfactory sensitivity.   But if there aren't any coffee beans, take a deep breath through your nose and smell your hanky, shirt or anything that's not scented.  And if it can be helped, don't rush your decision -- after-all buying a perfume is a really serious business.  Walk around, go to work and come back later when you've finally decided you like the smell.

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Aside from the rules I've mentioned above, other considerations include:

Budget - how much are you willing to spend? You can ask the sales personnel to provide you with samples that's within your budget range.

Time - what time of the day are you gonna wear it?  There are perfumes designed to be worn during the day (lighter scents), for evenings (more intense scents) or just for all day fun.

Personality - don't buy a perfume that's very sporty if you aren't that kind of person.  And don't buy perfumes that smells like your dad if you're not even half his age.  As I've mentioned earlier, our scent should mirror our personality.  And, it should enhance but not overpower who we are.

How to Wear it Right**

• Choose the perfume you'll use depending on the occasion.
1. A cocktail party, a meeting with one or two people, a day at the office, a corporate event, these occasions demand a little sophistication. So go with a subtle scent that does not jerk an unsuspecting nostril out of its peaceful reverie.
2. If you want to make a splash at a wedding, a party or on a night of clubbing, go in for something stronger, but nothing too loud, unless a 'loud' image is what you really want to project!
3. We all want to be accepted and your choice of perfume should complement what you stand for.
• Don't splash the perfume all over your clothes.  Apply it behind your earlobes, the upper sides of your palms and on the right and left side of your neck.  Those are your pulse points and the fragrance will sustain for a longer period.  Besides, this way you won't soil your clothes.
• Do not rub your wrists together after spraying on perfume because this reduces the effect of the top layer of perfume.
• Another subtle way to apply perfume is to spray it into the air and walk through it. Now, you are soaking in your favorite scent!
• Keep the spray away from your nostrils, else you might inhale the chemicals. This could lead to breathing trouble.
• How much should you apply?  One round of application to all the pulse points will do. Unless you perspire a lot, in which case, you could go in for round two.
• Many people love to spray perfume everywhere, including their hair, handbag, cushions and sheets. Well, go ahead and indulge yourself.  But when it comes to spraying it on to your silk or tie, restrain yourself, else you will end up ruining your best garment!

My Favorite (and Current) Perfumes

     Here are my favorite perfumes that I'm currently using now with a short description I took from the web.  I am not a perfumer so I will rely on the professional's descriptions.  Bottom line is, I use them because I like them.

Still unused, lol!

Eternity for Men Aqua by CK - this is an update of Calvin Klein's Eternity for Men, which celebrated twenty last year. The fragrance has blue juice and is described as modern aquatic-woody. The fragrance consists of top notes of chilled cucumber, citrus cocktail, water lotus and watery green leaves.  The heart notes are plum, pepper, red berries, lavender and white cedar.  Base notes is a mixture of sandalwood, guaiac wood, patchouli, and musk.

Halfway gone :-P

CK Free - top notes include absinthe, jackfruit, thailand staranise, juniper berry.  The heart is a blend of buchu, suede, coffee absolute, and tobacco leaves.  The base is composed of Costa Rican ironwood, oakwood, patchouli, and Texan cedarwood.  Fragrance category is woody and has an energetic, confident feel.

Bvlgari Pour Homme and
Pour Homme Extreme

Bvlgari Pour Homme - Top notes include lavender, tea, nutmeg, bergamot.  The heart notes is a blend of cyclamen, iris, coriander, pepper, rosewood and drydown is a mix of tonka bean, amber, musk, vetiver and cedar.  Fragrance category is woody and has an elegant, masculine and modern feel.

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Bvlgari Pour Homme Extreme - A fresh and vibrant interpretation of Bvlgari Pour Homme. Destined for men who are looking for a contemporary classic fragrance with character and sparkle.  Top note consists of darjeeling tea, ifescent.  Heart note is Papyrus wood and base note is amber musk.

A few drops left :'-(

Black by Kenneth Cole - Black is masculine and modern, as timeless as the color itself.  An energetic mix of mint, lotus flower, exotic woods and sensuous musk that is metropolitan and masculine.

25% left :-(

Nautica Voyage - the scent opens with cool green leaf and fresh cut apple. The heart blends drenched mimosa, water lotus, and deep aquatic elements with the ‘sailcloth accord’. The woody drydown is a mix of moss, cedarwood, musk, and amber.

And a new favorite which is a birthday gift from my friend tokzzz:

Acqua Di Gio Pour Homme by Giorgio Armani - A resolutely masculine fragrance born from the sea, the sun, the earth, and the breeze of a Mediterranean island. Transparent aromatic and woody in nature Aqua Di Gio Pour Homme is a contemporary expression of masculinity in an aura of marine notes fruits herbs and woods. Notes include Marine Notes Mandarin Bergamot Neroli Persimmon Rosemary Nasturtium Jasmine Amber Patchouli Cistus.

     Some of the perfumes I've enjoyed in the past are:  Clinique Happy, Tommy Hilfiger and Echo by Davidoff.  I also kinda liked Lacoste red until I discovered 11:55 from Oxygen which smelled strongly so much like it.  After I finished the Lacoste red bottle, I instead bought 11:55 -- so much cheaper and just as fun.  LOL!  I still have a small CK Be and haven't used it as often.  And Salvatore Ferragamo, a gift from an ex girlfriend, made me smell sooo mature.  If you're gonna use it, one spray is good for two days.

Perfumes I've used in the past.  Bvlgari is truly an old favorite...

     If you plan to give me perfume as a gift, you'll notice that most of the ones I had are fragrances classified under woody, oceanic or citrus.  Anyway, this is just wishful thinking, I seldom get gifts, even on my birthdays or Christmas.  *sigh*

     Oh, and one other thing, when buying your perfume, don't just buy because they're popular.  Make sure it suits your age too.  You can't be 50 and still smell like a little young girl finding sweetly her way thru high school giggling.  LOL!

     How about you, what's your favorite perfume?  Tell me on the comments' section below, I'd be glad to know about them.  Until my next wandering, see ya on my next post!

CREDITS:
*Some information were taken from Fragrantica and HowStuffWorks.
**How To Wear It Right tips taken verbatim (with a little modification) from rediff.com.
tags: tips on how to buy your perfume, tips on how to properly wear your perfume, how to choose perfume