With all the fragrances in the market, it’s hard to choose the best perfume or cologne for you. Some brands offer the best burberry perfume, while others have weather and floral scents. Thing is, there’s no such fragrance that’s the best among the rest. Instead, there are scents which perfectly fits your preferences and needs.
That’s what you must know in buying perfumes or colognes. You must understand how these wearable fragrances work before making a choice. You wouldn’t want to buy one, only to give or throw it away because you dislike its scent upon use. You don’t want it to end up stuck in the shelf as well, merely because your friends and colleagues tell you not to use it.
How to Pick a Perfume or Cologne that fits you
- Understand the Components of a Fragrance
First, know the basic component of a fragrance, since it would help in gauging the best one for you. These are usually made up of “notes”, and have four different levels of concentrations. Such factors works well when considering your preferences and needs afterwards.
Notes
The overall scent of each fragrance is determined with its notes. Each fragrance have base, middle and top notes, and works together to come up with a desirable smell.
A floral fragrance, for example, may carry different scents in one such as rose, geranium and gardenia. One is the base scent, the other is the middle while the last is the top note. Taking men’s perfume, they usually has musky, heavy and masculine base notes. Pine and leather scents are good examples.
Concentration
Brands of wearable fragrances have different concentrations of scents. Concentrations come in four different levels. Perfume is the highest level, followed by eau de parfum, eau de toilette and eau de cologne respectively to the lowest level.
Simply apply a small amount of perfume on your wrist area and it can last up to a whole day. Eau de parfum usually lasts up to 6 hours, while eau de toilette requires several application to last longer. Lastly, as you probably know it, eau de cologne only last around 2 hours after application, and it doesn’t give off strong scent.
Considering concentration, choose a wearable fragrance depending on how long you want it to last.
The strength of its scent is a factor as well. If you plan to use it when going to work, for example, perfume might suit you since it lasts a whole day. Be careful, however, since your boss or colleagues may dislike its strength.
- Preference and Needs
After knowing the basic components of a wearable fragrance, let your preference and needs help you in making a choice. Yes, there are fragrances that suit all occasions, whether in school, office, family outing and even formal gatherings. These fragrances are often not that strong, since it takes other people’s perception and tolerance as a factor. As stated earlier, for example, wearing a strong perfume in the office may not be a good idea.
Now, if you want to express yourself through a perfect fragrance, consider notes and concentration as mentioned above. Men, for example, must find those with musky or masculine base notes, although don’t go for super strong scents since girls may get irritated. In terms of needs, cologne may come in handy especially if you often don’t need the fragrance for long hours.
Of course, another critical needs to consider is your tolerance for a certain fragrance. NO matter how you like a scent, if your nose can’t tolerate strong smell, you’d end up sneezing a lot or with a headache. Allergies are important factors too.
- Try Fragrances Properly
Lastly, you must learn how to try perfumes or colognes properly. For starters, remember that your body naturally release hormones and pheromones. Especially the latter, it affects how fragrances smell on your body. Yes, regardless of notes and concentration, a fragrance may change upon getting contact with your skin.
So, when you buy a wearable fragrance, always remember to test it directly to your skin. Don’t merely rely on testers, especially those pieces of papers which supposedly carry the scent. For example, apply it on your wrist area and wait for few minutes. That’s when you can make your final verdict.
Considering these points helps you find the perfect perfume and cologne for you. One which you love using, and may even become your signature scent.
