We all have our favourite, the scent which gives us an air of beauty whenever sprayed, the scent our loved ones know us by and which we grow to love on those we adore.
Perfumes have long been a vital finishing touch to our beauty regime, but there is not only an art in making each fragrance unique, but in choosing which suit your individual style and flair.
A little bit of history
We all know perfumes have been around for years, yet the history and extent of their uses are quite amazing. Back in ancient times, Egyptians utilised perfumed balms for religious ceremonies and before lovemaking.
While myrrh and frankincense were used to scent the air around them, rose and peppermint were mixed with oils and applied to the skin. This shows us that we have not distanced greatly from our ancestors, simply added more variations to our scents and aromatherapy oils.
The power of smell has been used for thousands of years to enhance our surroundings and general mood. Popularity of perfumes has varied throughout the ages, lessening in popularity around the formation of Christianity and regaining composure during the medieval period.
Due to such a desire for new scents, spice trade routes were formed across seas and new concoctions created. Objects then began to be applied with fragrance and, like a natural progression; the first non-greasy eau de cologne was created in the Gregorian era (and used as both bath and mouthwash!).
The nose
Enter any perfume factory in the world and there is a uniquely gifted individual who reins supreme over the hundreds of bottles of scents that line the lab. They are known simply as ‘the nose’ and in short, the nose knows all.
While the exact formulas for each perfumes created are highly confidential, it is the nose that creates the final product and can depict all its ingredients from simply inhaling.
Choosing your signature scent
While most women have a handful of perfumes to suit their personalities and moods, choosing a signature scent can be a difficult task. First you must understand the strength of perfumes and what scents best suit your skin (as the same fragrance can smell completely different on you and your best friend.
While eau de toilettes are cheaper, they are also a great deal weaker and will not last as long as eau de parfum or cologne-so stick with the real deal and it will linger on your limbs.
When smelling a new fragrance, apply it to a small sample card then wait at least 10mins before deciding if you like it or not. Perfumes take time to mature in the air and can change dramatically once they are settled.
When applying your scent, spray it onto pulse points (ie. on the inside of your wrists, under your ears and behind your knees) as well as a little in the air to walk through. Remember that you should never rub these areas together to help the spray dry as it smothers the smell.
Most importantly, remember that your scent should complement you, not drown-you so don’t get too trigger-happy.
Famous fragrances
Much like any facet of the beauty industry, scents have been increasingly associated with celebrities in recent years, with stars not only endorsing top brands, but given the license to create their own signature collection. While they may not be expert noses, celebrities have a strong pull when selling cosmetics and perfume is no exception.
Forbes magazine even presented the
top celebrity scents of 2009 on their website showing that individual tastes can be influenced by their favourite film and music stars.
My favourite fragrances
A favourite scent and endorsement of my own is that of the iconic
Chanel No. 5 commercial with the ever beautiful, French actress,
Audrey Tautou. It catches my breath every time I see it and takes me on a journey into the power perfume can have on our lives and our hearts.
I first discovered this at the age of 16 in a perfume factory in the south of France and I instantly fell in love. You only need one spray and you are surrounded in this intoxicatingly sweet scent, which I was told was made form sugar and sweets…delicious.
If I have to choose my favourite men’s scent I could not go past
Jean Paul Gaultier's Le Male
. I don’t know what it is that draws me to this scent, but it makes me weak at the knees when I smell someone wearing it nearby. Classic and sexy (and that’s not just the bottle).