How to build your fragrance wardrobe is a bit like beginning to put together one of those ‘capsule wardrobes’ you see lauded in magazines. You need to know what suits you, those that work for specific roles in your life, and then ‘wild card’ pieces you’d perhaps never imagined but somehow express your inner soul.
Easier said than done, right? And a bit daunting. But it really doesn’t have to be.
A lot of us get stuck in the elusive search for a ‘signature scent’ – something that’s befuddled many an otherwise perfectly level-headed person – which had to be your one true love meeting your every need, match your every mood and mark you out as unique.
A wardrobe of fragrances caters to your many moods (hopefully you have more than one!) the multitude occasions and roles we play: colleague / friend / sibling / child / parent / lover – the list goes on… Have a read of the tips below, and let the fragrance wardrobe building begin…
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Just as jeans and a white shirt are a great fashion basic, but may not be deemed acceptable for a high-powered meeting or a glitzy party; one solitary perfume is unlikely to express every facet of your personality. Moreover, perfume should be fun – a hushed whisper of intriguing hints at your personality rather than a name tag sewn to a uniform.
You don’t need to know a lot about fragrance to begin: try typing the name of one you love into our Find a Fragrance tool – it will suggest six others to try.
Do some research online and find out name of the nose who made perfumes you already like – it’s an excellent starting point in your quest for tentatively branching out. Just as fashion designers have a signature cut, many perfumers stamp their mark in the scents they create.
Never imagine you know exactly which notes you love and hate. For many years I laboured under the misapprehension that I simply could not abide rose in any form; but several of my favourites contain rose – it all depends on the quality, quantity and how it’s are used.
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When trying something completely new, allow yourself to fall under the spell of the smell alone, without heeding the notes. Focus on how it makes you feel, the images it conjures. Where does it take you? What outfit would you pair with it? What’s the material / colour / texture?
Throw a Bring a Bottle perfume garden party for your friends, get everyone to bring fragrances – especially those languishing on dusty shelves – and a number of samples for you all to smell. Try them, swap them, critique them – surprise yourselves. Be brave!
With all this in mind, if you still need a starting point, it’s a good idea to try some differing types of fragrances from various houses / style of perfumer. Discovery Boxes and Brand Discovery Sets are ideal for this. You might surprise yourself! Then you’ll start to see the gaps in your collection and discover which you need in your new Fragrance Wardrobe…
Written by Suzy Nightingale
