The history of perfumes is reflected in human history.

It started with perfumes being offered to the gods. In the middle ages, plants were used to protect against illness and epidemics. At Versailles, during the Sun King epoch, the court masked the filth behind an excessive amount of fragrances. Under Louis XV, hygiene became fashionable again and it became socially mandatory to use a different fragrance every day.

It was in the 19th century that luxury goods blossomed, targeting women of the middle class and the birth of modern perfumery was brought forth with the arrival of the first synthetic fragrance ingredients. The Belle Époque (1900) saw the arrival of prestigious names (Coty) and beautiful bottles (Lalique). After the restrictions of WWII, designers began creating “character fragrances”.

Before choosing your signature perfume, share your preferences with the sales associate. Do you favor floral, spicy, woodsy, citrus scents? However, just because you have always preferred a certain family of scent, you do not have to stay within that group. Dare to be adventurous with your senses. There are countless options and you can make wonderful discoveries.

The key to selecting your perfume:

• Do not use perfume before shopping for new fragrances.
• Do not test more than five fragrances at one time. Your nose will be saturated.
• Do not test the perfume on someone else’s skin. Skins have different pH ranges which modify the scents.
• Test the perfumes on the available strips of white paper (mouillettes), then select the one perfume you like best and test it on a warm area of your skin, i.e. the inside of your wrist. Wait about fifteen minutes and note the chemical reaction of the fragrance on your skin. Does it still smell as good, better than before?
• When you have found a fragrance that you like, buy the smallest size of the formula you tried, e.g. perfume, eau de toilette, etc. and, if available, buy the shower gel or soap and body moisturizer as well. Ask a trusted friend his/her opinion of the new scent on you before investing in a larger size.

Although today, “zapping” from one perfume to another may be in style, the more we play, the more difficult it is to compose our own personality. If you always apply the same perfume, you will create an entity; a sensual recognition. Most perfumes come in many different formulas: parfum (the purest), eau de parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne (the lightest), and shower and bath products, even deodorants. Going from one to the other, we vary the pleasures of our fragrance while staying faithful to our perfume “presence”.

Application is important. If you spray too close to the skin, and rub your wrists together to dry it, the olfactif pyramid will be destroyed. The right way is to lightly spray between the neck and the chest. Avoid spraying perfumes on jewelry, especially pearls. If by the end of the day, you still enjoy your new fragrance, it means that you have found YOUR scent!

For an impeccable olfactif signature:

• Apply once a day with finesse. A light sense is sensual and pleasant. Too much is offensive. Be sensitive to the fact that some people are allergic to perfumes.
• Spray your fragrance in the air in front of you, and glide through a cloud of perfumed droplets.
• Use several products made from the same scent: shower gel, foam or bath oil, moisturizer, body oil, powder.
• Use the “movement” method: lightly spray in the hair, on the hem of the skirt, on the lining of a coat.

Perfume is fragile and is affected by the light, temperature changes, heat and humidity. For optimal preservation, it is recommended to store it in its original packaging, away from the humidity of a bathroom. If properly stored, its shelf life is from two to five years. After that, the formula changes and loses its olfactif qualities. Ideally, store it in the refrigerator or in a cool area of your home. If it is a beautiful bottle that you want to display, enjoy it but know that you will need to replace it more frequently.

Like an invisible shadow, your perfume precedes and follows you. For the people around you, your perfume is a comforting sign of your presence.

Come back next month, I will share “what you should know when you purchase new glasses”.