The Art of Perfuming: Complete Guide, Gestures and Expert Tips

Why are extract or other products different on each skin?

The extracts are increasingly rare, but they still exist in Great Perfume Houses like Guerlain. It is the magic and richness of the concentrate that operates. Over the hours, the base note literally mingles with the personal smell of each skin.

Perfumers are accustomed to saying that extracts are generally denser in natural raw materials which are “alive”. They are orchestrated differently from an eau de toilette or an eau de parfum. Richer and more concentrated in noble natural materials and base notes, extracts are truly different and possess real added value.

If the perfume is not sublimated by your skin, try another one until you get compliments from people who cross your path. The skin has its own smell, which depending on its diet, its pH, its activity, medications, is unique. Moreover, one does not smell one’s perfume identically in Paris, New York, Shanghai, or Dubai.

The perfume meets it, marries or does not marry the smell of the skin, it is the alchemy that operates or not (it is not that the perfume “turns”). No, it’s just that the encounter with this perfume does not work.

Reminder of concentrations

• Extract (20% to 40%) is intimate and is only smelled by the person wearing it or close people.
• Eau de Parfum (15% to 30%) is a good compromise, because there is both tenacity and sillage.
• Eau de Toilette (6% to 20%) is more extroverted, more felt by people who are in the wake than by the person themselves. Sometimes less tenacious.

You notice that each product has very variable concentrations, sometimes similar because there is no regulation in this area. Tenacity and sillage are for me, the proof that the perfume has been perfectly orchestrated and proves the talent of the perfumer.

Spray or Splash Bottle? The Right Gesture

The so feminine gesture of the crystal (or glass now) stopper placed along your neck remains the emblematic image of perfume. However, you should know that this practice as well as that consisting of applying perfume in extract form with your index finger or directly with the bottle, are not ideal. Contact of the nectar with the skin denatures the fragrance (over time).

It is even said that the skin gives its own smell to the perfume. We note that quite often customers having these habits are surprised when they come to buy another bottle of their faithful perfume to find it different. It is understandable; they do not smell in it, in addition to the smell of the extract, their personal note.

It is therefore advisable to spray your perfume or to buy small size bottles (7.5 ml) if you wish to keep the mythical gesture because in this way, the perfume does not have time to denature. If you opt for a large size, the ideal would be to transfer it into a spray bottle. The gesture of spraying is more appropriate in our time, because everything must go faster.

What is the price of the dream?

The extract for “mythical” perfumes remains the most expensive product. Its concentrate, as you have understood, is denser, nobler, its solution purer, and its bottle always more beautiful. Each house has its rates. But the added value is very real, because with the extract, you smell your perfume all day long.

How to choose to buy your fragrance well?

Buying a fragrance requires method. The best is to ask for a spray which, by shortening the duration of the top notes, immediately emphasizes the heart notes. To discover the base, you will have to wait.

Following the questionnaire which should be done by an advisor, she should be able to select first of all what she recommends to you on a perfume strip (blotter).

Another possible formula: if you want to discover several perfumes, ask that they be sprayed on small pieces of flannel, or noble materials (like wool, cotton) you will not find them on the stands, but you can bring some, they are better supports than paper strips.

Testing on skin: Then absolutely try them on the skin, to validate the alchemy with the skin; I always say that it is not the perfume that perfumes the skin, but it is the person who perfumes their perfume.

A perfume can be magnificent on a friend, but disappointing on your skin. Conversely, some perfumes are not “flattering” on paper or fabric strips and can reveal themselves magnificent on your skin.

A tip, take the time to reflect even if it requires more than half a day. Sleep with it, if you get a trial sample, to know if it doesn’t “give you a headache”, if it puts you in a good or bad mood, and above all be attentive to comments around you.

Never try more than two perfumes or three at the same time and, in this case, start with the lightest of the three. Avoid being perfumed to go for a tasting and prefer the morning to the evening, your sense of smell is fresher. The worst time: after lunch.

“What perfume are you wearing? You smell extremely good!” is a magnificent compliment and proof that you have found a fragrance that suits you perfectly.

A perfume is not like a garment that dresses the person, it is a more “engaging” act: it can calm, heal, comfort, give energy; it must correspond perfectly to your olfactory heritage generated since childhood.

Which body parts to perfume?

A touch of extract when it exists or (eau de parfum when there is no extract in the range), can be applied to the hairline, at the nape of the neck, in the hollow of the wrists, elbows, chest, and navel, the classic sensual points.

Extract or eau de parfum in the warmest places, “wherever one wants to be kissed” said Coco Chanel. Do not forget the hair, which is an excellent support and why not the inside of the knees?

Then continue and apply the eau de toilette or eau de parfum, the ideal is to trace a large triangle around the face: do not forget your hair, inside your jacket or coat. This time, you are perfumed for the whole day.

If you can, use body products of the same scent. If they do not exist, buy a body lotion with a neutral scent and at the last minute, a few sprays of your fragrance, you mix in your hands, and thus you will obtain a body derivative that will perfume every centimeter of your skin.

Should you perfume your clothes?

Possible, but you must have a light hand. The ideal is to spray the hem of a skirt or your clothes made of natural fibers (not on synthetic materials). Be careful, however, of stains; you should never apply a perfume directly to fabrics, prefer eau de toilette or eau de parfum by spraying from a distance.

You can spray on noble materials such as cashmere, wool, cotton, watch out for silk. And avoid light-colored fabrics. Above all, do not spray pearls, fur, and jewelry in general. You also have the possibility of spraying the eau de toilette or eau de parfum in front of you and then entering the cloud.

Extract, at what time?

You will generally be advised perfume for the evening. But know that a touch of extract is more present, intimate, and discreet than a large spray of eau de toilette. And why not enjoy it from the morning for yourself and those close to you. This elixir will unite with your skin in a mysterious alchemy, and exhale a fragrance that belongs only to you.

How to preserve your perfume?

Perfume must be kept away from light, heat, and air. In a cool place, unopened, some perfumes improve with time especially if they possess many natural raw materials.

Once opened, it is preferable to use it within the current year, especially if it is taken with the fingers. In this case, hands must be perfectly clean.

In the same way, to avoid the introduction of impurities that risk oxidizing the perfume and giving it a cloudy appearance, it is strongly advised to apply any bottled perfume before makeup (especially if, as is often the case, the woman perfumes herself by applying the bottle stopper directly to the skin). Air travel does not alter the perfume, but watch out for leaks.

Perfumes also suffer from aging just like wine, that is to say without fundamentally changing structure, but evolving in their bouquet.

To avoid this alteration, replace your tightly closed bottle in its box, away from light, far from a heat source, the ideal being to keep them in a cool place, why not at the bottom of a refrigerator. Or wine cellar. And handle it delicately.

Why doesn’t my perfume smell of anything?

There are many reasons. The first is that you probably expect too much from an eau de toilette. Very volatile, it is just made to give sillage, around you, not to last. And the more natural and high quality it is, the faster it evaporates, synthetic notes being more tenacious.

There are fragrances that are well constructed and others less so, the opening or top note must be “catchy” and smiling, but what is important is that it evolves well and that its tenacity and sillage are there; this also depends a lot on the talent of the perfumer. Some perfumes smell very good but are sometimes disappointing when worn.

Out of ten women who wear Shalimar, only three or four will wear it in a sublime and unique way. On some, it may be unrecognizable, and therefore personalized. Sometimes magical! And on other people, while this perfume is really well built, and powerful, it may not last or evolve really badly.

On the other hand, our sensitivity to odors varies from one moment to another, from one season to another. In the premenstrual period, even an experienced nose can lose its acuity. Note that some women have a less developed sense of smell than others (for example those who smoke).

Can you wear perfume in the sun?

I do not advise wearing perfume in the sun; alcohol can cause redness in the sun, not spots. So alcohol-free perfumes will not solve the risk. Citrus fruits are now “treated” and their photosensitizing particles which cause spots are removed.

But the more natural products a perfume contains, the more it risks causing this problem. Take no risks, perfume yourself in the evening, or on clothes. And not during the day in the sun.