Are You Making These 12 Perfume Mistakes?

Of all the beauty categories, perfume seems to be the trickiest one [1]
. From shopping for them (after a while, don't they all start to smell the same?) to wearing them (it never smells like it did in the bottle!), fragrances can be finicky. Determined to figure them out once and for all, we sat down with L'Artisan Parfumeur [2] perfumer Stéphanie Bakouche, who unlocked the secrets behind scent satisfaction.

Shopping

Use blotters. Spray the blotters at a distance of about 15 centimeters. Only one spritz is necessary. "Always wait a few seconds — ideally 30 seconds [before smelling the blotter]," said Stéphanie. This way, the fragrance's alcohol has time to evaporate.
Keep a good distance. Avoid putting the blotter too close to the nose. "Otherwise, you have some molecules that deposit on the nose," explained Stéphanie. Not only could this be annoying for the rest of your day, it will affect how you smell the other perfumes you're trying. "Waving it in front of your nose is better," Stéphanie suggested.
Be patient. "Don't forget that when you first spray it, it's not representative of how it's going to smell on you all day long," warned Stéphanie. This is because you're only smelling the top notes, and fragrances have three levels — the top notes, heart notes, and base notes. "So don't hesitate to keep the blotter and smell it again."
Use coffee beans in between sniffing scents. "Coffee beans have the property of absorbing and neutralizing the odor molecules that remain in the nose after smelling a lot of fragrances," explained Stéphanie. She also suggested drinking water between sniffs — it cleanses the palette. Waiting a few minutes between smelling different scents also helps.
Stay open-minded. Just because you haven't liked a certain note in one fragrance doesn't mean you'll hate it in all perfumes. "So many people tell me ‘I don't like jasmine — it's too strong,'" said Stéphanie. "But you can like a fragrance even if there's a hint of something that you don't like when it's pure." According to Stéphanie, the average number of ingredients in a perfume is about 25, but it can be anywhere from 10 to 200 — the balance is very delicate in each fragrance, so don't discount certain notes!

Application

Test on your skin. You can't just use blotters to try fragrance, as your body chemistry can significantly change the scent. You need to spritz it on your skin. "That's the only way for you to check that the fragrance won't change on you and also that the fragrance is really long lasting,” said Stéphanie. Again, don’t smell it immediately. Stéphanie advised you wait about three minutes before sniffing.

Apply to your pulse points. Fragrance is developed for skin. While spraying perfume on your hair or clothes will spread the scent when you're walking around, applying it to your pulse points is ideal. Because the skin is thin in these areas, the blood is close to the surface, making your skin warmer. This warmth diffuses perfume. The wrists and behind the ears are the most common places to apply.

Don't rub your wrists. This may seem like the classic way to put your perfume on, but it's the worst possible technique. "It can actually break the molecules and change the scent," said Stéphanie. "Always touch one wrist against the other delicately."

Storage

Stay out of the bathroom. According to Stéphanie, there are three enemies to perfume: light, heat, and oxygen. Bathrooms are hotbeds (literally) of light and heat. Every time you shower, your bathroom gets steamy, then cools off. "Fragrance is like a good wine — it has to be maintained at a low temperature and no differences of temperature."

Keep things dark. "Light is really the first enemy of perfume," reiterated Stéphanie. If it's your everyday fragrance, you don't need to keep it in the dark. If you're going to use your bottle in the coming weeks, keep it on a shelf in your bedroom, or in your living room, but not in front of the window. In a cabinet is an ideal place to store fragrances when you're not using them.

Chill out. If the fragrance is really special, keep it in its box in the fridge. Keeping the fragrance in a dark, cool space will slow its breakdown.

Decant old fragrances. In a predominantly empty bottle of perfume, the air above the fragrance will break down and ultimately destroy the scent. If you have just a few drops of fragrance left, pour it into a tester spray.

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