For a good scent
Inklings Writing Group meet on Tuesdays at 10.30am in Annebrook House Hotel
By Jacqui Wiley of Inklings Writing Group
After telling my beloved several times that I loved ‘Chanel No 5’, he finally got the hint. He gave me an enormous bottle for our anniversary… and with a little shove in the right direction, he even booked dinner.
Do you know how to wear perfume? Would you buy an expensive perfume and not ask how to wear it?
A beautiful old woman told me when I complimented her scent that her perfume was subtle and inexpensive and she couldn’t smell it on herself. Not being able to smell your own scent is called ‘nose fatigue’ or ‘olfactory adaptation’. Once we become used to a scent, our body will decide it isn’t threatening, so it blocks the scent, making the nose available to detect anything potentially harmful.
Some people don’t recognise this and they overspray, overpowering all around them.
There are simple steps to the right fragrance:
• Ask the perfumery how to wear it.
• Forget the name of it; just make sure it’s for you.
When Coco Chanel was asked where one should wear perfume, she replied, ‘Wherever one wants to be kissed.’
For best performance, apply after you shower as soon as the skin is dry and the lingering odours are washed away so your skin will absorb the scent better. Make sure your skin is moisturised. Spray or dab on your bare skin on pulse points.
Science tells us the right areas to wear perfume are pulse points. Pulse points are areas of your body where the veins flow close to the skin and emanate heat by blood flow. Pulse points are behind the earlobe, neck, inside the wrists, inner elbows or the back of the knees.
If you cross your legs a lot and aren’t wearing stockings, you could apply to the pulse areas on your ankles.
Two more pulse points available are the groin or the belly button.
Pulse points play a key role in enhancing the longevity of your fragrance. You only need to apply to two, however, not to all.
The maxim is: give me a whiff, don’t give me the sniff!
In other words, don’t invade the personal space of others with your aroma.
A tip: if you need a little extra life out of your fragrance, rub a little Vaseline on your pulse point before applying. It acts as additional moisturiser, locking in the scent.
Don’t rub your wrists together or rub the perfume into the skin; that will break down the fragrance molecules, ruining its aroma. Spray and leave; your body heat will do the work.
Gentlemen, you can apply the same techniques to your cologne. Aftershave, however, is different. After shaving, rinse your face with cold water to close your pores. Put a small amount of aftershave into your palm and rub into both hands to spread it evenly and massage gently on the entire surface you have shaved.
Perfumes, cologne, aftershave are best stored in a cool dark place, not the bathroom.
Don’t buy perfume, cologne or aftershave based on how it smells on someone else – it won’t smell the same on you.
Everyone has to find their own fit. Skin type, acidity, medication and even stress can affect your body temperature, changing the aroma.
Fragrances are to be subtle and understated to enhance and not to overpower, to give pleasure and not cause discomfort.
Fragrance plays an essential role in how others perceive and remember you.
Perfume enriches as long as you keep in mind that less is more.