How to Choose the Right Perfume

Jason Zemmel, perfume expert and founder of discount health and beauty e-tailer www.halfpriceperfumes.co.uk advises how to choose the right perfume for you.

Choosing a perfume

• Smell is one of the five senses and is a large part of non-verbal communication. Put simply what scent you wear communicates much more than the label you’re wearing. Perfume has the power to affect your confidence levels, how you perform at work and how attractive you feel.

• There are many things to consider when choosing a new perfume. Key ingredients help release certain feelings in people when they smell them. Spicier fragrances like musk are said to arouse sexual feelings and vanilla is also believed to be an aphrodisiac.  In contrast, fruit and floral scents are seen as calming, fresh and sensual.

• Never assume that because a perfume smells good on your friend it will smell exactly the same on you. Everyone’s skin reacts differently and therefore produces different smells.

• Always spray a new perfume onto your skin rather than just sniffing the bottle, as again it changes when it meets your skin. Leave it to develop for about 10 minutes before deciding if you like it.  Don’t test more than three - four fragrances at once. Your sense of smell will become confused and they will blend together.

• Fresh, floral and fruity fragrances are more appropriate in the summer, whereas spicier and warmer scents are more suited to the colder months.

• Perfume is best applied to pulse points: the inner wrists, behind the ears, and lower neck. Spray a bit on your hair from arm's length, and the scent will float into the air every time you move your head.

• Many people are confused about all the different types of perfume on offer. Perfumes are essential oils that are diluted with up to 78 – 95 per cent denatured ethyl alcohol and the strength of the scent varies with the percentage of the dilution. Fragrances are sold in different strengths - perfume, Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette - and prices differ accordingly.

• Perfume is made up of about 22 per cent essential oils, is the most expensive scent and is great for special occasions.  Eau de Parfum lasts for five – seven hours and is great for a day to night event. Finally Eau de Toilette is the cheapest scent and is made up of eight – ten percent essential oils and lasts for four – six hours. Male fragrances or Eau de Colognes are much lighter than perfumes and only consist of 4 per cent essential oils.