Self • October 22, 2024

Cara

Do You Have a Signature Scent?

Let’s Find One Together

More than any other sense, our sense of smell is closely and intimately linked with memory. Makes sense, right? Just the smell of a newborn brings me right back to my early days as a mother. Or if I smell a certain soap, I automatically think of my dad. Our scent - as well as those of our loved ones - has the ability to evoke an emotional reaction and make us feel a certain way. In that vein, I ask: do you have a signature scent? Do you want one? 

A signature scent is a fragrance that is closely associated with your personal style, much like your shoes or jewelry. Quite simply, when someone smells it, they think of you. Over the years, I have had a few. I fell off during Covid and ever since I have been in hot pursuit of a new one. Come with me on this journey of smell!

To begin with, we need to understand the different “families” of fragrance.

  • Floral (romantic)

  • Fruity (refreshing)

  • Fresh (natural)

  • Spicy (rich)

  • Woody (warm)

I tend to be attracted to more woody scents; but I also like to add a little floral in there. Think of what you want to exude - power, grace, sensuality, romanticism. What’s your fashion style? Flowery dresses or cozy jeans and sweaters. All of these are part of your personal “brand”. Once you identify your scent family (or a combo), it’s time to try some out. Let’s get spritzing.

Experts in fragrance - “perfumers” - believe that you should only try three at a time so as not to overwhelm your senses or risk combining the scents. Once you belly up to the fragrance bar, give them a spritz. To cleanse your olfactory palate in between, sniff a clean area of your clothing (coffee beans are also suggested, but I know I don’t always have them handy while shopping). 

Live with it. Fragrances have three notes to them- top, middle and bottom. The top note is the one that you smell immediately; the other two become more evident after the perfume dries on your skin. We all have different body chemistries so a scent will smell differently on each person. Many times I have admired a perfume but then will try it on my wrist and it will smell completely different.

O’So Pro Tip

Get samples! Perfume is expensive and there’s nothing worse than buying a full size bottle only to realize it’s most definitely NOT your signature scent. Department stores will give them out, as well as places like Sephora that will include them in online orders. I have found a great place for trial size vials of perfumes. Microperfumes has a large selection of the most popular perfumes and they offer sample vials and travel sprays. (I just ordered five samples myself!). Sephora also offers fragrance collection sets that let you sample many different perfumes - these make for great holiday gifts. 

Once you’ve landed on your signature scent, follow these tips to make it last:

  • put the scent directly on your skin after you shower

  • put a base layer on before (an unscented lotion or oil)

  • apply to pulse points (wrists, inside elbows, neck, back of   )

  • spritz a little on your hair (or better yet your hairbrush)

  • keep perfume in cool, dark places

And if you just can’t find a perfume that perfectly fits you, then make your own! Customizable scent stores have become very popular as people are looking to express themselves through fragrance. If you live in the NYC, Boston or DC areas (or are planning on visiting them), Olfactory NYC is a very cool scent playground to customize your own fragrance. In Chicago, try Workshop Apothecary or Aroma Workshop.