How To Apply Perfumes And Scents - An Enthusiast's Guide

 How To Apply Perfumes And Scents

To begin with, I would like to acknowledge Ethan Archer, a hobbyist perfumer, who stopped past the Studio early this week to exchange ideas about perfume and he was seeking some of the materials I use in perfume, having given him a sample of my white ambergris some weeks ago. I began reading his blog thereafter and it is a good read. You can click through here - https://ethanarcher.com/

One of the articles I read was on how to apply perfume and I thought I would add my own two cents worth, though his article is pretty comprehensive.

Here are my recommendations:

Perfume for me is first and foremost there to pleasure myself. I have never applied a scent that didn’t appeal to me unless of course I consider the pheromones I once bought which I was told if I massaged them into the opposite sex, I would perhaps secure myself a lover. In the end they seemed to smell of very little but wax and eventually she tired of me rubbing her shoulders knowing full well what I was trying to do and instead forced me to watch a Virginia Wolfe movie and stroked my head like I was a pet cat until I felt like gnawing my arm off to get out of there.

So, like I said, scent starts with my enjoyment first. Then of course, I hope, it pleases others. Few things for me are more enjoyable than smelling something pleasant and new on a person who is smiling or being sultry. Either or.

That being said, now let me break down how I choose to apply perfumes and scents. I break them into three components.

1. Body perfume in solvents (sprays and atomisers)

2. Body oils and massage oils.

3. Candles and room sprays.

Body perfume in solvents

By this I mean dissolved in perfumer’s alcohol, like we would normally find in a department store. These I use in the following way.

1. Wrists – by far the best place to put your perfume because its far enough away that the intensity of the perfume does not give you a headache from coming on strong. The wrists heat and the perfume comes up towards the nose. We use our hands often and bring them to our face more times than we care to admit (I think I once read that we do it more than 200 times a day). Therefore, you will be getting a whiff of it throughout the day.

2. Behind the ears. This is my second favourite place and the one that works best for intimacy. It is a sort of “you made it” place. If you are smelling it on someone else, you are intimate with them. If you are letting someone smell it on you, you have dropped your guard and are in some circumstances, vulnerable. All positives to my mind.
3. Clothes. To my mind, this is one of THE best places to put perfume after your own body. I have come back to t shirts where I sprayed Amouage and a week later it was still sitting in the laundry basket and still smelling EPIC. I have had the same for sweaters I put away at the end of the evening only to find they still carried the scent two weeks later. This is a fabulous way to extend the longevity of a scent.

4. Hair. The same way that clothes fibres hold the scent, so does your hair. Hair also warms up as the day progresses so you will continue to offer it up throughout the day.

5. Pillows and bed sheets. One of my favourite places to use perfume is in the bed. The linen will keep the perfume lasting longer than skin and of course, if you have visitors, they will have something to remember you by on the pillow. Remember, scents have that lasting impression on someone, and it’s best never to divulge what the scent is, it keeps them coming back. That goes for married couples too.

In order to make these scents stay with you throughout the day I recommend our 5 and 10ml atomisers here. PERFUMES AND ATOMISERS – Le Noeud Papillon Of Sydney | The Self-Tying Bow Tie Specialists | Made In Australia

6. Home furnishings and the car. Again, just more ways to entertain your nose.

Body & Massage Oil

This is a tricky one. I have ruined sheets and two duvets by using the wrong oils and this can be very frustrating. I have done the same with a number of t shirts but thankfully so far, touch wood, never on bespoke suit.

Finding colourless oils is key. However, for example, a contact in Dubai sent me a perfume oil which was yellow in colouration. Suffice to say, I rarely use them near clothes.

To combat this, and contrasting to perfumes in solvents, I rub these oils in vigorously to ensure that are in the skin and not on my clothes. Oils seem to last a lot longer on me and have a stronger scent. Therefore, I would not put them behind my ears but on my wrists, on my chest and occasionally downstairs depending on the environment.