When I was younger I often wondered why people wore perfume. I knew if made them smell good, but I could never understand people spending, what seemed like, a fortune for just a tiny bottle of ‘smell’. Over the years I have come to associate different people and places with different scents and, just as everyone’s houses have their own individual fragrance, there comes a lovely sense of familiarity whenever you smell a perfume that someone close to you wears. This realisation of how I associate different people with different fragrances and the affect that these different ‘smells’ can have on my mood made me realise how important it was to me that I found my own signature scent. When you find ‘your’ perfume it becomes part of your identity, something that people recognise and associate with you, and so I began the arduous task of finding my very own perfect one. My signature scent, the perfume that reflects me best and today I am going to share with yo how you can find yours.
My perfect perfume is by a french brand called NUXE. This gorgeous scent, ‘Prodigieux’, is part of their ‘Huile Prodigieuse’ range and is the only perfume that they sell – I mean to me it is perfection so I can see why it is their one and only! When I first smelt it I was completely taken aback, it was such a distinctive scent, like nothing I had ever smelt before in a perfume and I because of this I actually really struggle to describe it to people. The description on the website, however, succeeds where I fail, describing it as “a feminine blend of sunshine and warm sand with notes of Orange Blossom, Magnolia and Vanilla.” I mean if you don’t want to smell like a feminine blend of sunshine and sand then what do you really want in life! Anyway, enough about me & my perfect perfume, let’s get onto how you can find your own.
It is not an easy thing to find your favourite fragrance and there are a few reasons why it is such an annoyingly tricky task. Firstly, one of the main things that I found difficult is that there is so much choice out there and after you have spent a little while in Boots testing them out it can all get very confusing. There’s perfume everywhere and you are covered in it because you couldn’t find any little rectangles of paper to squirt it on. Quite frankly with so much perfume in one place no wonder it is so overwhelming. I always found that all the fragrances blend in the air and you can no longer distinguish which one is which, let alone decide which one is your favourite! Nightmare!
But fear not, there are ways to shop for perfume without getting caught up in a tornado of fragrance. One way to get round this is to do some research instead of just randomly smelling perfumes left right and centre, have a look at the label and see what it is actually supposed to smell like. By doing this you can often rule out a lot of scents, I mean if you don’t like the smell of apples (for example) or you struggle with sweet scents then you will already be able to rule out a huge section of the extensive choice available & get one step closer to finding the scent that you really love.
Another reason why I have found it really difficult to pinpoint my favourite scent in the past is because, to be frank, perfume is so damn expensive and not all of them are great at their job either, lasting minutes before the scent fades. Many people make the mistake of buying an expensive perfume on a whim, from just one test & then end up hating what they end up with. Don’t fall into that trap, we’ve all been there! There is an easy way to avoid this happening, and to also avoid the tornado of fragrance at your local shop, and that is to either ask for or order samples of several perfumes to try out at home. By doing this you will be able to test them out properly and if it lasts well, check out The Perfume Shop’s Try Me Scheme.
One of my favourite lessons from this journey of scent discovery has been that you don’t have to buy the perfume itself to get a taste for the fragrance. Instead try buying a product from the company of the same scent as the perfume you are interested in. For instance, lots of companies also produce shower gels or shampoos in the same scent for a fraction of the price of their perfumes. By buying these and trying them it will allow you to really get a feel for if the fragrance is the right one for you. I actually tried NUXE’s dry oil from their ‘Huile Prodigieuse’ range first and on realising I loved the scent of it decided to see if they did a perfume, and that’s when I came across ‘Prodigieux’. Why is it always when you least expect it that you come across the best things?
The final reason that people often struggle to find their perfect perfume is fear of asking other’s what perfume they have on. I know this is the way that so many people find their perfect scent, by ‘smelling’ it on someone else and loving it. Don’t be afraid to ask someone what their perfume is, I can almost 100% guarantee that they will be so flattered that you have asked. After all those who don’t ask, don’t get. You will both come out of the conversation feeling great, you will probably have made their day and you will be on your way to finding a fragrance you love.
So to conclude, the best ways that you can start on the journey to finding your perfect perfume are to try before you buy, recognise the type of scent that resonates with you, test the cheaper alternatives and not be afraid to ask. I love that I have found my signature scent and I hope that this guide will help you all to come a bit closer to finding yours.
Love Holly x