The doyenne of perfume Coco Chanel described the appeal of perfume beautifully when she said, ‘It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory of fashion that heralds your arrival and prolongs your departure’. Today of course it is also the epicentre of a multi-million dollar industry, and most women could instantly name their favourite scent – numerous favourites in some cases!
Fragrances are often right at the top of a woman’s beauty must-have list but many fail to look beyond an eau de parfum or eau de toilette, forgetting there’s a whole world of fragrance out there.
The concept of layering a scent is often ignored but can make your favourite fragrance last much longer. It’s not exactly rocket science either – it simply means using complementary products to create longevity. Most perfume houses and brands have a selection of matching products such as body lotions and shower gels, and many offer shampoos, deodorants and lip balms in their fragrance ranges too.
Travel kits are often a great way to get your favourite scent in various guises. For example, the celebrity favourite (Pierce Brosnan and Tom Ford are said to be fans) Penhaligon’s Blenheim Travel Kit, contains a shower gel, shampoo, deodorant, soap and two eau de toilettes all in the same warm, citrus scent.
There are also fragrance oils, such as the Australian Una King range, which offers pure parfum oils in beautiful hand-made bottles. The alcohol-free oils are highly concentrated, which means a little goes a long way and the bath oils and crystals in the various scent ranges allow you to build up subtle layers of fragrance.
These days most companies offer a whole selection of products, enabling you to indulge in your favourite scent at every stage of your beauty regime. La Perla Charme is available in an eau de parfum, $90, as well as gel mousse body wash, body lotion and deodorant, while L’Occitane’s pretty Cherry Blossom range features the new Fragrant Touch concentrated gel, $29.95, as well as an eau de toilette, bath and shower gel and other products.
Narciso Rodriguez’ powdery and very popular For Her scent comes in an eau de toilette, $116, body lotion, $85, and bath and shower gel, $69, as well as a body cream, musc oil and parfum roll on. Thierry Mugler’s chocolaty Angel perfume comes in a number of guises too, including the Shooting Star refillable, $110 ($55 when refilled at Mugler counters) and the Angel Celestial Shampoo, $42.
Using complementary products such as these envelops you in a soft veil of fragrance that helps the whole effect last longer.
Hand In Hand
Sometimes fragrances are made to be used together. The Agent Provocateur perfume range not only features an eau de parfum, $160, and Bubble Luscious bubble bath, $98, but also the Strip & Tease candles, $98 each. An interesting twist on regular fragranced candles, the Strip candle features the rich, warm base accord of the signature parfum, while the Tease candle offers the sweet top notes of the fragrance. Burn the two together for maximum effect! Stella McCartney’s In Two range features two very different but complementary scents. The Amber Solid, $80, is a concentrated, solid perfume with amber, musky tones. It can be worn alone or can be combined with the delicately floral Peony eau de toilette, $88. The sparkling fresh top notes of pink peony, spiced with black pepper and base notes of amber, cedar wood and patchouli blend well with the Amber scent, allowing you to mix and add layers of various strengths to create a unique fragrance to suit your mood. Which, after all, is what perfume is all about!
Go Your Own Way
Many people love the idea of a signature scent, something that is immediately and uniquely associated with them. It’s a lovely thought, but a bit overambitious perhaps, if you consider just how popular many perfumes are. While perfumes do truly smell different on everyone (thanks to factors such as body chemistry), it can be difficult to strike a truly unique olfactory note – which is why combining a fragrance or two can be such a good idea.
It may seem a little frightening at first, but using products from different fragrance can offer some beautiful and unique results. The Jo Malone range is probably best known for its concept of Fragrance Combining, taking layering to a new and unique conclusion. Choose two or three scents and layer them to create your own signature fragrance. You can even use a bath oil from one range, a body lotion from another and a fragrance from a third.
There are no real rules and for most people a bit of experimentation is the way to find the perfect combination. There are some guidelines however to help you along the way. For example, using two or more fragrances from the same family such as spicy, citrus, floral or woody will enhance and give depth to the fragrance without changing its character, while combining fragrances from different families will completely alter the scent.
And, in a nice modern twist on Mlle Chanel’s description of perfume, you can spray one fragrance down your front and the other down your back… so as you enter the room with one scent, you will leave the other lingering behind you.
Subtle perfume difference
Chanel’s iconic No5 fragrance is more than that beautiful eau de parfum bottle – the range also features a hair mist, bath and shower gel, and body lotion as well as the soft gel-textured Sensual Elixir and the eau de toilette. Chanel always do things a little differently and it’s interesting to note there are actually subtle differences between the various fragrance formulations so the eau de parfum, Sensual Elixir and eau de toilette all smell unique.
