By now you’ve heard of this thing where ladies (and gents) are now combining their scent wardrobes to create new, personalized scent profiles and you want in. We hear at Beauty Desk are here to help with demystification, steps and tips on the art that is scent mixing. With that, let us begin the beginners guide on how to layer perfume.
IS IT HARD TO DO?
The art of making a perfume is indeed a carefully crafted skill set that requires years of training and study. Scent layering, however, is all about taking two scents you love and seeing if they go well together. Yes, it’s just that simple.
A FULLY FORMED PERFUME, EXPLAINED.
A perfume is like an essay. There is an intro, a middle explanation and a conclusion, wrapping everything up neatly with a bow. A scent is comprised of top notes (the intro), the heart (the explanation) and base notes (the conclusion).
Top notes tend to be the lighter and airier notes in a perfume. Middle notes are the centre of a fragrance which often, on their own, are not too light but also not dramatic and heavy. Base notes are the heavier, richer, deeper scent notes in a structured fragrance. They are the ones you’ll remember at the end of the day (or night).
DO I JUST SPRAY ALL MY PERFUMES ON THEN?
Seeing as this is a beginners guide, you may want to start on the softer, easier side of things and begin with single note fragrances or simple soft scents and products. Which brings us to what exactly you can use to layer scents.
– Body lotions & creams
– Any spray form of scent: body sprays, eau du toilette, eau du parfum, parfum
– Perfume oils
The list goes on so, for simplicity’s sake, start off with two single note scents. A few that do simple scents well are the Demeter Fragrance Library and The Body Shop’s fragrance oil collection. The former has scents with notes like linen, leather, dirt and grass and the latter contains lily and jasmine oils amongst it’s collection, which are each ideal for easing into mixing notes together. If you’re willing to splurge, opt for our latest obsession (and high on our “want list”) the new layering line from Commodity (avail. at Sephora). With scents like Whiskey, Rain, Book and Gold they are specifically desgined to be layered together to create unforgettable scent combinations.
WHAT SCENT GOES WELL WITH ANOTHER?
Consider these two golden rules for scent layering:
1. Heavy first, light last: richer perfumes should be your base when layering. If you go the opposite route, your spritzing of a light, airy scent will be smothered and overwhelmed by the heavier scent.
2. Like attracts like: if a scent has lily in it, layering another scent with lily in it will often go over well but keep in mind, rule #1 and apply the heavier scent first
Keep these two rules in mind while you begin the adventure but, once you feel confident enough to branch out, your scent wardrobe can become limitless. Share your favourite scent combinations with us on twitter @BeautyDeskCom, hashtag #BDLayersPerfume.
