They say you can tell more about a woman from her perfume than her handwriting. If that’s the case, anyone would think I have multiple personalities from looking at my perfume collection! Right now, I’ve got the floral Marc Jacobs’ Daisy, the musky Alaia and the flirty Victoria’s Secret Bombshell in rotation. The closest I’ve come to having just one signature scent was Christian Dior’s Midnight Poison, which sadly was discontinued a few years ago. Since then, I just haven’t come across any that I’ve loved enough to commit to. Instead, I jump between my multiple fragrances like a playboy lothario.
Luckily, there‘s another way that perfume commitment-phobes like myself can find their signature scent. It’s called perfume layering — otherwise known as fragrance cocktailing or scent mixing. Essentially, it involves playing scientist by mixing and matching a few different fragrances to create a bespoke scent that is 100% unique. Can you imagine never having that “Oh, we’re wearing the same perfume!” moment with a friend again? While this technique has flown under-the-radar until recently, savvy perfume connoisseurs have been doing it for years. In fact, perfume maven Jo Malone has sold fragrance combining kits since 2013!
As you might imagine, fragrance layering isn’t quite as simple as just chucking a bunch of different perfumes on top of each other. Certain scents don’t mix particularly well with each other and if you overdo it, you risk smelling more OTT than “Oh, yum!” After all, we’re going for the good type of unique, not ‘unique’ in the way you might describe your strange cousin who’s obsessed with collecting toothpicks. But by keeping a few simple rules in mind, you can layer your way to a gorgeous bespoke signature scent. Scroll through for our step-by-step guide.
Think outside the bottle
You may already be fragrance layering without even knowing it! Your body wash, moisturiser and even your shampoo and conditioner can impact your overall scent. You can get around this by either opting for fragrance-free products or choosing ones that will compliment your perfumes. But whatever you do, don’t skip your moisturiser — it helps your scent last longer.
The more moisturised you are, the longer a fragrance will last on your skin. Moisturisers use emollients that keep water molecules, as well as fragrance molecules, from evaporating.
-Franco Wright, co-owner of LA’s the Scent Bar via totalbeauty.com
Stick to simple
When you first start perfume layering, it may be worth sticking to single note fragrances. All of the perfumes from Demeter Fragrance Library include only one note and are designed to be layered. Otherwise, another great brand for fragrance mixing is Commodity Goods, stocked at Sephora. They have plenty of fun and interesting scents like whiskey, moss and wool that are still simplistic enough to be layered. Whatever you do, steer clear of complex perfumes like Creed or Prada Candy, as these contain around 40-60 notes and are nearly impossible to match with anything else.
Keep it in the family
In the perfume world, there are five main families – floral, oriental, woody, fresh and citrus. To avoid creating a headache-inducing scent, it’s a good idea for beginners to keep their perfumes within the same family. You can see the fragrance wheel here. However, there are a few exceptions. Scents like vanilla and musk are versatile and tend to work well over most fragrances, so feel free to experiment with those!
Start with heavy
Once you’ve chosen your fragrances, a good rule of thumb is to apply the heavier one first. This will ensure that the stronger smell doesn’t overpower the lighter ones! In any case, you may still find that you need a few spritzes of the lighter fragrance for the perfect combination. Just give it a few minutes to settle into the skin before you spray it the second time, to avoid overdoing it!
Play with location
You don’t necessarily have to spray two (or more) fragrances on top of each other. You can spritz on one each wrist and rub them together, or even a combination of your wrist, neck, behind the ears and on your clothes. There are also a few beautiful hair perfumes around at the moment (like Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb or Byredo’s Gypsy Water Hair Perfume) that you can be integrated into the layering process.
