Confetti

I was asked a while back, “Would you be interested in giving me your ‘scentpertise’ for a fragrance article?” I smiled and said, “I do.”

Irish bridal magazine, Confetti, and Beaut.ie blogger Kirstie McDermott was wanting to lift the veil on perfume and personality/bridal types and I was thrilled to give my two “scents” on the topic.

If you’re in Ireland, pick up the Winter 2011 edition and flip to pages 56 and 57. And while you’re at it, read Kirstie’s words of wisdom too on all things fragrant.

I thought I’d also publish here the scentpertise questions. In print, like film, some things wind up on the cutting room floor.

Do you think certain fragrance notes go with a certain personality type?  For example, does it follow that lily of the valley will be worn by shy types and massive OTT night blooming jasmine by Amy Winehouse types?

I think to some degree, yes, certain types are attracted to certain odours. We seek out ourselves even in fragrance. Sometimes there’s conditioning and influence involved. Men and women of every age are led to believe a few things because of marketing and advertising. In perfume, younger women tend to seek out what’s infamously named on perfume forums and websites, as a “fruitichouli.” Think, Juicy Couture and Harajuku Lovers by Gwen Stefani. These are scents you know and can recognise. They’re young, bubblegummy, sweet, fruity, floral and incredible tenacious to wear. They smell like pineapples, nondescript flowers and are chock full of sweets. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The mainstream, high-street has a high volume of these, and so doing, more often than not, women tend to pick these because of a saturated variety of choice. The perfume tends to be cheaper to make too.

I will say though, the rule is, there is no rule. Perfume is inexorably personal. You are guaranteed to be surprised when you know your friend loves Angel by Thierry Mugler, but hates Flowerbomb by Vikor & Rolf. They smell quite similar, but something in the juice can stand out miles to her, and not to you. Perception has a huge role to play too. What you can actually identify in what you’re smelling. Emotions have a say too. How you feel about a smell. You can begin to see how not black and white and all encompassing it is!

Do we gravitate towards certain smells based on our personalities and by extension the things we’re interested in? For example, if you’re an extrovert it’s more likely you’re going to be out and about exploring, being open to experiences – and therefore possibly more adventurous scent choices – than if you’re at home a lot, not doing those things. If you’re a nosey type you may research fragrance more, too. Would that be a fair thing to say?

Again it’s hard to say. A quiet, comfortable woman may dress to be unseen. But, she could really surprise you some day when her presence is announced by an outrageous perfume like Gucci Rush. She might not “get it” that Gucci Rush is maybe a little big for her quiet personality, but what’s important, is that she simply enjoy the smell for what it is, in all its development.

Perhaps people who are more adventurous are indeed more willing to try new things. I can see spontaneous people spraying every scent card in sight. However I bet that if you were to travel around the perfume counters with them, their adventurous streak may be reigned in around a family of fragrances. Their likes may reveal they love loads of perfume but only in a particular family of fragrances, like floral, gourmand or chypré perfume.

How much does the recent fad for celebrity scent override an ‘inbuilt’ prelediction towards a natural scent style? Do people end up wearing entirely the wrong perfume these days purely because they want to buy into a celebrity lifestyle?

I would say with certainty yes. Jennifer Lopez is on to something like her 18th fragrance release this year. Some women see her as a glamours figurehead, perhaps getting a little over their head when it comes to having the life she has, not necessarily wanting to be her, or even like her. Not being able to live in that way means perfume is an accessible, affordable means to emanate this—depending on the fragrance. If J Lo has one, I can too. If Britney has one, I can too. If Jordan has one, I can too. I personally question the likeability of most of these fragrances, but then, that’s me. My close friend loves Curious by Britney Spears. She’s not a girly-girl, like Britney. In one way, I think she could pick something more suited, but on the flip-side does that really matter? She’s like the smell and that’s the important thing.

The pleasure of perfume shopping is that, it’s not much of a pleasure on the high-street. There’s a lot of celebrity juice out there. Some of it good, some of it I own. But a lot of it is trite to me. It smells very samey. It’s important to remember, to choose the fragrance you feel connected to. Not because you think you have to. Stop to think about something different too, then go and explore that. Ask the Sales Assistant to show you something similar. Celebrities and their perfume are just a small tip of the iceberg of truly, beautiful, astounding perfume.

Any tips for identifying the right scent for you? How should a person who has no real clue about how to buy perfume approach it based on their personality – are there any fail-safe pointers?

I’d go so far as to say, your personality will give away the starting point, after that you should really follow your nose. How do you feel when you smell a fragrance on the scent card? What does it make you think of? If you simply “like it” walk on a bit more. When you are really liking something, stop to try it on your skin. Try on at most two or three. Make sure they are spaced well apart on you skin, not your scarf. Resit the urge to impulse buy. Walk out of the shop and smell it in the fresher air. Give it a few hours. Now what do you think? The perfume will have dried down and you may be bowled over by something later in the day that wasn’t there before, this can be the wonderful thing about perfume. It may surprise you. It might even make you smile.

Lastly, and so importantly, ignore the sale on offer. Ignore the shower gel, deodorant gift set. Do not be fooled by, “That’s really popular,” from the Sales Assistant. And never impulse buy! I’ve regretted a few urges in my time.

Oh and if you’re buying a perfume as a gift, subtly bring the lucky person with you. It sounds sappy to say it this way, but share the time with them and remember their reaction to something. Their eyes will give the game away. Rolled eyes in the back of the head are a very good sign, then you’ll be getting them something you know they love. You can act like you knew all along!