What's That New Smell

When it comes to our sense of smell humans didn’t get the best deal. Dogs are reported to have a sense of smell 50-100 times better than ours (now I understand their fascination of smelling every lamppost and bush). The polar bear can smell a female from 90 miles away (I guess they don’t need RSVP.com then). Humans tend to only detect a smell for about 10 seconds.

So imagine your morning ritual includes a wash and scrub in the shower with your vanilla bean and coconut body wash, plus that peppermint conditioner because you love how it makes your scalp go all tingly. Then after hopping out and drying yourself you use your rose water toner to soothe your skin, followed by your moisturizer with ylang ylang and lavender, add your bow chica wow wow scented deodorant and topped with the latest fragrance from Gucci or Calvin Klein and guess what you smell like? Some bizarre cross between a fruit bowl, the perfume department in Myer and the latest candle collection from Dusk. You just don’t notice it due to your poor performing nose.

Fragrance Layering 101. Fragrance layering is using scented products from the same “fragrance family” to optimise the impact of the fragrance in question and to allow it to have lasting power. This includes bath and shower gels, skin treatments like moisturisers and after shave balms, and fragrances such as deodorant, perfume and cologne. So when the pushy salesperson is trying to sell you the moisturiser, deodorant and body wash with your new perfume or cologne, they aren’t just trying to reach their daily sales target, they are also trying to encourage you to fragrance layer.

Unfortunately you can’t always get the every Gaultier cream, spray and lotion to match your latest scent, whether it be a case of budget or availability but all is not lost. If you stick to one “fragrance family” then you will still achieve the desired effect.

The families are:

Floral or Sweet: Deriving their dominant smell from flowers including jasmine, lily, rose, orange blossom and lavender. eg. Estee Lauder Pleasures and White Linen and Gaultier’s Le Fleur for men.

Sporty or Clean: Have a smell akin to a warm shower or a good soap. Common in eau de colognes. Many of the fragrances in the Tommy and Ralph Lauren Polo ranges belong in the sporty/clean family.

Green or Natural: Think of pine forests or ocean side walks and you come close to the aroma of a natural perfume. Examples of natural perfumes are Burberry London, Calvin Klein Truth for Women and Armani Aqua Di Gio for men.

Musk: Musk fragrances give off the strongest aroma of all the fragrance families and are strongly suggestive and sexy. Common musk perfumes are O Oui by Lancôme, Shalimar by Guerlain and Dolce & Gabbana for Women.

Woody or Chypre: Also referred to as earthy. This family is made up of fragrances which contain bergamot, jasmine and oak moss. Popular examples are Romance by Ralph Lauren for women and Gucci’s Envy and Rush for men.

Oriental or Spicy: These perfumes are made up of animal scents and vanilla combined with wood and flowers, or both. Popular oriental perfumes are Lancôme’s Magic Noir, Opium by Yves Saint Laurent for females and Armani Black Code for men.

So, what is that smell? It’s now the heavenly scented you.