How (and Where) to Apply Scent

When you tell someone you work in fragrance, one of the first questions they ask you is where do you apply your fragrance? People love to share their scent tips for smelling good, and over the years I’ve come across some interesting suggestions. Here’s just a quick breakdown of my daily scent application rituals. Feel free to steal any you like.

MORNING

I wake up every morning, brush my teeth and then shower. Fragrance rituals start here. For shampoo and conditioner, I choose things like Bumble and Bumble’s Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner, for just a light hint of aloe in my hair. Personally, I never want my hair smelling like a fruit salad… just too sweet to have that smell at my face and very difficult to work in with scent layers to come. Instead, I opt for simple one note scents that are soft and flexible.

That same thinking guides my choice in shower gel, namely to keep it simple. I’m currently a big fan of C.O. Bigelow’s Mentha Body Vitamin Body Wash, but am admittedly going through a mint phase. Overall, I find it wakes me up a bit, and further doesn’t compete with any other fragrance I might choose to wear (warning, not for those with sensitive skin). There is one exception, though. On rare occasions where I wear a gourmand fragrance, I do not use a mint body wash… just a bit too mint oreo cookie ice cream for my tastes. If need be, I finish up in the shower with a quick shave (another aloe or mint fragrance in my shaving gel) and then reach for a towel.

Now it’s time to moisturize, a very important step to get the most out of your fragrance. Here I choose something unfragranced with an SPF, which I keep in high supply thanks to friends that work for lotion manufacturers. If I do need to use something with fragrance, the same rule still applies: Keep it simple… that is, unless you intend this to be your main fragrance choice for the day. In that case, lather on that scented lotion, but please don’t forget the SPF.

After moisturizing, I reach for deodorant (here I avoid “sport” scents and their overdosage of Dihydromyrcenol, opting instead for more marine or herbaceous notes). I then usually take care of my face, allowing time for the moisturizer to set to my skin. I then apply my fragrance. The one I choose depends on which feels right for that day (i.e. I won’t wear an alcoholic scent to the beach). Thinking about it is a great way to help me quickly rerun what I’m doing during that day and plan accordingly.

So where do I spray? Two on the wrists (one each side), one on the neck, and one on the décolletage. And I do this BEFORE I get dressed. This does two things, it allows for even application to my skin around my chosen pulse points (where it belongs to best activate the scent), and it also lightly brushes the surface of the inside of my clothes while I put them on. Once I’m dressed, the base layer is complete.

SCENT ACCENTS

At this point, I’m back in my bathroom. Still need to fix my hair and apply any final last touches. Thinking about what product you apply to your hair is very important and oftentimes overlooked as part of scent application. It’s the first stage in what I like to call applying scent accents: additional scent strokes used to complement your main fragrance choice. It’s a moment to customize and add a touch of signature to your fragrance through smart blending choices. Here I might be a bit more daring in my selection depending on my mood. Today, my hair products just happen to all smell of leather (really great childhood fall memories). The final choice is yours. Just please DO NOT spray perfume directly into your hair. Perfumes contain ethyl alcohol which dries and damages your hair and scalp. There are sprays made just for application to your strands, but if you don’t have one, opt instead to get the most you can from your styling products. Your hair will thank you for it.

My final scent accents come in the form of solid perfume. Behind the ears, the temples, the crooks of the elbow and back of the knees (if they’ll be exposed)… I go down this road only on days when I want a fragrance to really sing. Normally my solid is just a personal three note mix I’ve worn for years and has become my signature touch. It’s just there to keep a bit of me close by… to keep me at all times centered.

TO REAPPLY OR NOT TO REAPPLY?

I am not one to reapply fragrance during the work day. As a fragrance starts to fade, I quite enjoy its gradual decrescendo. Besides, I have other options for introducing scent at the office. If I do reapply, I do it as the day transitions into evening, and rarely with the same scent I wore during the daylight hours (This is too much like Groundhog’s Day for me. I don’t want to repeat the same experience but instead go somewhere new with it). Instead I opt for a complementary fragrance to guide me into the night. Again, everything depends on where I am going to that evening.

I have a home office, so I have a bit more flexibility in what I can add to my space without risking intrusion on others. There is always most certainly at least a small diffuser or candle close by my work space. I personally find the choice of scent in my environment has effects on my creativity and productivity. For example, the smell of fresh roses makes it impossible for me to write.

My last little trick is something I learned from a colleague back when I worked for Victoria’s Secret Beauty: The scented hand rosin bag. As a person with sweaty hands, I always have a fear of meeting someone new and shaking their hand with a sweaty palm. A most unenjoyable experience had by all. To avoid this embarrassment, I learned a trick involving scented rosin bags or hand sachets that I now always keep in my pockets. A quick grab of the bag dries the hands, eliminating the sweat. Adding a touch of fragrance to the rosin in the bag has the added benefit of lightly dusting the hands in scent. Now when I shake hands, I am not only confident that they are not sweaty, but I also leave a little impression of my own that may make the person I’ve just talked to recall our meeting later in the day. Nothing strong or offensive (though people have asked me to make civet bags for them to prank their friends), just something elegantly simple, like a little skin kiss. The same trick can be used when adding powder to your shoes.

So those are my scents application tips. My only other word of advice would be to not trust your nose alone. If others are having an unintended, unpleasant reaction to your fragrance, it may be time to rethink your ritual choices. Wearing fragrance is not something you do in a bubble. It will evoke responses from other people, and you need to be conscious of their reactions. And don’t forget, always ask yourself where you’ll be that day before make your scent choice. You wouldn’t wear a ball gown to the gym. Apply that same logical thinking to your fragrance decisions.

What are some of your favorite fragrance rituals?