I did an article on perfume layering back in 2007, and in addition to providing a general introduction to the subject, it includes lots of great ideas for viable fragrance combinations, especially in the comments. But we’ve had a request for more, so here it is:
What two (or more) fragrances do you like to wear together?
And a few quick reminders…
I’ve come to think of Space NK as a “post-Sephora” shopping experience. At first, Sephora was exciting: the aisles and aisles of fragrance and beauty products, often accompanied by a pulsing dance-music soundtrack, induced a feverish high of trying and buying. After a while, however, too much choice can feel exhausting, particularly when so many products start to seem alike. Nowadays, Sephora gives me the feeling of a crowded party, while a visit to Space NK is more like brunch with one or two friends. It’s selective and it’s simplified, and I can trust its suggestions.
In keeping with its streamlined, user-friendly style, Space NK offers its own line of fragranced products, which are sold both as individual items and as sets. I sniffed a few scents before making my choice…
Back in December, Robin capably tackled the topic of fragrance layering, with suggestions for combining scents to enhance and emphasize certain notes. I must admit that I’m something of a purist: I prefer to wear one perfume at a time. However, I’m willing to experiment with layers of other products underneath. Although some fragrance lines do offer their own matching body products, those shower gels and lotions are often disappointing. Sometimes, the fragrance just doesn’t live up to the richness and complexity of the original perfume; in other cases, the formula of the gel or lotion is surprisingly low in quality.
Instead, I prefer to find unrelated scented products that harmonize with my favorite perfumes, based on broader fragrance families or single notes. I’ve written about my quest for rose lotions once or twice before, and vanilla is another category that seems to merit frequent layering discussion here on Now Smell This as well as at MakeupAlley and other forums. The right lotion can moisturize the skin so that perfume “clings” better, and a vanilla-scented body product adds an extra, underlying dose of warmth and sweetness to any fragrance. Here, then, are a handful of vanilla lotions that have recently impressed me, with suggestions for fragrance matches…
Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal were inspired by beauty rituals of the harem to create Annick Goutal Les Orientalistes — a trio of scents (Ambre Fétiche, Myrrhe Ardente and Encens Flamboyant) released at the end of 2007. I think it’s time to enact a moratorium on evoking the past in perfume advertising and promotion, since most ad executives and copywriters apparently skipped history classes. Perhaps the young women of the harem enjoyed their beauty rituals; I sincerely hope, in some small way, the costly items in their toiletry cases and incense boxes made up for the fact they had (most likely) been kidnapped, enslaved and separated from their families forever. Oh yes, there were also those pesky eunuchs and the sultan’s controlling mother to contend with, not to mention stress-inducing rivalries between concubines that sometimes led to murder — or banishment from the harem (which usually resulted in a life of poverty).
I’m wiping all thoughts of “the harem” from my mind and enjoying Les Orientalistes as fragrances that pay homage to the art of perfumery in the Middle East…
Several people have asked for a post on perfume layering. I am undoubtedly not the best person to write such a post, so am counting on reader assistance here — please share advice or favorite layering combinations in the comments!
A quick Google search will show you that many consumers and perfume companies define layering as using more than one form of the same scent, that is, using the perfume over the matching body lotion or dusting powder, or what have you. What your typical perfumista means by the term is quite different, and involves applying more than one perfume at the same time to create an entirely new fragrance…