Happy Layered Friday! Our community project for today: layer two or more fragrances, or layer fragrance(s) with a scented body product.
It’s not what I had planned, but I’m wearing i Profumi di Firenze Ambra del Nepal (which I’d been thinking about after yesterday’s incense post) over Bliss Vanilla + Bergamot Body Butter. I smell delicious.
Reminder: next Friday, 1/30, will be Oud Friday…
I did an article on perfume layering back in 2007, and it includes lots of great ideas for viable fragrance combinations, especially in the comments. Then we did a layering poll in 2010. We’ve had a request for an update, so here it is.
Tell us what two (or more) fragrances you like to wear together, or what scented lotions (or other body products) you use to layer? Or, tell us anything you like about your layering practices.
Or ask a question about layering…
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…