A person’s choice of fragrance is an important part of their persona and the personality that they choose to display around others. Choosing the right fragrance can be a difficult decision to make when faced with so many options.
These ten tips can help anyone find a cologne or fragrance that works for them and fits a particular situation perfectly.
1. Try it First
Don’t go out and buy cologne because you like the way it smells on your best friend. Fragrances don’t really work that way. Any cologne or perfume is a collection of ingredients that are designed to combine with a person’s body chemistry – their pheromones. That means that certain fragrances can smell differently on different people.
2. What’s the Occasion?
When choosing a cologne or fragrance to wear out to an evening with friends, your decision might be different than a scent worn when going out on a first date. A fragrance that you splash on every morning when you are headed to work might not be the same as the one you want to wear for a night out on the town. Your selection should be made accordingly.
3. Trial and Error
It’s okay to change your mind about a certain cologne. Many stores offer trial sizes or samples of popular fragrances for free, if asked. Something may smell good to you at first, but maybe not to good later on. You don’t want to buy a large bottle of alluring cologne only to realize you don’t like it once you get home. Get trial sizes of possible scents whenever possible until you can determine whether it’s right for you.
4. Change Your Options
Having a large selection of colognes to choose from may seem to make the decision more difficult. But having a larger selection also means more variety and will make it less likely to get bored with one or two choices for every occasion.
5. Go with the Mood
Fragrances that we put on often mean different things to us. When we feel down in the dumps or frustrated, changing a scent can also positively affect our moods. When feeling playful, splash on some of that sporty cologne you just picked up. When going to an important interview, a milder or more traditional scent may be the right choice.
6. Be sensitive
Some people have allergies to certain fragrances, and moderation is always best. Find a scent that is not overpowering, even when worn in small doses. Heavy, overpowering scents can be overwhelming or uncomfortable to others – even when we like them.
7. Find the “you” scent
Have you noticed that every time you wear certain cologne you get compliments? Since perfume or cologne combines with our natural scent, finding the right match can be a time-consuming process, but it is worth the effort. Certain smells simply smell more like “us” to ourselves and to others.
8. Design Your own
Some special retailers offer the option to “mix and match” and can custom make a fragrance that is designed specifically to highlight your own natural pheromones. If you feel like going against the flow and don’t want to pick a random bottle off the shelf, this option can be perfect for you and give you a unique flair.
9. Check for Potency
Certain scents have a tendency to wear off quickly, or fade into the background as we become accustomed to smelling them. Others can only become more intense with time. This often depends on where we spray them. If you’re going for a milder scent, make sure you know how it will smell an hour after application, and don’t base your decision on how it smells the second it’s sprayed on.
10. Beware of Clashing Scents
When choosing a cologne or special fragrance, make sure that it doesn’t clash with any other scented products that you use on a daily basis. Some cologne clashes with the smell of your deodorant or hair products – even aftershave. Make sure that your scents are complimentary and not confusing.
Choosing the right scent to match any situation is ultimately a matter of taste. When you feel lost, you can always ask a close friend or even a date. They may have some suggestions that will work out with your individual chemistry and be the perfect match.