Before you decide which scent best suits your special someone, it’s important to understand the options you have to choose from.

Fragrance products are made up of essential oils mixed with a solvent (usually alcohol). The amount of oil in a product determines how long the scent will last on the skin, as well as how much it costs.

Fragrance 101

• Perfume has a 5% to 30% concentration of essential oils, and it lasts anywhere from six to eight hours.
• Eau de Parfum has an 8% to 15% concentration of perfume oil, and it lasts five to seven hours.
• Eau de Toilette creates a subtler scent with 4% to 8% oil concentration that lasts four to six hours.
• Eau de Cologne contains 3% to 5% essential oils and lasts two to three hours.
• Eau Fraiche, Aftershave Lotion, or “Splash” contains only 0.5% to 2% perfume oil, and these products last less than two hours.

Remember, a strong fragrance is not necessarily a positive feature—many people agree that an understated scent can be more intimate and alluring.

The Three Stages of Smell
Have you ever noticed that perfumes and aftershave lotions always smell different after you’ve had them on a while? That’s because the fragrance develops in three stages, referred to as “notes.”

• The top note is the freshest part of the fragrance it is the first whiff you smell. It is the hook, often bright, crisp, and lively. The top note usually lasts for around eight to fifteen minutes.
• The middle note is the body of the fragrance, often giving the scent its aroma, such as spices, flowers, or fruit. It develops after the top note. The middle note remains constant throughout the use of the fragrance.
• The base note is what lingers after a few hours, and it helps to fix the fragrance to the skin. It is often soft, warm, deep and sultry.

Fragrance Categories
Different types of fragrance are described by their scent and by the ingredients that have been used in their preparation. The most common include:
Aromatic: Sexy cool-warm notes of citrus and lavender, sweet spices, and oriental woods. Often considered a man’s scent.

• Chypre (Cyprus): Based on the harmony of oak moss, labdanum, patchouli, and bergamot.
• Citrus: The clean, tangy aroma of citrus fruits: lemons, mandarins, bergamot oranges, and grapefruit.
• Floral: The largest fragrant group, it includes freshly picked flowers; flowers with aquatic, green, or powdery hints; and spicy notes of orange flowers and sweet flowers.
• Leather: Mixtures ranging from floral, velvety to tart and smoky are placed in this group.
• Oriental: Musk, vanilla, exotic resins, and wood are often accompanied with exotic flowers and spices.
• Woody: Includes warm, mysterious sandalwood, oak moss, or drier and sharper cedar and tobacco.
• Fougere: Typically a man’s scent, these perfume types are grassy and herbal in nature.
• Aquatic, oceanic: Evokes an ocean breeze, mountain air, or even fresh linens.

Now you’re on the scent!
Now that you know about fragrance, it’s time to play detective. Try to find as many answers as you can to the following questions:

• Does your recipient already have a favourite fragrance? If so, then choosing something in the same fragrance category might be a hit.
• What designer names does your recipient like to wear? Clothing designers formulate their fragrances in order to appeal to the same buyers.
• Is your recipient drawn to a particular celebrity’s style? That celebrity’s scent creation might be a perfect fit. Celebrities’ fragrances often embody what they stand for.
• What are your recipient’s favourite foods? Is she a fan of oranges? Then she may be a citrus person. Does he love Indian food? Then he may be drawn to spicier notes such as cardamom.
• What is the fragrance going to be worn for? Is your gift intended for casual wear, office wear, daytime wear, evening wear, or a romantic encounter?
• Think about your recipient’s personality. If you’re buying for a woman, you may decide to choose a fresh scent if she is a nature lover. Super feminine women are often drawn to floral spring fragrances, intellectuals to spicy scents, and traditionalists to classic scents such as vanilla. Men who like to take risks might enjoy an aromatic or fougere fragrance. Sport-loving guys are often drawn to a citrus scent or to fragrance with a mixture of musk notes at the bottom and bergamot notes at the top. A distinguished gentleman may go for chypre, an urbanite for citrus or strong green cedar notes. Traditional men tend to like woody fragrances, while a fun loving lavender may suit a caring man.

Your London Drugs Beauty Advisor can help you select the perfect scent for your special someone.