Tips for Buying the Right Fragrance

Finding a perfume that you reach for over and over again until it becomes your signature scent is calculated process. The base, middle, and top notes of a particular perfume, combined with its concentration and your skin's pH have an essential influence on the way your chosen fragrance smells on you. Learning more about fragrance notes and concentrations can help you find a scent that's a good fit for you. With the selection of everyday low prices on perfumes at Walmart, you can test more fragrances before choosing your favorite.

Understanding perfume notes

Notes are the odoriferous elements in any fragrance, and they make the very essence of the scent. When you smell a fragrance, you smell the various notes in it. Every perfume has three notes: top note, middle note, and basic note.

Top notes: Also known as head notes or opening notes, top notes are the lightest ones, and they represent the first impression you get about a perfume. They make a smooth transition into the heart of the fragrance, and fade fast, leaving room for middle and base notes. Common top notes include light fruits, citrus, and herbs such as lavender or sage.

Middle notes: These notes make their appearance once the top ones evaporate. Considered the heart of the fragrance, these notes have a strong influence on the base notes and are often well-rounded, offering a combination of fruit or floral tones, often infused with spices. Common middle notes include rose, lemongrass, geranium, lavender, ylang-ylang, and jasmine.

Base notes: The base notes are the final ones and they mingle with the middle notes to create the body of the perfume and provide a lasting impression. Some of the common base notes used in perfumes include vanilla, amber, sandalwood, cedar wood, patchouli, and musk.

Perfume concentrations

The concentration of a perfume dictates how long the perfume lasts on your skin. The main fragrance types on the market include eau de cologne, eau de toilette, eau de parfum, and perfume. The higher the concentration, the higher the price.

Eau de cologne: This is the least concentrated version of fragrance, and it contains 3 to 5 percent perfume oil mixed in alcohol and water.

Eau de toilette: Eau de toilette contains about the same concentration as eau de cologne, but the perfume oil is only mixed with alcohol.

Eau de parfum: More expensive than the first two concentrations, eau de parfum contains approximately 15 to 18 percent perfume oil mixed with alcohol.

Perfume: Perfume contains the highest percentage of perfume oil, approximately 15 to 19 percent, and it lasts on your skin all day long.

How to choose a perfume

Start by learning more about the different families of notes used in most perfumes to determine which family you like most. Once you know what kind of perfume is your favorite, look for a fragrance that contains your preferred base.

• it's not a good idea to base your choice solely on the description of a fragrance. For example, you may already know that you don't like musk perfumes, but you may be surprised to find out that you like a fragrance that contains musk, as you can't detect it in the final scent after all.
• Many people try new fragrances on their wrists, but metal jewelry alters the way a perfume smells. If you want to try a fragrance before you buy, spray it on the top of your arms and wear it for the rest of the day.
• If you re using blotting papers to try fragrances, always wait for the fragrance to be completely dry before smelling it. Another way to see if the fragrance is a long-lasting one is to toss the blotting paper into your purse or pocket and smell it again a couple of hours later.
• Don't try too many fragrances one after another, as this may cause your senses to become overwhelmed.
• Consider your skin type when you choose a fragrance. If you have dry skin, for example, the scent tends to dissipate quicker, so a highly concentrated perfume would work well for you. Alternatively, if your skin is on the oily side, any fragrance will last longer.