Does the aroma of perfume change from person to person and does it change as we grow older?

We interviewed the head of perfume sales at Nordstroms to see if she would make recommendations for perfume brands based on the age of her customer? The answer was a resounding absolutely not. That may be because no store wants to be caught appearing to be ageist about anything, especially when it comes to fashion and beauty.

What we learned is that we must sample perfume on our skin because our body chemistry reacts to the ingredients. This, in turn, changes how the perfume actually smells. Forget the sticks of paper covered in scent that sales associates hand out. They give a momentary whiff but will not show us what it is like on our body.

Never apply perfume by spraying and walking through the cloud of scent. That’s an old wives tale. If you think it will give you the appropriate level of loveliness, it will not because you are leaving the scent behind.

Because our body chemistry changes every 7-8 years as we age, (according to health experts), it may be time to try a new scent after wearing the same perfume that we adored for twenty plus years.

What were the most popular perfumes of our youth? Likely you wore one of these to your prom:

Shalimar

Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche

Tuvache Oh!de London

Rochas Femme

Piguet Fracas

Dana Tabu

Faberge Tigress

Prince Matchabelli Wind Song

Hermes Caleche

Lucy remembers saving for a bottle of White Diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor because she loved the necklace of diamonds around the top of the bottle.

The millennials and younger generation are quick to tell us not to “smell like old people”. Not sure exactly what that means to them but maybe too much Lily of the Valley or too much perfume in general. By the way perfume does go bad and sours as it ages, particularly if left in the sun.

Here is a brief primer of the basic types of fragrances:

  1. Pure Perfume 15-30 % perfume oil and lasts all day. And likely clings to your body and anyone you come in contact with.
  2. Eau de Parfume 15-20% perfume oil and how most perfumes are sold. Less than Pure, but still in the air when you undress at night.
  3. Eau de Toilette. 5-15% perfume oil. Perfect for daytime but if you want to sizzle at night up your game to perfume.
  4. Eau de Cologne. Our grandmothers wore cologne. Now it refers primarily to men’s scents.
  5. Eau Fraiche. 1-3% perfume oil. Mostly water. Never heard of this kind of perfume. But ok, if you want just a hint and not a tornado.

This is a fascinating subject to research and we will share more with you in next week’s blog. We will meet the experts who are the perfumers, called the Nose in the industry. It is a fascinating profession that takes years to develop and their ability to articulate scent for beauty and romance and fun is extraordinary. Remember the power of a scent can take us back to great memories, like the serious boyfriend who wore Canoe. I smell that today and am transported back to that first date!

Here’s to beauty and lovely powerful scents.

Ciao

Lucy and Claudia