One of the greatest things about fragrances is that there are so many to choose from. However, this variety can often cause some confusion and leave you with fragrances that you do not like to wear. Not to mention a fragrance that doesn't wear well on you. If you're a seller, you want to make sure that your customers will be happy with their purchase from you. Happy customers return time and time again and are the key to success. In this post, we'll provide useful information to give you more confidence in your choices.- Factors in Fragrance Longevity, Projection/Sillage and Wear-Ability Body Chemistry plays a huge role in how a fragrance performs on the skin as well as temperatures and skin moisture. Fragrances travel better in the heat and our sense of smell is also better in warm temperatures (think of how the humidity feels on a hot day). This is why there are summer and winter fragrances. Fragrances last longer on moisturized skin than on dry skin. This is why it is recommended to use Vaseline or Shea Butter on pulse points where the fragrance is applied. It "holds" the fragrance there longer. Pulse points are the best places to apply fragrances vs clothes or other places.How a fragrance works with someone's unique Body Chemistry will affect how long it lasts and how it smells. This is why we can love a fragrance on our friend but then try it on ourselves and hate it. A fragrance will also smell different on a card than it does on skin. It is important to give a fragrance a few hours to see exactly how it is performing on your skin.- Fragrance Notes Fragrance notes are generally defined by 3 classes. *Top/Head Notes: These notes evaporate first and are usually the first thing you will notice from a fragrance. *Middle/Heart Notes: This is what you can smell more prominently after the top notes have evaporated. They are the "heart" of the fragrance. These notes help to mask the base notes, which become more pleasant with time. *Base Notes: These are the notes that stick around the longest. These notes also partially determine a fragrance's longevity depending on their composition. Base notes are typically the richest part of the fragrance.- Fragrance Categories/Families Fragrances can be categorized by 4 major categories based on their notes with several sub-categories in between. The major ones are Floral, Oriental, Woody and Fresh. One way this is categorized is through the Fragrance Wheel. A man named Michael Edwards created one of the most widely used Fragrance Wheels in 1983 starting with just the major categories and it has evolved into what you'll see below. There are other ways to categorize fragrances, but this is a favorite method of many perfumers. We'll go over the categories and list some fragrance suggestions for each one. You'll notice trends and be able to guess what most fragrances will fit into. Keep in mind that some fragrances may fit into more than one category.Floral: If you love to smell the flowers, this fragrance family is for you. Often containing heady bouquets of flowers in both the top and middle notes. Japanese Cherry Blossom (BBW) Type Beyonce Rise (L) Type Britney Spears Curious (L) Type My Burberry (L) Type Burberry Weekend (L) Type Anais Anais (L) Type Eternity (L) Type Jo Malone Nashi Blossom (U) Type Dolce Floral Drops (L) TypeSoft Floral: These fragrances are described as soft, powdery, sweet, creamy, light musky. They often contain delicate flowers, aldehydes, vanilla, musks. White Linen (L) Type Chanel #5 (L) Type D&G Sicily (L) Type White Diamonds (L) Type White Shoulders (L) Type Safari (L) Type Amarige (L) Type Chloe (L) TypeFloral Oriental: Often marked by a heart of sweet floral notes with subtle spicy, smoky, balsamic or amber notes. Heavy, long lasting base notes. Desire by Dunhill (L) Type Annuci (L) Type Dark Kiss (BBW) Type Pink Chiffon (BBW) Type Beyonce Midnight Heat (L) Type Bijan (L) Type Bond No. 9 Chinatown (U) Type Armani Sensi (L) Type Jo Malone Velvet Rose & Oud (U) TypeSoft Oriental: Smooth, spicy, warm, sensual. A softer more spicy style of Oriental. Bvlgari Jasmin Noir (L) Type Versace Crystal Noir (L) Type Oscar de la Renta (L) Type Warm Vanilla Sugar (BBW) Type Beyonce Heat (L) Type Bond No. 9 Coney Island (U) Type Bond No. 9 I Love New York (L) Type Bleu de Chanel (M) Type Opium (1977) (L) Type Youth Dew (L) TypeOriental: These fragrances are rich, warm, spicy, exotic and sensual - usually good for cold/cool weather. Often containing resins, amber and other heavy notes. Bond No. 9 Fire Island (U) Type Bvlgari Omnia (L) Type D&G The One Gentlemen (M) Type Passion (L) Type Shalimar (L) Type Jo Malone - Oud & Bergamot (U) Type Angel (A*Men) Pure Coffee (M) Type Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille (U) TypeWoody Oriental: Usually contain rich, oriental notes along with patchouli, sandalwood, cedar or vetiver. Woods and spices are often the most prevalent notes in these fragrances. SamSara (L) Type Angel (L) Type Desire (Red) (M) Type Bond No. 9 Bleecker Street (U) Type Bond No. 9 New Haarlem (U) Type Burberry Brit (M) Type Bvlgari Black (U) Type Back to Black by Kilian (U) Type Obsession (M) Type Allure (M) Type Creed Bois du Portugal (M) Type Jo Malone Dark Amber & Ginger Lily (L) Type John Varvatos Oud (M) Type Joop! (L) TypeWoods: If you love the smell of freshly sanded wood and sawdust, you'll love this family. Raw and simple, usually containing a few of the woodsy notes like sandalwood, cedar, vetiver. Usually accompanied with citrus notes. Dunhill Fresh (M) Type Grey Flannel (M) Type Polo Supreme Oud (M) Type Pharrell Williams Girl (U) Type Tom Ford Grey Vetiver (M) Type Tom Ford Oud Wood (U) Type Organza (L) Type Jo Malone Oud & Bergamot (U) TypeMossy Woods: Also referred to as Chypre fragrances. Sweet, smooth, sometimes earthy with mossy base notes. Hermes Terre d'Hermes (M) Type John Varvatos Vintage (M) Type Prada L'Homme (M) Type Polo (M) Type Miss Dior Cherie (L) Type Michael Kors Sexy Ruby (L) Type Chanel #19 (L) Type Halston Z14 (M) TypeDry Woods: Also referred to as Leather fragrances. Usually containing cedar, tobacco or burnt wood notes. They share similar characteristics to mossy woods fragrances with a leathery and/or smoky twist. Aramis Modern Leather (M) Type Bvlgari Man in Black (M) Type D&G Velvet Exotic Leather (M) Type Red (M) Type John Varvatos (M) Type Tom Ford F*cking Fabulous (U) Type Tom Ford Tuscan Leather (U) TypeAromatic: These fragrances are clean, fresh and easy to like. They often contain notes of lavender, herbs, citrus, sweet spices and oriental woods. Paco Rabanne (M) Type Vodka on the Rocks by Kilian (U) Type Candie's (M) Type Ed Hardy Skulls & Roses (M) Type Creed Silver Mountain Water (U) Type Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt (U) Type Bora Bora (M) Type Dior Sauvage (M) Type Bleu de Chanel (M) Type Creed Aventus (M) TypeCitrus: Abundant in the fragrance world, these fragrances contain prominent citrus notes of lemon, bergamot, orange, grapefruit and/or mandarin. They are often zesty, tangy, tart and clean. Men's fragrances are usually paired with other aromatic, citrusy notes and Women's are usually paired with florals. Tom Ford Neroli Portofino (U) Type Creed Virgin Island Water (U) Type Burberry Weekend (M) Type Chrome (M) Type Boucheron (M) Type CK 1 (U) Type Happy (M) Type Creed Royal Service (L) Type Green Tea Elizabeth Arden (L) Type Coconut Lime Verbena (BBW) Type Very Sexy (M) TypeWater: Also known as aquatic or ozonic. Marine/water notes were only created in 1990. They capture the scent of soft sea breeze, the air after a thunderstorm and the freshness of a waterfall. They often contain prominent water notes and other notes that evoke an aquatic feel. Chrome Sport (M) Type D&G Le Bateleur (1) (M) Type James Bond 007 Ocean Royale (M) Type Paco Rabanne Invictus (M) Type Bond No. 9 Hamptons (U) Type Cool Water (L) & (M) Type D&G L'Imperatrice (3) (L) Type Versace Bright Crystal (L) Type Burberry Sport Ice (M) Type Acqua di Gio (M) Type Curve Appeal (M) Type Nautica Oceans (M) Type Issey Miyake (M) TypeGreen: If you enjoy the smell of fresh cut grass, this family is for you. These fragrances contain prominent green notes such as grass, mint, basil or other leaves. Escape (M) Type Hugo (M) Type Tom Ford Vert d'Encens (U) Type Polo Sport (M) Type Cucumber Melon (BBW) Type 212 Carolina Herrera (M) Type True Religion (M) Type Creed Green Irish Tweed (M) Type Lucky You (M) Type Polo (M) Type CK be (U) TypeFruity: Smells good enough to eat. These contain an array of fruits - peaches, pears, apples, plums, berries and more. DKNY Be Delicious (L) Type Ralph Wild (L) Type Curve Kicks (L) Type My Burberry (L) Type True Religion Hippie Chic (L) Type Ocean Lounge Escada (L) Type Ed Hardy (L) Type Paris Hilton (M) Type Polo Black (M) Type When you find fragrance families that you like along with fragrance notes that work well with your chemistry, you have a whole new world of wonderful fragrances to enjoy. There are many free online tools to help in this endeavor. The tools I used for the information in this post are www.Fragrantica.com and www.FragrancesoftheWorld.com. Fragrantica is one of my favorite we
