How you dress can reveal a lot about your personality, as can your makeup and hairstyle. However, while a power suit and red lip can be spotted across the room, fragrance is a much subtler, much more intimate way of revealing the type of person you are — or aspire to be.
To others, your signature scent is a subconscious way they'll remember you and how they'll perceive you. To you, it can be a factor in determining what kind of day you're going to have and what type of mood you want to set. Your signature scent, regardless of who it's for, is unabashedly yours.
Choosing a signature fragrance can take a while, especially considering the thousands of options on the market. And while having a plethora of options, it can be a relief to streamline your routine for a minimalistic, more intentional fragrance wardrobe. So, if you prefer to have one or two signature scents that you'll go back to time and time again, rather than playing fragrance roulette on any given day, and are stumped on how to pick a perfume that feels perfect, we're here to help.
Keep scrolling for tips for finding your signature scent, according to experts.
1. Start with fragrance families.
"Understanding the families is just like understanding genres in music," says David Moltz. "You want to know the difference between hip-hop or baroque when you listen to something — it's nice to know what is floral, fresh, woody, etc."
Some luxury perfumes dabble into more than one fragrance family, but knowing what notes you gravitate toward can quickly narrow down your search for a signature perfume. Florals tend to be more feminine and mature, spicy fragrances tend to be warmer and sultrier, woody scents are often earthy and masculine, and fresh perfumes are often citrusy and lighter. Of course, every perfume uniquely blends notes and accords, so while a fragrance may have a woodsy top note, it could also contain fruity ingredients for an olfactory cocktail, but knowing what overarching fragrance family you like is the first step toward finding your signature scent.
2. Consider trends, but proceed with caution.
Palo santo had a big moment a few years ago, and green tea is beginning to make its way into current finds. As with fashion, trends come and go, so consider that when fragrance shopping. "Trends are a helpful cue to what is going on, but like anything else as you learn what you like, you learn to trust your own instincts," echoes Moltz.
The same goes for cult classics. While we've all loved Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue and everyone on TikTok is crazy for Bacarrat's Rouge 540, don't let the hype cloud your judgment. While these tried-and-true fragrances have stood the test of time and will continue to reign, there are so many more options to be discovered.
3. Spend time with it.
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Perfumes smell differently on everyone, thanks to our unique skin chemistry, so how it smells on a sampler paper won't necessarily how it settles into your skin. Before you purchase a full-sized perfume, use a sampler or a travel-sized bottle and sit with the fragrance for a week or so, as Bee Shapiro points out our chemistry can change day-to-day. "Sampling should be a key part of the experience, [so] try a few and then see," she says. "Allow yourself to live with a new scent a bit before passing judgment."
Fragrances lean on the pricier side of beauty products, and while we're all for you purchasing an upscale fragrance if you fall in love with it, we also want you to know you like it before you make an investment. "Sample sets are a great way to discover multiple perfumes," suggests Moltz. They're also a great way to experience several scents for a few days before deciding to commit.
4. Consider how you want your signature scent to make you feel.
Do you want to come off as playful? Do you want to feel sexy? Consider this as you take turns sniffing between scents of leather accord and peony before settling on the one. "It should make them their ideal self — this sense of recognition with a drop of aspiration," says Shapiro. "When you spray on the scent, it should feel not only that this scent is who you are, but who you want to be."
5. Take into account how long you want it to last.
When you browse through department stores and stumble through eau de parfums, eau de toilettes, and more, it's important to know the difference before heading to the cash register. These names allude to the concentration of fragrance, which goes hand in hand with its longevity and retail price.
Eau fraiche has between one and three percent concentrated perfume oil and generally lasts less than an hour. Eau de cologne has between two and six percent oil and lasts up to two hours. Eau de toilette can have anywhere between five and 15 percent oil and lasts roughly three hours. Eau de parfum, which Moltz says is the standard strength of perfumes, contains 15 to 20 percent oil and lasts between five to eight hours. Finally, there's pure parfum, which has anywhere between 15 to 40 percent oil and can last up to 24 hours.
Ever wished you could smell a fragrance before buying it online?
Or how good would it be if you could type your favourite perfume into a search engine and other similar fragrances would pop out?
Oh wait. You can actually do that now thanks to our clever beauty wizards!
Because we know how hard it is to buy perfume online and find a signature scent that feels like 'you' without being able to spritz and sniff in-store, Adore Beauty created Fragrance Finder.
It's basically the next best thing to some sort of smell-o-vision through your iPhone becoming a thing (Apple, let's talk).
Similar to Findation, our online directory that helps you find your perfect shade match based on foundations you already have, Fragrance Finder helps you discover new scents similar to ones you already know are ace.
Whether it's a classic celebrity perfume or a bougie cult fragrance out of your price range, this tool is the best hack for finding fragrance dupes online.
Want to know how this magical tool works? Keep reading...
You know when you type a phrase into Google and it pulls up a bunch of the top matches?
Adore Beauty's Fragrance Finder does the same, but with perfumes.
The genius search tool uses advanced MATCH IT technology developed by perfume expert and Fragrance Wheel creator Michael Edwards.
By analysing fragrance families, scents and individual notes, Fragrance Finder can literally match the most beloved perfumes in the world with similar scents from niche, lesser-known brands, and at different price points.
For example: Are you a big fan of Byredo Gyspy Water? Great!
Type the name 'Byredo Gyspy Water' into the Fragrance Finder search bar and the fragrance wheel will spin to generate three similar perfume options for you.
How good!
Maybe you're looking for a 'dupe' of an exxy cult fragrance like Maison Francis Kurkdjian's Baccarat Rouge.
Or perhaps you want to invest in a new signature scent or upgrade an old favourite.
Fragrance Finder not only helps to take some of the guesswork out of buying perfumes online, but it also allows you to discover unique scents you might not have otherwise heard of.
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