What does the word perfume mean?

The word perfume comes from Latin, which means through the smoke. In ancient Roman temples, as offerings to the gods, crushed flowers, leaves, wood chips, spices, and aromatic resins were placed on hot coals. Their scent was released through the smoke.

How many ingredients does a perfume typically contain?

It depends. A perfume may contain 10, 50, 100 or 500 different raw materials, but just because a perfume contains 300 ingredients does not mean that it is superior to a perfume containing 80. What really matters is how the different ingredients are combined to produce an emotion.

What are the notes of a perfume?

These are the characteristics of the smell of raw material or composition. Example: floral, chypre note… They reveal the different phases of the evolution of the scent of perfume when you spray it on your skin. Each of these phases, or group of ratings, has a different degree of volatility.

Top notes

They are made up of the most volatile raw materials which disappear quickly (from a few minutes to about 2 hours). Citrus, green, ethereal, or fresh notes are most often found in the top notes.

Heart notes

They are made up of molecules with medium volatility. Their lifespan varies between 2 and 10 hours approximately. Their function is to play a buffer role. By prolonging the freshness of the top notes, they announce the warmth of the base notes.

Base notes

The heaviest molecules constitute the base notes. They have a much longer lifespan ranging from 8 hours to several days. These are generally vanilla, cooked, woody, amber, musky notes, and some spicy notes.

To note

A raw material is made up of several dozen or even hundreds of different molecules which do not have the same volatility. In some configurations, the notes can be caused to migrate from the head to the heart, or from the heart to the bottom.

Can I refresh my sense of smell if my nose is saturated when I try perfumes?

You can plunge your nose inside your elbow bent at 45 ° between each scent. In this way, you will avoid getting used to the smell you are smelling. It is also possible to smell coffee beans. Coffee is a universal smell, meaning that everyone knows the smell of coffee. When you smell coffee, your brain associates a neutral image with it, and therefore erases the images associated with the scent you have smelled before. Smelling coffee beans will therefore allow you to "reset" your sense of smell.

Can a perfume change my mood?

One of the most remarkable characteristics of perfume is its ability to influence our emotions almost instantly. Each individual has their own unique mapping and olfactory sensitivity. Like colors, humans do not precisely and exactly perceive a smell in the same way.

The sense of smell is a powerful revealer, able to bring to the surface strong emotions and very old memories, pleasant or not. Since the limbic system controls both smell and emotions, it makes sense that certain scents have the power to stimulate or relax the senses.

Where should I apply perfume?

The ideal is to apply your perfume at the pulse points: inside of the wrists, bends of the elbows or knees, hollows of the ankles, in the neck, behind and below the ears. More generally, apply your perfume wherever you feel your heartbeat.

If I put on perfume in the morning, will it last all day?

No. One spray in the morning is not enough for the whole day. You will likely need to reapply perfume three or four times during the day. It all also depends on the base notes that make up the perfume. Perfume is made up of several scent molecules which each have different volatility. As for the amount of perfume to apply, it depends on your skin. Some skins retain the scent better than others.

I apply my perfume very liberally but after an hour, no one notices it anymore. Why doesn't the perfume hold on to me?

Unfortunately, your body chemistry is responsible for the scent evaporating quickly from your skin. Perfumers say that your skin "gets rid" of the scent. What is the solution? Put an emollient layer between your skin and the perfume. This will prolong its hold. You can use a body lotion or cream from the same range as your perfume and thus create an emollient base for the eau de parfum. The latter will slow down evaporation and double the durability of your perfume.

Does the climate affect the scent we wear?

It is not the perfume that changes but the perception of the perfume. In addition, the nose perceives molecules less well in high temperatures. This is why the people of the Middle East perfume themselves with highly concentrated perfumes and composed of very powerful notes.

Why does a perfume smell wonderful on a friend, but don't have the same effect on me at all?

A perfume is very personal, it harmonizes with each skin and brings out some of its notes more than others according to the complexion and the PH of each one. Each of us has our own olfactory imprint. Your fragrance becomes unique with you.