Choosing the perfect perfume

Jason Zemmel, perfume expert and founder of discount perfume shop,halfpriceperfumes.co.uk offers his advice on how to choose the right perfume for you

Choosing a perfume

The scent you wear communicates much more about you than the label you're wearing. Perfume has the power to affect your confidence levels, how you perform at work and how attractive you feel.

There are many things to consider when choosing a new perfume:

  • Key ingredients help release certain feelings in people when they smell them. Spicier fragrances like musk are said to arouse sexual feelings and vanilla is also believed to be an aphrodisiac. In contrast, fruit and floral scents are perceived as calming, fresh and sensual.

  • Never assume that because a perfume smells good on your friend it will smell exactly the same on you. Everyone's skin reacts differently and therefore produces different smells.

  • Always spray a new perfume onto your skin rather than just sniffing the bottle, as it changes when it comes into contact with your skin. Leave it to develop for about 10 minutes before deciding if you like it. Don't test more than three or four fragrances at once. Your sense of smell will become confused and they will blend together.

  • Fresh, floral and fruity fragrances are good choices for the summer, whereas spicier and warmer scents are more suited to the colder months.

  • Perfume is best applied to pulse points: the inner wrists, behind the ears, and lower neck. Spray a little on your hair from arm's length, and the scent will float into the air every time you move your head.

  • If you are unable to smell a scent on yourself half an hour after spraying, this is a good indication that it suits you.

    • Different types of scent

    It's easy to be confused about all the different types of perfume on offer. Perfumes are essential oils that are diluted with up to 78 to 95 per cent denatured ethyl alcohol and the strength of the scent varies with the percentage of the dilution. Fragrances are sold in different strengths - perfume, Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette - and prices differ accordingly.

    Perfume is made up of about 22 per cent essential oils, is the most expensive scent and is great for special occasions. Eau de Parfum lasts for five to seven hours and is perfect for a day to night event, while Eau de Toilette is the least expensive version (consisting of eight to ten percent essential oils) and lasts for four to six hours. Male fragrances or Eau de Colognes are much lighter than perfumes and only consist of four per cent essential oils.

    How long do perfumes last?

    Once opened, fragrances only have a shelf life of a year at the most. After this, the alcohol evaporates leaving behind a vapid liquid. If it's not stored in a dark, cool place this process is even quicker.

    Visit www.halfpriceperfumes.co.uk for offers on leading brands including Lancome, Yves Saint Laurent, Elizabeth Arden and Givenchy, with discounts of up to 70 per cent.