How to Find Your Signature Scent

With so many out there, choosing a new fragrance can be tricky, especially if you don’t know what to look for.

From fragrance families to identifying notes, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to find your signature scent.

What Is a Signature Scent?

A signature scent is more than just an everyday perfume – it's a subtle yet sensory part of your personal image, it reminds people of you, sets a first impression, and could even spark memories or enhance your mood.

How to Choose a Perfume

We’ve all been there...trying different perfumes is fun – until you’re holding so many testing strips that you can’t remember which scent is which!

To ensure you don’t get lost in the endless aromas, we’ve put together some simple steps to help you narrow down your options.

Daytime vs. Evening Scents

Wondering what notes to look for in a daytime or nighttime scent? Here’s our general guide.

Fresh and floral scents are like a breath of fresh air, perfect for the morning when you want something light, uplifting, and energising.

These fragrances tend to be softer and more subtle, making them ideal for a sunny stroll or a productive day at work.

Whereas, amber and woody scents have a warm, rich depth that just feels right for evenings, adding a touch of luxury and sophistication to any night.

These bold, lingering notes create a cosy yet luxurious vibe— ideal for making a lasting impression.

Understanding Fragrance Families

In the perfume world, fragrances are typically organised into four families: fresh, floral, amber, and woody.

Each group contains unique sub-categories; for instance, floral is split into fruity, soft floral, and floral amber.

Let's break this down, so you can start to figure out which scents may resonate with you the most.

Fresh

The fresh family is all about natural scents – think spring blooms and freshly cut grass. Here’s a breakdown of its sub-groups:

Aromatic: Herbaceous with hints of floral or woody tones, like sage.

Citrus: Bright and tangy, featuring notes like mandarin or grapefruit.

Water: Aquatic and often blended with floral elements, such as cucumber, lotus, or melon.

Green: Captures the earthy freshness of green tea, grass, or galbanum.

Florals

Floral scents bring to mind fresh flowers, summer breezes, and beaches. This family includes:

Fruity: Sweet with a tropical edge, such as peach, apple, and pear.

Floral: Classic bouquet scents, like roses, lilies, and peonies.

Soft floral: Musky with powdery hints, like jasmine, lavender, and violet

Floral Amber: A blend of sweet and spice, for example, orange blossom.

Ambers

Amber scents are deep, warm, and spicy.

Soft Amber: Warm and slightly sweet, with notes like vanilla or coconut.

Amber: Purely spicy notes, such as cinnamon.

Woody Amber: Deep and earthy, like myrrh.

Woody

As the name suggests, these fragrances are characterised by intense, musky notes derived from wood – they’re basically winter in a bottle.

Woods: Aromatic and musky, often featuring patchouli and cedarwood.

Mossy Woods: Rich with a sweet edge, like vetiver and oakmoss.

Dry Woods: Smokey and warm, with scents like sandalwood and oud.

Consult a Fragrance Wheel

Now that you’re aware of the different groups, you can start putting together your signature perfume.

The fragrance wheel is a tool that shows how different families, and their sub-groups are connected, which can be helpful when layering scents.

You can use the wheel to pick notes that complement each other by choosing opposing scents, neighbouring aromas, or those that form a triangle on the wheel.

Sample and Test Scents

With perfume, it’s rarely love at first sniff – giving yourself time to test scents and experience their full development is essential.

Fragrances have multiple layers: top notes last for five to fifteen minutes, mid notes appear after twenty to sixty minutes, and base notes linger for six hours or more.

So, next time you’re perfume shopping, take a few samples home. This way, you can appreciate each layer fully before making a decision.

Now that you know how to find your signature scent, perfume shopping can be a little less daunting.

Remember, though, these tips are just a starting point – your instinct always knows best!