MECCA Answers Your Scent Questions, from Fragrance Enhancers to the Perfect Vanilla
April 30 | 4 minute read
Words by Izzy Wight
Do you remember your first grown-up fragrance purchase? I certainly do. Deciding to finally graduate from saccharine body sprays, I settled on a bottle of TOCCA’s Florence EDP. I spent the next year spritzing a hefty cloud of the (truly delightful) floral-fruity scent, then sprinting through it on my way out the door.
Did you know that in order for a scent to really last, you should spray it on your pulse points and let it slowly sink in – not run through a cloud of it? As it turns out, putting perfume on, and doing it well, is something of an artform.
Extraits or EDPs? What’s a layering scent? Why can’t I smell myself after I put perfume on? While there are no hard-and-fast rules, the world of fine fragrance can be wonderfully complex. We asked you to share your burning scent questions on Instagram so that our fragrance expert, Steven, could demystify them. Scroll on to see what he had to say.
How can I make my scent last longer?
“Also, if my favourite personal fragrance is offered in a hand cream format, I love to use this as my scent ‘primer’. Hand creams are intensely hydrating, and one of my favourite ways to get the most out of my daily scent. Simply apply the hand cream anywhere you intend to spritz fragrance that day.
“Finally, touching up with a travel spray or a hair mist throughout the day will just give a quick zhuzh to your scent whenever you need!”
What’s the perfect not-too-sweet vanilla scent?
Why can some people smell my fragrance, but I can’t seem to smell it on myself?
“One way we can combat this is by applying fragrance on areas of the skin that have some distance from our nose, like the back of the neck. It can also help if you rotate your ’fragrance wardrobe’... you can offset some of the ‘nose blindness’ that you may be experiencing with your personal fragrance.”
What are your favourite beachy scents? I’m looking for something aquatic and mermaid-esque.
What’s the right way to apply fragrance? I feel like I’ve heard so many different things!
“The inside of your wrists is an excellent place to start, as it’s an area that offers warmth and movement throughout the day, which helps to naturally diffuse the scent.”
What is a fragrance enhancer, and how do I use it?
“A few of my favourite examples: D.S. & DURGA’s I Don’t Know What offers a sense of structure and an ethereal woodiness to any personal fragrance layered over top. Milk or Xtra Milk from DedCool bring a touch of sweetness and offer a fluffy, comforting muskiness to a personalised expression of scent. Finally, BORNTOSTANDOUT’s Sugar Addict offers a bold sweetness that is both addictive and refined.”
