Fragrance done right evokes the subtle reminiscence of an alluring, sensual, sweet or romantic dream than lingers gently in the nose; however, fragrance done wrong places people around you in a nightmarish nasal assault. If you want your signature scent to be noticed without knocking people’s noses off their faces, follow these fragrance do’s and don’ts.

Know Your Strengths

Do familiarize yourself with the five fragrance strengths, which contain varying concentrations of perfume oil mixed with alcohol or another solvent.

Perfume

• 20 to 30 percent concentration of perfume oil.
• Lasts six to eight hours.

Eau de Parfum or EDP

• 15 to 20 percent concentration of perfume oil.
• Lasts four to five hours.

Eau de Toilette or EDT

• 5 to 15 percent concentration of perfume oil.
• Lasts two to three hours.

Eau de Cologne or EDC

• 2 to 4 percent concentration of perfume oil.
• Lasts up to two hours.

Eau Fraiche

• 1 to 3 percent concentration of perfume oil.
• Lasts up to two hours.

Do wear the appropriate concentration: Strong concentrations can overwhelm in an enclosed space, but weak concentrations can become lost in a crowd.

Try Before You Buy

• Do test on your skin. Spray fragrance onto your wrist, wait 10 minutes and take a sniff to see how the scent interacts with your unique body chemistry.
• Don’t test on paper. Spraying fragrance on paper tells you what the fragrance smells like but doesn’t tell you what it smells like on you. Body chemistry does affect the fragrance’s aroma.
• Do test only one fragrance at a time. If you wear more than one test fragrance, the scents will collide in a decidedly horrid battle, and your nose will rebel.

Wear Fragrance with Flair

• Do remember a balance exists between too much and not enough. Only people within a one- to two-foot radius of you should catch a whiff; if people outside that little circle can smell it, you’re wearing too much. Generally, three spritzes will suffice.
• Do spray on pulse points. Pulse points generate slightly more heat than the rest of your body, and this heat gently activates your fragrance’s scent.
• Don’t apply after a workout. Fragrance and sweat don’t mingle well.
• Don’t apply more often than the concentration suggests. Remember that your nose might become so familiar with the aroma that it can’t detect it, but that doesn’t mean the fragrance isn’t still lingering.
• Do apply to hydrated skin. Hydrated skin better absorbs scent than dry skin does.
• Don’t mix with scented soaps and lotions. If you do, you risk clashing odors and confused noses.

Storing

• Do store your perfume in a cool, dry, dark place. Light, heat and humidity destroy fragrance’s chemical bonds and change your fragrance’s delightful bouquet into a nasty pong.
• Don’t store your fragrance in the refrigerator. While heat isn’t good for fragrance, the temperature fluctuation of cold fridge to warm room and back to fridge again also destroys scent. Avoid stressing your perfume by keeping it in an area that’s cool but not drastically cooler than room temperature.

By following these fragrance do’s and don’ts, you will leave behind you the wisp of a delightful reverie and subliminal pleasant memory.