WHY You need a fragrance wardrobe
“I can’t really smell it on myself anymore”…
…muttered everyone in response to the most elite of compliments; fragrance related praise. Is there anything more cruel than discovering a smell which you believe is a part of who you are, something you know will scorch olfactory scars into exes minds for eternity, only to become desensitised to its enchantment? Possibly not.
The solution to this frustration, fortunately, will become the most sensorial pillar of your style identity.
YOUR SMELL IS SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN AS ONE OF YOUR MOST MEMORABLE STATEMENTS, FOR BETTER OR WORSE…
You (hopefully) wouldn’t wear the same outfit for your morning coffee run as you would for dinner at Scott’s on Mount Street. That’s why you have a collection of clothes, right tools for the right job. The same applies to your signature smell.
This doesn’t mean having a different smell for every occassion, you need to have a sense of who you are pinned down. The basic fragrance wardrobe should consist of two cold weather fragrances, and two warm weather fragrances, one for day, one for night.
As we are in winter;
For the day, find something which is warming, but not overpowering. As a guide, you’re looking for the feeling of a cashmere sweater; my recommendation is the inimitable Santal 33 from Le Labo. The enveloping warmth of the fragrance is comforting and deeply luxurious and pleasant enough to wear all day.
For the evening, this is a moment to allow your fragrance to make a real statement. Take the sweater moment and dial up the temperature to roaring fireplace, whisky based cocktails and cashmere roll-necks. Oud has a natural place here, as does leather. If you’re able to source a bottle, Eau Rihla from Diptyque is an the most sophisticated expression of these notes.
As the sunnier days tease us with dreams of spring awakening:
For the day bright fresh smells are a must. Leaning into neroli, citrus & florals is never a bad idea. There cannot be mention of warm weather daywear fragrances without referencing Colonia, Acqua di Parma. Neroli Portofino, Tom Ford should be mentioned in the next breath.
Scents that take the aforementioned fresheners and go on to layer woodier, moodier notes; musk, vetiver, amber make for the perfect warm weather evening fragrance. Colonia Essenza, Acqua di Parma is not only one of the modern greats, but my personal favourite - a non negotiable on my dresser and the epitome of “if black tie was a fragrance”.
It is important that your fragrance wardrobe sits within a tight bandwidth of smells to maintain your identity, lest you wish to become the definition of a walking migraine. Once you know what your smell is, breaking down the notes so you can discover similar smells is a gateway to a signature smell with variety.
The benefit of course, is that with variety, your senses don’t have the chance to become so used to one smell. Keeping your nose on its toes so to speak means you’ll apply the appropriate amount for an overall more elegant impression. If your aim is an to be elegantly unforgettable in the way you dress, treat dressing as a multi-sensorial experience, and use smell to make a memory of you that can last a lifetime.
