The secret to choosing your signature scent
| 26th August 2020
Finding the right perfume is not easy. With thousands of scents to choose from, how do you decide on your signature scent?
With help from fragrance experts at leading labels, here VIVA UK Lifestyle Magazine reveals the secret to choosing the right perfume, as well as a few of our personal favourites.
Did you know there are 14 different perfume groups to choose from? VIVA has narrowed this down to just 6 main perfume groups – Floral, Oriental, Woody, Aromatic, Citrus and Fruity. Hopefully understanding the different scent profiles will help to narrow down you decision of the right fragrance for you.
Floral Scents
Floral scents are probably the easiest of the fragrance groups to pick. This group is perfect for anyone who loves the smell of roses, freesias, daisies (in fact any flowers). There are plenty of floral fragrances on offer and you can even narrow down your selection by the scent of your favourite flower.
Infused with Bulgarian and Turkish rose for a deeply floral form, yet balanced with a light sweetness, Miss Dior is our personal favourite floral scent.
Miss Dior by Christian Dior, £67.50 for 50ml Eau de Parfum, John Lewis
Oriental Scents
Oriental scent groups are perfect for anyone who prefers a heavier scent. Oriental scents include musky cinnamon, spicy fragrance, warm, sugary scents with a hint of vanilla.
With notes of black truffle, dark chocolate and smoky incense, VIVA recommends Black Orchid by Tom Ford a sexy and luxurious feel, with a masculine twist. Black Orchid is a complex fragrance blend, with hints of patchouli, vanilla, amber and orchid revealing themselves many hours after your first spritz.
Black Orchid by Tom Ford, £73.99 for 50ml Eau de Parfum, Perfume Direct
Woody Scents
If a scent with mossy, earthy notes appeals to you, then a wood-based scent would be one to consider. Perfumers have a fabulous palette of woody elements to weave into their creations such as sandalwood, cedar, agarwood (a.k.a. oud), guiaiac wood, as well as patchouli and vetiver.
Enthused by the idea of scent molecules triggering attractions and impulses, we are obsessed with Initio Parfums, who honours this supernatural yet scientific dimension of fragrance by infusing its creations with a truly unique power. Oud for Greatness opens with calming yet aromatic notes of lavender, saffron and nutmeg before tailing into a heart of oud wood and natural agarwood oil. Patchouli and musk ensures a mesmerising base.
Oud for Greatness by Initio, £250 for 90ml Eau de Parfum, Selfridges
Aromatic Scents
Do you love the scent of of a summer’s day? Perhaps you are always drawn to a herb garden (think lavender, rosemary, basil and sage)? Then an aromatic fragrance is a great one for you. Aromatic scents often possess a very intensive grassy-spicy notes.
For a Chamomille and bitter almond infusion, we would recommend Gucci’s Mémoire d’une Odeur for a fresh, aromatic infusion.
Mémoire d’une Odeur by Gucci, £45.99 for 40ml Eau de Parfum, Perfume Direct
Citrus Scents
Citrus scents bring a clean feeling to all other scent profiles—from delicate florals to peppery spices, and even earthy musks. No matter what scent you normally prefer, we think that everyone could use some sparkling citrus notes of lemon, grapefruit, and orange in their fragrance wardrobe.
Our favourite citrus sent has to be Daisy Eau so fresh from Marc Jacobs. The crispness of the grapefruit and woodiness of musk keep the floral tones balanced – the perfect blend.
Daisy Eau so fresh by Marc Jacobs, £42.99 for 75ml Eau de Toilette, Perfume Direct
Fruity Scents
For those with a sweet tooth (and nose) a fruity scent is perfect for you. Most of us started our fragrance journey “back in the day” with sickly sweet perfumes. It was every 13-year-olds rite of passage to have a collection of perfumes and body sprays that smelled like mango, watermelon, strawberry, apple, orange—and the rest.
Although we have grown up since then, for us, there is no better scent than that of a caramelised fruity blend, perfected by Viktor & Rolf by way of their Bon Bon Eau de Parfum. Our all-time favourite sophisticated fruity scent for a sexy-sweet smell that lasts all day.
Bon Bon by Viktor & Rolf, £105 for 90ml Eau de Parfum, Selfridges
