Our Ultimate Perfume Guide Will Spruce Up Your Scent Game

Do certain scents — perhaps the briny tang of oceanside air or the sweet coconut essence of a piña colada — carry you back to a childhood getaway or a key moment from your past? There’s a reason for that.

“Our most powerful sense is our sense of smell, and it is the one sense that connects memory and emotion and smell and taste,” says Sue Phillips, CEO of Scenterprises and Sue Phillips Fragrance, a custom boutique in New York.

She wants people to tap into this potent sense before it diminishes — or goes away.

According to the Mayo Clinic, losing your sense of smell, or anosmia, is quite common among older folks, particularly those over 60. Phillips says it’s natural for our food and scent preferences to change through the years, and those whose sense of smell has declined as they’ve aged often seek stronger, bolder scents to compensate.

“What you like in your youth, you might not like when you’re older,” says Phillips, who has helped celebrities including Katie Holmes, Jamie Foxx and Zendaya create their own personalized scents. “As you get a little older and more mature, your tastes will change, and you’ll want something a little more savory ... and so the same is true of fragrances. You can start to really enjoy bolder and more exotic fragrances.”

Our scents should evolve throughout the year, says Mark Crames, the CEO of Demeter Fragrance Library. For example, as wardrobes become lighter and more refreshing during the summer, fragrances should follow suit.

“I’m a believer that in the summertime, we should be wearing fun, fruity, light, citrusy, transparent fragrances,” says Crames, who has worked in the fragrance industry for more than 40 years. “And I believe the same thing as you move into other seasons. … Everyone’s an individual, and everyone loves different things about every season, but you can find a fragrance that’s inspired by the smells that you love best, that you associate with that season.”

Hitting the right notes

Crames says it’s important to understand fragrance notes to know how to sniff out a scent that fits you.

“A ‘note’ [different layers that make up a fragrance] expresses its olfactory nature right away and does not change over time,” he says, adding that Demeter specializes in creating single-note fragrances.

Designer fragrances are typically complex — a blend of notes that, once spritzed, emit their aromas at different times. Crames says this is called the dry down period. “That means that [the fragrance] will change the way it smells over time, as those individual notes express themselves over different periods of time,” he says.

What’s in a name?

Phillips says that when you’re browsing for a new scent, the perfume’s name should give you some idea of what to expect. The words “fresh,” “light” or “sheer” probably indicate a more summery spritz.

Keep in mind, however, that a description alone “make(s) it really hard to understand what your olfactory experience is going to be like,” particularly with designer fragrances, Crames says. “The fragrance description might be really good at telling you the kind of feeling they hope to create, but you have no idea if it will evoke that feeling in you without smelling it.”

He suggests trying a perfume in person and buying it online only if you’re already familiar with it.

Mix, match and get creative

Crames urges scent shoppers to experiment and layer different fragrances to see how they combine. He says that’s easier to do with single-note fragrances. Consider taking a classic fragrance and using a single-note perfume to highlight a specific note you love.

“There are no rules, and you get to decide — just as you do with your makeup — what your fragrance really should smell like,” Crames says. “I’m sure that you don’t use your makeup exactly the way that one particular makeup artist or brand tells you to do it.”

Whether you mix and match from fragrances or get one custom-made, Phillips says it’s important to revel in your sense of smell.

“How you smell can make you feel sexy and confident, and it can make you feel alluring,” she says. “I really ask people to honor their sense of smell and to enjoy everything that they can smell — whether it’s light and fresh in the spring, or beautiful, floral and fruity in the summer, and autumn spicy notes or woodsy notes in the winter. Enjoy the seasons and enjoy the different aromas, because it really can enhance your life so much.”