Thursday 9 May 2019
There's another "window to your soul" which cannot be missed or overlooked: fragrance. Photo: AFP

Your perfume says a lot about your personality and it’s the easiest way for people to instantly discover a little bit more about you from the get-go. Each individual has his or her own aroma and flavour preferences so the true window to your soul may just be how you smell.

But how do you know if you’re doing it right? Amouage creative director and fragrance guru Christopher Chong helps you find your scents of direction.

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Photo: Amouage

Hailing from the US, Chong prides himself in being a respected craftsman who defies convention and pushes artistic boundaries. Multi-disciplined, he has previously dipped his fingers in literature, fashion, opera, and now, Amouage fragrances.

From choosing the perfect scent – one that best suits you – to knowing how to properly store your perfume, here are five things you should and shouldn’t do with your fragrance.

Anywhere you want to be loved.

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Photo: iStock

Traditionally, it’d be the pulse points because you need heat to develop the fragrance but with pulse points, you could have a skin allergy. If that’s the case, then go with anywhere you want to be loved. You could try the elbow area or just about anywhere you can have easy access for the scent to get into your nose.

Fragrance done right for men.

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Photo: iStock

Men always tend to go for either citrus, aromatic fragrances; very classic scents at first but they’ll eventually graduate to the dark, woody, leathery and smoky scents, which had been trending the past 10 years. The younger men now will tend to go for florals; like violets, rose, and olives, but these are mixed with leather and wood.

If you’re hairy, you may spray a little on your chest. As you go throughout your day, you’ll get a much better evolution of the scent as fragrances stick to hair. If you’re not as hairy, it’ll evaporate a lot quicker. However, you may apply anywhere want such as behind your neck.

Leave the pack at home.

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Photo: iStock

Especially here in Asia, the biggest mistake women make is their tendency to travel in packs when going shopping. It’s a no-no for perfume buying as you’d be influenced by your peers or family. Your perfume is something you’d have to discover for yourself.

You select your perfume for yourself because perfumes are supposed to represent who you are. The idea to enhance yourself to the world, your signature. It’s supposed to show the world who you are and that you’re here to stay.

Make it last.

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Photo: Amouage

The storage of your perfume bottle would be key. If you’re in a country like Malaysia, you should keep in it in the box. When it gets super hot, keep it in the fridge to keep the longevity of the perfume. If your weather has winter, you could store it in your cupboard, away from the light. While there are expiration dates on perfumes for health and safety measures, it can last forever if you store it properly.

Putting your fragrance to work.

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Photo: iStock

Fragrances for work are tougher as you’d want to show you are serious about what you do so you’d have to be more discreet. Therefore, you wouldn’t want to use your favourites, as you could be desensitised to it and end up spraying more than you should.

For women, they can go for floral. But if you want to wear your favourite opulent perfume, spritz a little bit in your wrist and rub it.

As for job interviews, a good wash or scented shower gels would be much better. For ladies, you may use body cream and lotions which has a much lower and subtler amount of fragrance release.