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The quality of perfume can assessed with the these simple questions:

• Does it smell wonderful on you?
• Has it got the right strength?
• Does the scent last?
• What does it contain? How was it made?

These may be a overly simplistic questions but ‘beauty lies in the eye of the beholder’. In other words, the quality of perfume is personal to you.

It doesn’t matter what the experts say, you have to love wearing a particular fragrance or it will always be of a lower quality compared with the fragrance you love.

How To Check Perfume Quality?

Having said this, there are a few criteria you can use the check perfume quality and we explain these here:

• The quality of the note: Do you love the fragrance, when you smell it on a smelling strip, when you spray it and when you actually smell it on your skin, both initially and over time, e.g. at the end of the day?
• Quality of the ingredients: Do the ingredients smell pleasant? Can you smell quality perfume oils? Do they smell pure? Does the fragrance have a certain naturality?
• Quality of the accord: Does the note or accord have complexity and depth or it is overly simplistic? Can you only smell a single ingredient or is their a myriad of oils to intrigue? Is this accord rounded? Does it change much over time? Do you like how the fragrances evolves over time on your skin?
• Originality of the fragrance: is this a unique note or do you smell it everywhere on others? Is the perfume old fashioned or modern? Does the perfume develop the same on you or is it different on every one of your friends that tries it? Do you get complimented for your fragrance?
• Power & Radiance: Does the fragrance have the intensity to project? In other words, do others notice it when you wear it? What is sillage of the fragrance, i.e. does it leave a lasting trail when you pass?
• Longevity of the note: how does the fragrance last on you and/or on a paper smelling strip? Is it gone in an hour or is it still present after 8 hours? Do keep in mind that your nose gets used to your own perfume. The best way to check this is to ask others, such as your partner, children and friends. Does the note still smell wonderful at the end of day?
• Versatility: Can you wear this perfume at various occasions or is ideal at specific times? For example, is it perfect for the Opera or would you wear it when you are exercising? Can you wear during different seasons of year?

The Best Fragrance?

The question of “What is the Best Fragrance” is a personal one. In the end, however, the answer is quite simple: “Do you love it?”

Forget the criteria we have presented about the quality of perfume or what the experts are saying (and even family & friends) and go with your own feeling for a note. If you love it and love how it smells on you, then the rest is irrelevant.

The best fragrance is one suits the wearer!

In many ways, some of these assessment criteria of quality are similar to food, drink, music and even art or design. Unlike fragrance, we find it much easier to articulate our taste and reject sometime we don’t like, even if the Connoisseurs disagree with us. Taste is personal and so it fragrance.

You Must Experience Perfume

If you love quality perfume products, then you must have a look at our Perfume Experience Box. It allows to try our best-in-class perfumes at home and on your skin. The is no better way for you to check the quality of perfume.

You will only find the best fragrance for you by trying different notes, the more the better. Our Perfume Experience Box, the Fragrance Library, contains 12 x fragrances and you might discover accords and notes that you would not have naturally gravitated towards but that you find suit you superbly.

Introduction

There are times when you want to be sure that you are beautifully fragrant and your most gorgeous, such as a date, at work or when you are keeping fit, and our perfumer, Huib Maat, reveals his 8 x tips how to make perfume last longer for these occasions.

When you celebrate love and affection with that special someone, e.g. Valentine’s Day, one of the best ways to guarantee these days become memorable is to link these occasions with a delectable fragrance that will create a lasting memory.

We all have have these memories that can be triggered instantly by the mere hint of a scent, even many, many years later.

However, sometimes, no matter how much you love your fragrance, it seems to fade away took quickly. Don’t let this dampen your mood, with a few simple tips and tricks, you can ensure your fragrance lasts longer and enjoy its notes throughout the entire day.”

A Perfumer’s Tips For A Long-lasting Fragrance

Here Huib shares his 10 x top tips how to make perfume last longer for you:

1. Apply Lotion or Vaseline
   We often get asked the question: Does vaseline make perfume last longer? The answer is yes but it is not just Vaseline. This is how: Apply vaseline or an unscented moisturiser, body oil or lotion to the areas of your skin where you plan to spray your fragrance. Their oils will “bind” the fragrance to your skin, thus slowing down its evaporation and extending how it lasts on your skin. In our opinion an unscented moisturiser, lotion or oil is preferable to vaseline, as vaseline does have a slight odour of petrolatum.
2. Don’t Touch
   Don’t rub your wrists together after applying your fragrance. The friction will stimulate evaporation and spread your parfum over a bigger area. The bigger the area, the more perfume evaporates. Instead, allow the fragrance to settle and dry naturally.
3. Be Cool
   Many of us apply their perfume to the pulse points. Pulse points are areas of your body where the blood vessels are close to the surface of the skin. In other words, your skin will be slightly warmer and the extra heat helps the fragrance to release more easily. This means, however, that your perfume won’t last as long as it evaporates quicker. Instead, apply your perfume to the cooler areas of your body, if you want it to last longer, e.g. your arms, chest, back.
4. Hair We Go
   Fan or open your hair and spray fragrance lightly into it. Your hair will help to hold the fragrance back and reduce its evaporation, while also allowing the scent to be released every time your hair moves. A alternative option is to spray the air and then walk through it but this is not as effective.
5. Under Your Clothes
   Apply your perfume to areas where it will be covered by your clothes. This will hold it back to release slowly with your movement and body temperature throughout the day.
6. Be Intense
   When you know you can’t top up your perfume during the day, opt for an Eau de Parfum or Parfum over a lighter Eau de Toilette or Eau de Cologne. Eau de Parfum and Parfum contain a higher perfume oil concentration, allowing it to last longer on skin. Many companies also offer Intense or Extreme versions of their accords.
   You might ask wondering whether spraying double the amount won’t achieve the same as using a version with a higher concentration. To some extend this is correct, however, when you spray double you also double the amount of alcohol and the extra alcohol will lift more perfume oils off your skin. In other words, the extra alcohol is counter productive.
   A better solution is our next tip.
7. All Over
   Instead of spraying your perfume twice in the same area, apply your Eau de Toilette or Eau de Parfum all over your body, e.g. after moisturising your skin and/or just before dressing. This will reduce the effect of the alcohol lifting the fragrance off your skin, helps the fragrance to adhere to your skin (via the oil in the moisturiser) and keeps the fragrance under your clothes.
8. Top up
   We recommend that you top up your perfume throughout the day. You will probably question the validity of this tip but keep in mind that your perfume contains base notes that won’t evaporate as fast as the top notes. They will still be there throughout the day and just need a helping hand. Re-applying your perfume, ads the top notes of your perfume afresh and allows them to work in unison with the existing base notes still on your skin.
   A travel size perfume is ideal for this, as you can keep it in your handbag, gym bag or car.
9. Get Into The Fabric
   Spraying your favourite scarf, jumper, coat, hat, i.e. any clothing really, is another way to extend the life of your fragrance, as the perfume oils get trapped within the fibres to release slowly with your movement and body temperature throughout the day.
   However, proceed cautiously and carefully to test in a small, obscured area first. Some fragrance oils can stain fabric and there is no point in ruining your favourite piece.
10. Dark & Cool
    Store your favourite fragrance in a cool, dark place, away from direct sunlight. Light and heat can cause the fragrance to deteriorate and age faster, thereby reducing its fragrance quality, complexity, longevity and colour. A good place to store your perfume is in a beauty fridge, drawer or closet, away from windows and other sources of heat & light.

Know you know how to make perfume last longer, you ensure that your fragrance stays with you throughout the day, leaving a lasting impression and creating memories for those around you.

Pairfum London: Intense & Longlasting Fragrance

Pairfum London is a boutique perfumery house with an acutely developed sensitivity for the taste and ‘zeitgeist’ in fragrance.

As you could see above, we also know how to make perfume last longer which is why our Eau de Parfums are only offered as ‘Intense’ versions. We want to ensure our fragrances stay with you throughout the day. So many Eau de Toilettes from Couture & Designer Labels disappoint, as you need to top up after just a couple of hours.

We pride ourselves in developing beautiful, clean & natural fragrances that you can fall in love with or as we call it: Luxury with a Conscience.

Introduction

“How to Choose a Perfume?” This is a question that we frequently hear from our customers.

They don’t want to be left empty-handed when it comes to a special occasion when they know that a fragrance would be ideal: Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Birthday, Wedding, Anniversary, Christmas, … We are sure you can think of many more.

A beautiful bottle of fragrance can be a great gift to show your partner, mother or friend just how much you love or appreciate them, but knowing which fragrance to pick can be tricky. From various different notes and ingredients, to different strengths and formulations, picking the right scent can be difficult. A fragrance is such a personal choice.

Huib Maat, our Master Perfumer at Pairfum London is ready to help:
“When it comes to selecting a perfume as a gift, it’s important to remember that fragrance is deeply personal and evocative. The right scent can transport you to a special moment or memory. This is what makes it such a powerful and meaningful gift for occasions like Christmas, Valentine’s or Mother’s/Father’s Day.”

Here Huib shares a simple guide on how to choose a perfume.

1. Consider The Strength

Let’s start with: “How to choose a perfume concentration?”

Fragrances come in various different strengths, with more concentrated perfumes able to last longer due to a higher concentration of fragrance oils.

If you want to be a little more extravagant, or you know your partner seldom tops their perfume up over the day, then opt for a stronger formulation such as a Parfum (last 6 -8 hours) or Eau de Parfum (4 – 5 hours). Also consider the ‘Intense’ or ‘Extreme’ versions of the accord. They have become increasingly popular over the past years.

Eau de Toilettes and Eau de Colognes are more cost-effective and very popular fragrance options. They usually last between 1 – 3 hours and are less likely to overwhelm the senses, if you’re not 100% sure about a more intense scent.

We have an in-depth guide the Pros & Cons of the different perfume concentrations in our Frequently Asked Questions section for perfumes.

2. Pay Attention To The Fragrances They Already Wear

If you know the types of fragrances the person already likes, you can use that information to help pick something new.

Perfumes all come with distinct notes, and are often put into scent or olfactive categories such as Woody, Musk, Citrus and Floral. Find out which olfactive category the person prefers as well as the scent notes in their favourite perfume before looking for something similar.

For example, if they like Amber scents, they might like something with similar woodsy, sweet notes such as scents that have notes of cardamom, vanilla and wood.

Should you like to find out more, we have an introduction to the language of perfumery and explain how to describe perfume.

3. Try Before You Buy

You may ask: “How to choose a perfume when I am in the middle of the perfumery isle?”

Many department and beauty stores will offer testers for fragrances. Take advantage of this opportunity to sample a few different scents before making your final decision.

When trying different perfumes, make sure you use a paper smelling strip first, as opposed to your hand. Only when you find something that you like from the paper should you offer your hand or arm to test it on your skin.

This is how you how you do it:

• Write the name of the scent on the strip before spraying it 2 – 3 times, giving it a second to dry.
• Now, smell the strip. Make sure not do this too deeply, as you will fatigue or block your nose. Instead, smell lightly until you sense the top notes before pulling it away.
• Come back to this strip later to get a feel for the heart and base notes before you make a decision as these can drastically alter your perception of the scent.
• Once you like the note, try it on your skin. Only on your skin can you get a true sense of whether this is the perfect perfume for you.

But wait, … you are choosing perfume for somebody else!

The Perfume Experience Box is an ideal solution in this situation. It allows the person to trial 12 x different fragrances:

• in their own home (and without the scented cloud of the perfumery isle),
• at their own pace (and not in a rush through the airport),
• first on paper and then on their skin, and
• over time to see how long the fragrance lasts.

This is how to choose a new perfume for somebody else and it is nearly impossible to get it wrong. You no longer have to find the perfect perfume. They will and they will thank you.

4. Ask For A Tester

Even if you think you have got a perfect pick, it’s not a bad idea to see if you can get a mini tester of the fragrance you are buying for your loved one to test out before ‘cracking open’ the big bottle. This means you or your loved one can return the scent easily, if it’s not the right fit.

Having a tester is especially helpful if you are not sure whether you bought the right concentration or whether you should have opted for a more intense fragrance.

With this in mind, we include a ‘free tester’ with every fragrance order to ensure your confidence that you can exchange it without difficulties.

Ultimately, the most important thing is to select a fragrance that you think the person will love and that will make them feel special.

About Pairfum London

We are Pairfum London, a boutique perfumery house with an acutely developed sensitivity for the taste and ‘zeitgeist’ in fragrance. We pride ourselves in developing niche fragrances that you can fall in love with and enjoy for a long time.