What exactly is a scent profile?
We find out how to find our signature scent.
Even as our relationships with makeup and hair care have shifted over the past year, fragrance has remained a reliable way to transcend our homes, conjure closeness to faraway relatives, and find elevation in a string of mundane days.
As we emerge into more social situations, finding a signature scent may seem like a relevant search. But how do you go about it? Unpacking the notes and recognising how they work with your unique body chemistry is the first step, and one of the key classifications of a particular perfume is its scent profile. From detailing the layered notes to identifying its scent “family,” the profile is an easy way to understand a fragrance’s composition while matching it up against the mood you want to be in when you apply.
“In the fragrance world, olfactive families are a way to break down and classify how a perfume smells rather than what it contains,” says Julien Sprecher, Creative Director of Parfums de Marly.
“Simply put, there are eight olfactive families that are divided into two groups: in the Warm group, there is fougere, oriental, and leather. In the Fresh group, you have citrus, floral, and aromatic. Interestingly, the chypre and woody families are a cross between warm and fresh. A profile can serve as the umbrella term for the main notes of a particular fragrance, it can also touch on the layers of a scent, such as the top, middle, and base notes, or how the fragrance is built.”
The profile itself does not change, as the notes it was created with will always be in the scent, but the way it smells on your skin often does. Some fragrances are linear, meaning they smell the same throughout the entirety of the wear. Most fragrances, though, do evolve on your skin over time.
Therefore, finding the right signature fragrance ultimately comes down to your personality and the mood you’re looking to access as everyone will smell it slightly differently and wear it on the skin differently too!
How do you make the selection? Well you could start by having a look through Parfum de Marly’s most sought after fragrances.
