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How do you decide what scent to wear?


How do you decide what scent to wear? Is it based on your mood? The season? What you last bought?

I think it’s mostly mood for me, or perhaps occasion. Of course, some of it is dictated by what I may or may not be testing as well, but I’m not a particularly prolific perfume reviewer so it’s more often a mood-based decision.

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Dina Avatar

there are about 15 bottles on my shelf which i just can’t part from, probably just waiting for the right occasions to use them all 😀 and there i stand every morning, wondering if it’s gonna be a special enough day for a special scent, but i usually end up using an escada summer fragrance or cheap dupe for them, summer like winter

Makaegan Avatar

It’s definitely mostly weather-based for me, but occasionally my mood (and even my outfit) play a factor. I don’t wear perfume, but I have six or seven different “mists” that I rotate in and out–fruity, exotic, fresh, warm, floral, etc–depending on the day. I’ve been gearing more toward the fresh/floral scents (B&B Country Girl, for example) now that Spring is just about here. When summer rolls around I’ll lean more toward something fruity or exotic like B&B Pink Chiffon or Exotic Coconut. For Autumn I really like VS Warm&Cozy or B&B Twilight Woods and for Winter I gear towards something like B&B Be Enchanted or Dark Kiss. But it also depends on what I’m wearing and how I feel. If I’m feeling kind of blah and wearing sweatpants and a hoodie in spring, I’ll pick up the Twilight Woods. Similarly, if I’m just having a really chill/relaxed jeans and tshirt day in the middle of winter, I’ll probably pick up Country Girl. Haha I sound like a crazy person, but I really believe that a lot can go into choosing a scent.

Dinitchka Avatar

It depends on my mood and what I am doing for the day.

I have about 75 bottles of perfume. They are divided in 4 sections: fall/winter, spring/summer, all year long and have to be layerd (these are about 90% fall/winter scents).

Mood usually consists of just looking over what I have, figuring out what’s on the days agenda and grabbing two and spraying away. I tend to go lightly for work and running errands, night time is heavier and special occasions gets a medium amount of sprays.

Dinitchka Avatar

Well, my collection started early on and I am a sucker for GWPs and the holidays are a big time for my perfume binges and so are my Ulta rewards. Last coupon got me 6 perfumes. I also layer perfumes together. I get use out of 99% and hold very few for special moments.

I used to have 1 and wear only 1 but I got to thinking … Would I wear the same pair of shoes everyday? No. Would I wear the same dress everyday? No. Same pants everyday? No. I look at my perfume as part of my outfit. I know they can go bad but so far I’ve had fantastic luck. I also have old perfume bottles, but due to age and smell, I don’t use them.

Heather Avatar

There aren’t many fragrances I like or use on a regular basis. My everyday is Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Body Oil. It smells very summery but it has just the right amount of vanilla that I can wear it whenever. Also in my rotation is Calvin Klein Euphoria or Estee Lauder Sensuous for when I need a sexier nighttime scent. Recently I have also added Chanel Chance eau fraiche for when I feel I want something a little different than BG. Those four are really it!

John Avatar

I only have one cologne, the YSL L’Homme and I love it! If I had multiple ones, I guess I’d pick based on the weather outside. If it’s cold, something a big more musky. If it’s hot, something more fresh, Fortunately the YSL is the perfect medium of both. 🙂

Romzs Avatar

Definitely the weather! Right now it’s hot and humid so I go for Silk by Zara – which is cheap, light & lovely! I just bought Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom & Honey, but I find it too sweet for the summer, maybe when the weather cools down, I’d be able to spritz it on! 🙂

Mel Avatar

Depends where I’m going. School/Class – Marc Jacobs Daisy, Errands/Shopping – YSL Parisenne, Going Out/Special Occasion – Chloe Love, Chloe

Ljana Avatar

I’ll pick my scent according to the season, time of day, occasion, mood and clothes, although the clothes are obviously subject to the same criteria.

In the summer, I’ll mostly wear citrus-y scents during the day. I’m usually using either Dior Escale a Portofino or Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Mandarin Basilic.
In the spring, I like flowery, single-note scents (Crabtree and Evelyn Rosewater or Lavander) or something light, green and herbal, like Bulgari Omnia Green Jade or Versace Versense.
In the fall and winter, I’ll wear richer, deeper, more powdery scents. Chanel Coco Mademoiselle is a F/W staple of mine, but this winter I’ve used Love, Chloe quite a lot. For cold evenings and special occasions, Lancome Magie Noire is my favorite.
If I can’t decide, I’ll go for Chanel Chance, either the original or Eau Fraiche. That one seems polished and inoffensive enough for most occasions.

Miss J Avatar

I only have a few scents. I typically try to have a fragrance that I feel good wearing all year around and for any occasion. Aside from that one, main scent, I might pick up a second, some rollerball/mini version, and/or body spritz to integrate depending upon mood, weather, special occasion, etc.

Michelle Avatar

All mood-based.
Cheerful/bubbly – bath&body works “Forever Sunshine”
Pretty – Gucci “Envy Me”
At Ease – Hanae Mori “butterfly”
Hyper – Any scent from The Morbid the Merrier
Can’t decide – bath&body works “Sweet Pea”

Brooke Avatar

I also choose based on mood, but maybe I’m a little unusual in that I also choose based on what I’m wearing that day. For example, if I’m in something particularly girly or feminine I’ll go for Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh or Gucci II. If its more relaxed like jeans, I’ll go for Jennifer Aniston. And if I’m wearing something more mature or formal i’ll go for Coach signature or something similar. And I also go for Givenchy Ange ou Demon Secret Elixir if I’m wearing purple because it just smells purple to me, lol. Just a couple examples.

Yazmin Avatar

I only ever have one perfume open at a time. so until that completley runs out i wont open another one. I have like 5 of them sealed in a box under my bed. and ive told anyone is who is considering a gift for me, not to buy me anymore.

Stephanie t-p Avatar

If I don’t know what to wear I always grab my Burberry weekend but of I wanna switch it up I just grab the first one I can get a hold of ( I have ten to fifteen different) the only three I don’t grab for are neiges, Armani code and Burberry body, neiges because I like that during christmastime and the other two for dates because they’re my boyfriends favorite

t_zwiggy Avatar

Weather, outfit, occasion and mood. In that order. I mostly wear fresh and fruity scents during spring/summer and when I’m wearing white/light/pastel clothes. Warm, spicy and heavy fragrances are for cold or rainy days with dark clothes and sultry makeup.

stacey Avatar

depends on the occasion and who I am going to interact with..ie.work, night out, shopping etc….cannot put out a strong scent at work, because there are those who are allergic to perfumes.

Kathy S. Avatar

I’ve been using Jessica McClintock (I guess it’s the classic one) for 20+ years; it’s like a signature scent for me and, no matter what, I go back to it every time. I like crisper, clean florals. In winter, however, I use some Coco Mademoiselle. I have a few florals, like Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb or Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria Jasminora, but they tend to have a crisper edge.

Rebecca Avatar

A combo of mood and weather. I have a few scents that are definitely pick me up scents that I love when I’m tired or in a bad mood. But some of my favorite smells, Lust by LUSH and Hypnotic Poison by Dior, are WAY too overwhelming in hot weather so I have to keep an eye on that.

Susan Avatar

I have always associated scents with color. When I sniff a fragrance I get a mental picture of a color. So I wear a fragrance that seems compatible to the colors that I’m wearing. I still split my scents into seasons. Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter and go from there. I have always wondered if anyone else out there choses their scents in this way. Be fun to know that I’m not the only quirky person here.

Rebecca Avatar

I tend to wear my perfumes or scents depending on season or occasion. I have about 10 bottles of perfume and more body spray than i can count, but I feel like wearing them by season to try and get an even usage so im not just using the same few over and over all year. When it comes to occasion I have a few specific perfumes that I will wear that smell a bit more mature or classy for outings or important/family events

Sunny Avatar

For someone who is always looking around for the next best thing, I am amazingly loyal scent-wise. I own 2 perfumes at the moment. One is Miss Dior Cherie (it’s been my signature scent for a couple of years now), and the other is Givenchy Very Irresistible Sensual EDP. That’s the one I use when the weather is colder, or for a night out. I just think it’s SO hard to find a perfume that I like and that smells like “me,” so it’s always a big decision to purchase a perfume.

JEN Avatar

I have three perfumes and each of them have certain notes that determine why I wear them:

Hanae Mori Butterfly: for special occasions during the Spring/Summer. Usually weddings or some event like that. This is a sweet smelling perfume so I don’t use it very often and I use very little.

Gucci Flora Eau Fraiche: My everday perfume, in all seasons and any mood. It’s the perfume I wear when I don’t know what to wear. It’s a floral scent which makes it nice to wear during Spring/Summer but it’s not too floral. It still smells of a winter scent probably due to the Sandalwood.

MAC Turquatic: I love this clean, fresh scent during the Summer especially at night. People always ask me what my perfume is when I wear this. It’s very masculine which I love for some reason. I feel so sexy wearing this; like I’ve been with a hot man for a whole day and still have his smell on me.

Lark Avatar

I have only one, the original Michael by Michael Kors. It makes my head go !ping! which is exactly what your perfume should do. One is plenty; I like Marc Jacobs too but it got complicated having two. And it doesn’t do what Michael does.

Megan Avatar

I decide based on a combination of season and mood. In the spring/summer I have floral and citrus-y scents out (Bright Crystal – Versace, Acqua di Gioia – Armani, Lovestruck – Vera Wang, Summer for Women – FCUK, etc.) and for fall/winter, spicy, warm and oriental scents (Armani Code for Women, Hypnotic Poison – Dior, etc.).

Rebecca Avatar

I usually switch between two different ones, kind of depending on what kinds of things I have planned for the day and what time of year it is. If I want something breezy and fun (like if I’m going shopping or out to lunch), I use DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom. If I want something a bit more sophisticated yet still noticeable (like if I’m going out to dinner, or anywhere in the evening, really), I use “Stella” by Stella McCartney (which is my absolute, all-time favorite perfume ever). I pretty much only use Stella during the winter, though.

Krista Avatar

I’m not much of a scent person, one proof is that I’ve never spent a single penny on a perfume my whole life, most of it are gifts from family and friends. But I do find myself gravitating towards a Victoria Secret Love Rocks perfume on an everyday basis, important event, party, lazy days don’t really dictate my choice of fragrance. If I like it, I’ll stick to it to the very last drop.

Sally Avatar

After I do my makeup, I go to a shelf which holds all my perfumes and smell them one by one. Whichever one “speaks” to me that day is what I wear.

Joan Avatar

I love fragrance and reach for the lightest scent possible on those occasions that I do wear it. Strong fragrance has an ill-intended effect which I recently experienced first hand. A woman in the market had so much fragrance on that I had a terrible reaction and had to leave the immediate area. It was unbelievable and something that I’d never experienced. So, if low flying aircraft can detect your fragrance, it’s way too much. As a result, I’m more sensitive to others who might likewise have a similar reaction to fragrances.

Barbara Avatar

Am the opposite of everyone here! Perfume is my obsession, and I wear it according to mood and occasion. My perfume collection is bigger than my makeup collection!

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