Shopping for perfume is much like shopping for skincare and makeup. Similar to how you have to consider your style and skin type, you also have to think about your scent preference, personality, and purpose when looking for perfume. Are you planning to wear it for daytime or nighttime? Do you favour a particular scent? Are you a fan of a specific brand? These are only some of the questions that you would think of when browsing through perfume bottles. The fact that there are so many brands and perfumes today does not make the decision easier.
When it comes to perfumes, the main star is their scent. As such, knowing the common fragrance families and their corresponding notes may help you find your olfactory preference. With this, you can shop with ease and focus more on perfumes under your preferred families. No more worrying about whether the Victoria’s Secret perfume online will be too light or strong for your taste since you can check out its family and determine whether it is suitable for you!
Floral
Floral is most likely one of the most familiar scents to you since it uses the smell of fresh-cut flowers, like jasmine and rose. Some perfumes may contain a single dominant flower scent, while others may have a combination of different flowers. Within this fragrance family, there are further sub-categories that have nuances in the underlying notes. For example, you may find floral-fruity, floral-aquatic, floral-woody, and other floral combinations. If you frequently browse for Victoria’s Secret perfume online, you may find that one of the brand’s best-selling perfume contains a mix of fruity and floral scents.
Fresh
Fresh scents smell clean, simple, and bright, making them the perfect candidate for everyday use. If you love the feeling of putting on freshly washed clothes, then you will most likely enjoy the feeling of spraying on a fresh perfume to put you in a good mood. Under fresh fragrances, you may find aromatic scents, which usually incorporate a hint of lavender or wood. Fresh-aquatic scents are also popular since they mimic the smell of sea or ocean water, almost like sea salt spray for your hair.
Woody
Woody perfumes are typically opulent and made with scents like cedarwood, sandalwood, and patchouli. They are characterised by dry and woody notes, as their name suggests, but may sometimes have a dash of citrus to take it up a notch and add some freshness. Woody perfumes are said to give off a sense of elegance and timelessness since they draw their scents from earth tones. Though woody perfumes are particularly popular among men, you will also find wood fragrances designed for women’s use.
Oriental
The oriental fragrance family is characterised by warmth and sensuality, making it suitable for evening wear. It usually contains notes from ingredients like vanilla, musk, and resins to create an exotic scent. At times, it can also be combined with sweeter tones like cinnamon, or woody tones like patchouli, to soften it up. Given the seductive nature of oriental perfumes, this fragrance family typically suits people with bolder personalities or those looking for a long-lasting scent. If you find this too heavy for your taste, you can always look for fresher oriental perfumes, which are meant to be lighter to suit daytime wear.