THE WINNER'S whiff
You are not going to believe this but smelling great is an art. It’s pretty much like dressing up great. Many have a PhD in it, leading their peers to hold them in silent admiration, with a tinge of jealousy perhaps. Thing is, no matter how many high-end beauty products and varied perfume com-binations one owns, it can never compensate for the understanding of what to use, how to use and when to use in addition to the understanding of one’s body type and working environment. So whether you are working a party or being cubicle prince, do not hesi-tate to lap up a few tips on picking the right notes and flaunting them appropriately unless you want to look like someone who didn’t get the memo.
First things first
Smelling great is not just about wearing the right dose of the right perfume. It is about personal hygiene first. Never underrate the value of brushing your teeth and getting a shower. Do not ignore feet hygiene ei-ther.
Now on to products that make you smell great, how to pick them, wear them and stay smelling fresh and great through the day.
Deodorants: A definite must-have in everyone’s closet. Deos save you from nasty underarm odours. Pick something pleasant and long lasting and some-thing that goes with your personality. Note that fra-grances sort of define your personality – just like the clothes you pick. There are a variety of fragrances available, from fresh lemon to sea scents, spicy notes and, flowery or fruity notes. Pick whatever interests you.
Pick something non-fragrant or light if you are in the habit of using heavily scented after-shaves and colognes. Ensure that your deodorants and perfumes have similar tones, else you will end up smelling like a flower shop in a strawberry jam factory which, is not a good idea.
Use deodorants in mild doses for, no matter how much you pour into your armpits at one shot, it’s not going to last forever. Their degree of effective-ness degrade with time and bacterial build will restart anyway. The better thing to do is wear just enough deodorant and carry some in your bag so that you can use a little half way through your day if neces-sary. Also remember, deos are for the skin, not your clothes. If you smelling bad, get a shower first and change your clothes.
Antiperspirants: If you perspire a lot, ditch the deodorant and grab some antiperspirant. Antiperspi-rants act by blocking the glands that produce sweat. Antiperspirants may also need multiple applications through the day depending on how active a person you are. However, it would be a good idea to get medical advice if you have hyperhidrosis and are a mess by the end of the day.
Perfumes: Perfumes have traced a long and valu-able history with mankind through various cultures and civilisations. It is a man’s (and woman’s) best friend. No, diamonds lost that status to perfumes a long time ago.
Fragrances are perfume oils in a solvent, mostly alcohol. The percentage of perfume oil to solvent de-fines the strength of the perfume. All perfumes have three notes – a top note, a heart or middle note and a base note. If you notice closely, fragrances will devel-op in three stages after one wears a perfume. The top notes are the initial lighter smells from the fragrance like citrus and light florals. They hold for about 8 – 15 minutes. The heart or middle order notes develop after the top note clears, usually kicking in about 30 minutes after being sprayed on. Example: Strong florals. Base notes are what anchors the fragrance to the skin. They develop after the middle order scents have subsided and are noticeable when the fragrance has been on the skin for a longer duration. Example: Smoky, leathery and spicy notes. Some fragrances release notes in multiple stages through the day. You need to wear it through a day to understand them.
If you have to give up one between deodorant and after-shave, drop the after shave. It won’t hurt.
Pick scented nail polishes if you need more jazz. They emit fragrance through the day.
Hair perfume sprays contain alcohol. Use as little as possible. Spray from about 3 – 7 inches from hair.
Mouthwashes with alcohol dry mouth and reduce saliva secretion complicating/increasing issues of badbreath. Pick non alcohol based mouth washes.
To choose perfumes, try many or as many as you can. Figure out what notes you love. Also keep in mind the places you intend to wear that fragrance to. You don’t want to wear something ultra-loud to office, so pick milder tones of the same scent if you like it so much. Pick a minimum of two different per-fumes – one for the day and the other for an evening out with colleagues. Try and keep your notes for the day lighter than those of the one for your evenings. Citrus, light florals, mild woody/light spicy notes are perfect for day. Balance it out with heavier woody, leathery or spicy notes in the evenings.
How to wear a cologne
Perfumes have to be worn on your pulse points which are areas of the body where more heat is gen-erated – inner wrists, behind ear lobes, inner elbows, in the cleavage, base of neck and behind knees. Always put on fragrance before putting on clothes and jewellery. Perfumes can cause great damage to those two and leave you with a heartburn for being careless. You may spray, dab or swipe on (if solid) perfume. Perfume makers also advise that you spray the fragrance in the air and walk through it. Although this is a great and near perfect way to let the fragrance envelope you, you might end up wasting a lot of the expensive stuff this way. Whatever you do, never ever rub fragrance into the skin.
By doing that, you ruin the original composition of its constituent elements and the fragrance will change into something else altogether. Another thing to keep in mind is, no matter what you use (deodorants, antiperspirants, colognes, after-shaves), be very aware of the volume you throw on yourself. Never walk out of home smelling like you bathed in a tub of that stuff.
BUDDING MANAGERS
APRIL 2014 ISSUE
Rate This Article:
Posted On: Tuesday, 13 May, 2014 - 11:48