The Scent of a Woman

Brand New Year, brand new approach.

 

One of my closest friends' husband asked me just yesterday, 'why is it that woman cannot tell each other the truth; I mean what is the point of being friends if I cannot build into your life.' So going from this standpoint, I decided I was going to try and make the Fashion Fridays a little more helpful, a little more interactive. Give you the information you wonder about and the information thats never crossed your mind. So instead of just warding us off fashion 'faux pas', I am going to try and answer the questions you've always wondered about, but didnt have the time to find the answers too. The things you would like to tell your friend, but have not because you are too shy. You can email these to me. But how to begin and what to begin with. Now it is the end of February and it hits me. Rather it woke me up from a deep dreamless sleep, because I couldn't breath.

 

Have you ever wondered how to tell someone that they fell into a bottle of perfume? Have you ever told someone that they put on too much perfume and they did'nt comprehend? Have you ever ignored someone, who told you that you put too much perfume on? Do we understand the purpose of perfume? What is the difference between Perfume, Eau de toilette, aerosol Body spray and the difference in use. Knowing the difference could help us understand how much to put on.

 

Now personally, perfume for me is about memory. The smell of fresh bread reminds me of my childhood. Freshly cut, wet grass reminds me of spring and work (I always want to remember work...). The smell of the ocean reminds me of holidays and the smell of tea or coffee makes me want to read a book with my phone on silent. It has been said that a womans perfume should linger in a room after she has gone, not hit you over the head when she has walked in. But why does a womans perfume accost you? What is perfume?

Perfume /ˈpɜr.fjuːm/ or parfum is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds, fixatives and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent."^[1]

 

The key word is 'pleasant smell'. Perfume is an aromatic compound that is dissolved in a solvent normally ethanol or a mixture of water and ethanol. Perfume is also differentiated into different catagories based on the concentration of aroma compounds or perfume concentration.

 

• Perfume, also called extract or extrait perfume, can include 15-40% perfume concentrates. This is the purest form of scented product and is the most expensive as a result and it would be advisable to just dab where necessary.

• Eau de parfum contains about 7-15% perfume concentrates. This is the most popular and common form of perfume. It provides a long-lasting fragrance and generally doesn't cost as much as extract perfume.

 

The most common areas of use for these two above are the pulse points, behind the ears, the neck, along the breast bone also known as your sternum, the insides of wrists, elbows and knees. In Western culture it is believed that the pulse point will warm the perfume and release fragrance continually.

 

The insides of my elbows and knees,...are uncomfortable to wear perfume, I do not know whether you have experienced it differently. I do not enjoy smelling my perfume the whole day, so spraying my neck just makes me mental. So what I do is I spray my hanging clothes while they are in the wardrobe, or after I have ironed them I lay them down and spray them, not choke them, so that when I move the scent is released. When laziness hits, which happens often, then I spray myself from the shoulders down, before getting dressed. The two above last anything from 6 - the following day, hours.

 

• Eau de toilette has around 5-15% perfume concentrates. This makes for a light scent that doesn't linger as long as the more intense versions, because it is used as a skin freshner. It is also referred to as "aromatic waters" and has a high alcohol content.^[It was originally intended to be a refreshing body splash to help people wake up in the morning.

 

This is the spray that you put on and half way through the day you wish you had a refresher, in which case the product below is very helpful. The above and below last between 0 - 4 hours.

 

• Body spray is a perfume product, similar to aerosol deodorant, which is intended to be used elsewhere on the body besides the armpits. You can spray this on liberally, but remember that they had to make it light somehow as well so they use alcohol as a solvent.

 

When you get that, 'I have swallowed pure alcohol' or some metal, like aluminium taste in your mouth then it is normally because someone over used the two above. We all know what aluminium tastes like, right.

 

• Eau de cologne is sometimes used interchangeably with the term eau de toilette and has around 3-8% perfume concentrates. However, the concoction began as the name of a light, fresh fragrance mixed with citrus oils and was made popular by Napoleon. Some perfumers today have a version of this called eau fraiche and unless you are me, it is for men. The smell of lemons makes me think of summer.

 

Now did you not think that I was going to review the  Dino Risi's 1974 Italian film Profumo di donna or the 1992 American  remake. Was this not a little more helpful than a movie review.

 

Be remembered well ladies, and have pity on your unsuspecting mate. Or the friend who had to get the courage to voice this. The people you travel with in closed confines or work with every, single day and remember with Perfume, Eau de parfum and all the alcohol based scenters, less is more!

 

When in doubt ask a friend, 'hey can you still smell my scent still.'