Lifestyle Choices

But Does It Last?

One of the most commonly asked fragrance questions is, “How can I make my fragrance last longer?” A number of factors contribute to the answer, ranging from personal body chemistry (do you know, for instance, that oily skin retains a fragrance longer than dry skin?) to the weather (soaring summer temperatures cause Your scent to fade sooner than in the winter months). But take heart: here are some suggestions on how to keep a good thing going. (more…)

One of the most subtle but nonetheless powerful of our five senses is smell. Perhaps it is precisely because we don’t have a very highly developed olfactory sense when compared with other animals that what we do smell has a particularly potent effect on us. A pleasing smell or fragrance can linger in the mind and in the imagination like a haunting melody and trigger memories and feelings in a highly visceral way. Learning to appreciate and use fine fragrances is part of the development and refinement of this elusive sense, and one of the most alluring aspects of becoming a woman.

The cosmetic use of fragrance has had a long and varied history. For instance, it is known that Cleopatra used perfumed oils to enhance her legendary beauty. Later the Greeks and Romans refreshed themselves between courses at banquets with the application of water that had been perfumed by flowers. (more…)

The dozens of American and European scents now available for your sniffing pleasure can almost all be placed in one of the seven basic groups described by the Fragrance Foundation:

Single florals—sweet, heady fragrances that seek to capture the essence of a single flower, such as rose, carnation, violet, or lilac. Examples: Bellodgia by Caron; Dior, Dior, by Christian Dior; Muguet des Bois by Coty. (more…)