Lifestyle Choices

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. During the Renaissance, Italy became the center of fragrance popularity, and when the famous Catherine de Médicis married Henry II of France, she took with her to her adopted country her adoration for perfumes of all kinds. By the eighteenth century, the renowned French cultivation of flowers in the southern regions added new and exotic possibilities to the delightful world of scent.

Today, perfume and all its ancillary forms such as toilet water and cologne have become increasingly sophisticated. If you learn to use your nose wisely and well, you can look forward to all sorts of inhaling pleasures.

What Is Perfume?

Although the term is frequently used generically, perfume actually refers to the strongest, most concentrated, and lasting form of fragrance. A combination of essential oils or synthetics and fixatives, a fine perfume may contain as many as three hundred elements. The fragile oils are added to an alcohol base, which acts as a carrier for the fragrance. The amount of alcohol added to the blend determines the strength of the fragrance. Although the Europeans, and in particular the French, are famous for their wonderful and alluring scents, in recent years many American designers and perfumers have burst upon the scene, and today’s young woman can sample scents from an extensive selection of domestic and foreign products.

Properly applied (never too little, never too much; scent should whisper its message, not shout), perfume is the ultimate fragrance experience. Glamorous, mysterious, compelling, and beautiful, it creates a subtle but unmistakable aura about you at any age, in any context.

Application

Always apply perfume to your pulse points—behind the ears, in the crook of the arm, at the temples, at the base of the throat, and behind the knees. The heat generated by the pulse beat will help accentuate the fragrance and bring it to life on your skin.

Even the most potent of perfumes won’t last all day, so you need to reapply it periodically. You might want to carry a travel-size applicator or spray bottle in your purse. Keep in mind, too, that perfume is most effective when applied with an atomizer; the atomizer works to diffuse the alcohol, and the fragrance clings better to your skin. You can purchase perfume in an atomizer of its own (generally, refills are sold too) or start a collection of pretty, colored-glass antique ones. They are wonderful and feminine adornments to dresser or vanity.

For added indulgence, spray perfume on the hem of a skirt, the lining of your coat, your handkerchiefs and your lingerie.

Toilet Water

Toilet water or eau de toilette is the next step down from perfume in strength and in cost. It contains no other fragrance note than that of the original perfume, but the perfume notes are expanded so that it seems more subtle to the senses and lighter in feeling. Because it is less expensive than perfume, toilet water can be sprayed, poured, shaken, and dabbed on with greater freedom.

You can use toilet water as the basis for your application of fragrance, as well as splashing it on after a bath or shower to keep yourself smelling great and feeling fresh for hours. Remember, too, that toilet water can be stored in the refrigerator during the summer. The effect of the cooled alcohol is delicious—try it and see how invigorated you feel.

Toilet water can also be added to the rinse water when washing your underthings—slips, bras, panties, camisoles, socks—by hand. Your clothes will love you for it. Don’t forget to spray toilet water lightly on the ironing board before pressing your blouses, lingerie, and summer dresses. You can even saturate a large piece of cotton with your favorite scent and tuck it into your pajama drawer you’ll have the sweetest dreams on the block all night long!

Cologne

This is the lightest and sheerest form of liquid fragrance. It is named for the German city of Cologne, where it originated in the seventeenth century. Because it is so light, you can probably afford to buy it frequently. Let yourself go with cologne; it’s hard to overdo it.

Like toilet water, cologne may be sprayed or splashed on directly after a bath or shower; do it while your skin is still slightly damp and then let yourself air dry. Not only will you feel great, but you’ll have locked fragrance into your skin as well.

Splash a few drops of cologne on your comb and run it through your hair on a hot and steamy day what a fragrant way to cool down fast! Cologne will also keep your hands cool and dry because of its high alcohol content; if you find that excessive perspiration is a problem, give it a try. Cologne also feels terrific when splashed on hot, tired feet, and it can be marvelously effective as a rubdown to relieve aches and pains from too much jogging, stretching, or volleyball.

Like toilet water, you can store your cologne in the refrigerator when temperatures climb. Both toilet water and cologne can be purchased in a variety of forms: splash-on bottle, spray-on aerosol, stick, solid, and roll-on.

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