The Globe and Mail
With customized lotions and potions becoming the norm in skincare, one of the most intimate ways to put your signature touch on your beauty routine is through fragrance layering. This advanced approach to scent involves wearing more than one perfume at a time for an end result that's completely unique to the wearer. It's a natural extension of fragrance wardrobing, the idea that we have a collection of perfumes to wear according to mood, rather than one single signature scent.
Toronto-based writer Samra Habib began layering scents when she found too much similarity in the offerings on the fragrance counter. "It was very rare to come across a scent that made me curious about the notes because I'd never smelled them before or because they smelled so unusual but in a good way," she says. Rather than the carefully composed eaux of a perfume house, Habib gravitates toward mixing the oils of single notes that she enjoys, such as palo santo, rose and sandalwood. "Smelling cardamom grounds me because it reminds me of my mom using it in everything in our Pakistani household," she says.
There are no hard-and-fast rules to layering scents, and creating your own signature aroma will involve a lot of experimentation. Research the notes in your existing collection to find like themes and ingredients (say, florals or citrus) before testing different combinations and application rituals, remembering that your lotions, balms and creams also play a part in your symphony of scent. As with any fragrance, keep a deft hand when applying, Habib advises. "You don't want the scent to announce you before you arrive."
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What to try:
The 7 Virtues Custom Blend Box, $115 through the7virtues.com.
This set contains four of Halifax-based The 7 Virtues's fragrances, each made with natural essential oils sourced to support nations rebuilding after war or strife. Company founder Barb Stegemann blends Noble Rose of Afghanistan with Vetiver of Haiti through a unique application technique that involves hugging her husband.
Clean Reserve Six-Piece Travel Spray Layering Collection, $67 at Sephora (sephora.com).
These petite five-millilitre bottles are better together. Try Sueded Oud over any combination of the travel sprays to bring out a layer of rich, musky woods, or Blonde Rose to add a fresh-floral sexiness.
Aesop Hwyl Eau de Parfum, $165 through aesop.com.
Calling to mind the stillness of an ancient Japanese forest, this warm and smoky aromatic is rich in spices, providing an earthy, sensual base to anchor your aroma. It's also complementary to the fragrance profiles of the brand's other scented offerings, making it a layering natural.
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