Fashion Your Fragrance Training Manual Section #1 Fragrance Training History of perfume: The name Perfume comes from the Latin word per fume which means through smoke - because the earliest perfumes were incense based, and were made from spices and herbs such as coriander and frankincense. What are the Scents that FYF uses? FYF offers over 98 different scents that a client can use to create their own custom blended perfume or cologne. A scent sheet is provided to help understand each scent and what the properties are. The scents are categorized into 4 different families of scents. Blue is Floral Yellow is Citrus Green is Woodsy / Earth Red is Fruits / Foods. Does FYF use Essential Oils? No. FYF does NOT use essential oils. FYF uses professional grade synthetic fragrance oils. Some essential oils can actually harm the skin or cause light sensitivity. What is the best way to create a custom blended fragrance? The following is an overview on how a client can create their own custom blended fragrance and also some blending strategies that can be suggested to clients who are looking for assistance: Describe each category of scents and ask the client if any scents have pleasant memories or feelings associated with them. Ask them what scent categories have been in the perfumes or colognes they have they enjoyed in the past. Ask the client to find about 6-10 different scents that they like and make a test strip for each of those scents. Clients need to write the name of the scent on one end of the strip and use the dram (scent bottles) to roll on and apply scent on the other end of the test strip. Clients should select a group of 3 or 4 scents and then smell them together to test the combination of the fragrance. Try not to let the test strips touch each other. The client should try different combinations by replacing one of the scents with a different one and try that combination. Continue to mix and match the different scents until they find the combination they like the best.
It is important to remind them to write the name of the scent on the test strip prior to putting the fragrance on it. In addition, you should show how to put the fragrance on the end of the fragrance strip. That keeps all of the strips consistent and also helps guests easily smell each scent. There should only be one scent per test strip. This makes it much easier to mix and match. It is very important to keep an open mind on individual scents and their possible combinations. Avoid preconceived notions and try them. Kiss and Sweet Harmony are the most popular scents for women. They are great scents for women to try first. Candy Sugar is the most popular scent for young girls. Women like it also, but it almost always puts a big smile on young girls faces Spicy Ice, Aspen Forest and Devious are the most popular fragrances for men. Men are often nervous about adding a floral to their fragrance, but Charming is a great floral that blends well with masculine fragrances. Do not think that any scent is exclusive to men or women fragrances only. Many women love to add Spicy Ice or Aspen Forest to their fragrances also. Adding a citrus scent can give the fragrance a crisp feeling. It is not necessary, but suggesting adding a base note such as a musk can add depth to the perfume. Keep in mind that all scents with the word China have an oriental feeling that can give it an exotic flair. Sandalwood is a great scent to help smooth out a combined fragrance and provide some warmth and depth. It is found in many female and male fragrances. Sandalwood is often added at the very end see if it improves the final selections that a person has made. Honeydew and Cucumber provide a clean feel to the overall scent. Ocean Spray, Caribbean Cruise, Coconut and Mango are great for tropical scents. Tropical scents are great for diffusers and lotions. Talking about scents: A Fragrance Designer needs to be sensitive to client s feelings and not criticize scents that other people may like. People like scents for a variety of different reasons. Never say things like I hate the smell of X or X smells nasty. Others may really enjoy the smell of that scent and you may make them feel like they are doing something wrong, or are
selecting scents that will not blend well together. It is especially important not to criticize a client s final custom blended fragrance. A certain fragrance may be special to people for many different reasons. FYF believes that a custom blended fragrance captures the essence of who you are, and if someone says they do not like it, then they may take it personally. It only matters that the client likes their own fragrance. How many different scents should a person use in a final fragrance? A common question that clients ask is how many different scents they should use in their final fragrance. We have found that the most successful perfumes and colognes are built with 2 to 6 different scents. This provides an interesting variety without over doing the complexity. What are top / middle / base notes? We believe it is best to keep things simple at Scent Soirees and not try to intimidate or complicate the creation of a custom blended fragrance for the client. One of the main FYF commitments is to keep the Scent Soiree a fun experience. That is why FYF intentionally keeps the process as easy as possible. However, there may be clients who are knowledgeable about the perfume industry, so it is important that Fragrance Designers have a basic understanding of the perfume industry terminology. Professionals describe making perfume in musical metaphors. There are three sets of notes that make the harmonious scent accord. The notes unfold over time, with the immediate impression of the top note leading to the deeper middle notes, and the base notes gradually appearing as the final stage. Top notes: The scents that are smelled immediately on application of a perfume. They form the initial impression of a perfume and are very important in the selling of a perfume. Also called the head notes. Middle notes: Middle notes emerge when the top notes dissipate. The middle note compounds form the "heart" or main body of a perfume and act to mask the often unpleasant initial impression of base notes, which become more pleasant with time. They are also called the heart notes. Base notes: Base notes appear close to the end of the middle notes. Base notes bring depth and solidity to a perfume. The fragrances are typically rich and "deep" and are usually not smelled until 30 minutes after application. o Although all base notes are good in their own way, some base note suggestions are: Sandalwood, Jasmine, Musk, China Musk, and Egyptian Musk
What are the most commonly used FYF scents? Kiss is the most popular scent used, followed by Sweet Harmony, Blood Orange, Candy Sugar and Spicy Ice. What is the difference between Perfume, Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, and Eau de Cologne? The differences are simply a matter of the amount or concentration of fragrance oils in the perfume or cologne. The highest concentration of fragrance is in perfume (or parfum). Next would be Eau de Parfum, then Eau de Toilette, and finally Eau de Cologne. Technically, Fashion Your Fragrance makes perfume for both women and men. However, many men associate the word perfume only for women so you should always refer to men s fragrance as cologne, even though Fashion Your Fragrance puts the same amount of fragrance into both women s and men s final fragrance. Why do some fragrances seem to last much longer than others? FYF uses between 30% - 40% fragrance in our perfumes and colognes and about 5% - 10% fragrance in our body sprays. Most commercial perfumes and colognes have 25% to 35% and commercial body sprays have 5% fragrance Fragrance lasts longer on some people than on others because of differences in their skin type (oily or dry) and in their PH levels. Those with dry skin usually find their fragrance holding time shorter than those with oily skin because oily skin has more natural moisture to hold in the fragrance. PH levels (amount of acidity in our skin) also varies slightly from person to person. An individual s level of PH will determine how each ingredient in a fragrance will react. How can I make my fragrance last longer / What is fragrance layering? To achieve a longer effect of perfume or cologne, try layering your fragrance. Layering is when the identical fragrance is used in one or more bath and body product(s). For example using the same fragrance in your bath gel, as well as the moisturizer and then perfume will result in a longer lasting effect of the fragrance. Scented body creams and lotions have approximately the same fragrance content as eau de toilette but because of their thick cream or lotion base they last much longer; the scent could still be detectable at the very end of the day. Applying the fragrance low on the body, as well as behind the ears and neck, so that the scent rises as well as a light spray on the hair can also help make the fragrance last longer.
Where are the best places to apply fragrance? The best place to use perfume and cologne is on the pulse points. Pulse points are on the wrists, between the breasts, around the ankles, the sides of the neck, and behind the knees A tip that is not well known but is perfect for the social event scenario is to spray the outside of your hand instead of your wrist. This works because it allows the scent to defuse in an outward direction. Why do perfumes contain alcohol? Alcohol helps the fragrance emanate or diffuse from the skin. FYF uses perfumer s alcohol base for this reason. FYF uses the same high quality base, which is simply called perfumers base that is used by professional perfumers. What if a customer does not want to use alcohol? Some customers do not like using alcohol in their perfume. FYF offers the option of roll-on perfumes and colognes that use fractionated coconut oil as its base. There is no fragrance to the coconut oil, but since the fragrance does not diffuse as fast as a base with alcohol, so some people find that the fragrance lasts longer.