If you are used to alcohol-based perfumes, you will find that perfume oils offer a different experience. Because oils interact more closely with body chemistry and unfold themselves differently, following these suggestions can help you make the most of your experience with oils. 

• Perfume oils do not unfold their complexity when experienced directly from the bottle. If you attempt to gauge the aroma of a perfume oil by smelling it from the bottle, your experience will not be accurate. Always test perfumes on your body for the full experience. Apply first to your pulse points (the inner wrists, the base of the throat, behind ear lobes, and the inner elbows.) where it will warm with your body heat to unfold the fragrance.
  
  
• Perfume oils reveal themselves over time. After applying, try smelling the application area every fifteen minutes for the first hour. You will find that the fragrance changes over time, revealing different notes before finally settling into its final form. 
  
  
• Perfume oil, unlike alcohol-based perfumes, wears close to the skin. It warms on your body, adapts to your body chemistry, and creates a halo of scent on the body. As it fades, perfume oil can be applied throughout the day as a personal aromatic ritual. 
  
  
• Because perfume oils adapt to each individual, blends will smell slightly different depending on your body chemistry. Some peoples skin naturally draws out spicier elements, while others pull out sweeter or more floral elements. For this reason some people apply perfumes to their clothing. If you find that your body chemistry is pulling out certain notes more than others, you can also lightly apply perfume oils to clothing after testing a small area.

Originally published September 2017