My dressing table is a graveyard for perfumes that I’ve spritzed, fallen in love with and, for some reason or other, suddenly become turned off by. I can’t really explain it but if I were to use dating terminology, I’d say it’s the ick.
Admittedly, those fragrances sit there until they expire (yes, perfume has a best-before date; don’t worry, I try my best to recycle the bottles) or until one of my friends gives them a proper home where they aren’t relegated to the dusty depths of a bedside cabinet. And while my friends like to swap fragrances and discover new loves, most of them have one thing in common: They all have an unwavering “signature” scent.
What is a signature scent?
The concept of the signature scent (a perfume that’s unmistakably you; that feels right rain or shine, day or night) is nothing new but as someone who doesn’t have one, it’s intriguing. It seems I’m not the only one who thinks so. ‘What is my signature scent’ and ‘signature scent meaning’ are both commonly googled questions. Meanwhile on TikTok, the hashtag #signaturescent pulls up 24.1k posts with millions of views — and there’s no gatekeeping. Fragrance enthusiasts, influencers and even renowned perfumers wax lyrical about the one scent that ticks all their boxes, from Burberry Her and Baccarat Rouge 540 to more affordable offerings like Sol de Janeiro Cheirosa 62.
So how exactly do you find the seemingly elusive signature scent? And in a world where new perfumes are launched almost daily, is it possible to whittle it down to just one? I enlisted the help of perfume experts and popular fragrance houses to find mine — and here’s everything I learned in the process.
Does the “signature” scent really exist?
If anyone could point me in the right direction of a signature scent, it would be perfumer Jérôme Epinette, the nose behind Byredo’s Bal d’Afrique, Phlur’s Tangerine Boy and Victoria Beckham’s San Ysidro Drive. Most recently, he has created fragrances for Noyz, arguably the most talked-about perfume brand on the internet right now.
The signature scent certainly exists, Epinette tells me, and it should serve as an extension of your personality. “The signature scent acts as a statement of who you are, no matter the season or occasion,” he says. “Whether the perfume evokes personal feelings or memories, or if it reflects how you want others to perceive you, a signature scent leaves a memorable impression on anyone you pass.” David Benedek, perfumery expert and founder and director of niche perfume brand BDK Parfums, agrees. “It’s something that you find and you can never live without it,” he tells me. “To find it, it has to match perfectly with your personality. It’s part of your identity.”
How to find a signature scent: Start with an emotion
If asking “Who am I?” is enough to spark an existential crisis, Epinette suggests starting with an emotion. How do you want your fragrance to make you feel? And what do you want to channel more of? To help me out here, I headed to Lush’s Scent Sanctuary for a fragrance reading.
Lee Howes, Lush’s fragrance category lead, encouraged me to choose one of five ‘tarot’ cards, each depicting a different emotion ranging from confidence, comfort and sleep to joy and groundedness. As an anxious person, I could do with more confidence and comfort in my life, so I opted for those two. With this in mind, Howes matched me to perfumes with “confident” notes (thyme, tarragon and sandalwood, as in Lush Dirty Body Spray, $40) and “comfort” notes (vanilla, lemon and tonka found in Chelsea Morning, $45, and Turmeric Latte, $65.)
“Confidence comes from a place of familiarity and comfort,” Howes told me, which is why we settled on Turmeric Latte as a real contender for my signature. “This perfume is the foam on the top of your coffee cup breaking through at the first sip,” said Howes. “It’s inspired by slowing down and stopping.”
Understand the different olfactive families
Lush’s Turmeric Latte falls into the ‘gourmand’ category — a name used to describe fragrances that are slightly sweet and moreish. To really get a feel for what you like, Benedek suggests doing a little research into each fragrance family.
Besides gourmand, a non-exhaustive list includes ‘aromatic’ (characterized by green or grassy notes like sage and rosemary), ‘woody’ (like sandalwood and vetiver), ‘fresh’ (such as citrus and sea salt) and ‘floral’ (exactly what it says on the tin). Once you know what you like in a more broad sense, you can get granular by researching fragrances with similar notes, says Benedek. He pinpoints perfume website Fragrantica as an excellent source of information on the various note families and corresponding perfumes.
Department stores aren’t the best places to try new fragrances
Suppose you’ve narrowed down your search to a handful of fragrances. Trying them on in person is the next obvious step — but you might want to avoid department stores. “The smell in department stores is very strong,” says Benedek, referring to the tens of perfume counters and free-flowing spritzes. “For this reason, I try any perfumes outside on the street and see how I go,” he adds. Benedek suggests requesting a small sample to take home with you. “Wear it for a day — even a week — and see how you feel about it,” he says.
Sure enough, brands with standalone stores provide a much more personalized experience, as I discovered at Parfums de Marly’s store. This brand has been on my must-try list for a while thanks to TikTok’s fragrance enthusiasts, who are obsessed with Delina (lychee, rose and vanilla) and Oriana (marshmallow, grapefruit and whipped cream). I was matched with fragrance consultant Surita, who selected a few fragrances (namely Valaya Eau de Parfum and Safanad Eau de Parfum) based on notes I like, for example, the subtle floralness of orange blossom and zingy citrus. Something about Valaya in particular — with notes of white peach, mandarin, musk and vanilla — won me over immediately. It’s clean, comforting and energising in equal measure. I had to add it to my list.
Another store I love is Penhaligon’s, a perfume brand which offers fragrance profiling to match you to the fragrance of your dreams. The shop was a haze of freshly spritzed perfume but only one stood out to me this time: The Dandy. Boozy whisky accord, tangy raspberry and zippy bergamot shouldn’t work on paper but together they smell incredible. I knew it was a contender when I left my sample behind in a hotel room and called frantically to see if it was still there. (That, and the moment when a woman chased me off the train to know the name.)
Always try perfume on your skin, rather than clothes
At both Penhaligon’s and Parfums de Marly, I was encouraged to try the perfumes on my skin. This, say the experts, is the key to finding a true signature scent. “A mistake a lot of people make is spraying the perfume onto a blotter or card and making a decision solely based on that,” said Surita. “The pH balance on the skin is an important factor,” she continued. “I’d rather you go home, try it properly on your skin and fall in love with it, then come back tomorrow morning.” Epinette agrees: “Apply [your perfume] to the skin to see how it evolves and blends with your skin chemistry,” he says. “The dry down is the most important thing; it’s the lasting impression you are left with.”
Considering that perfume smells slightly different on everyone, Benedek suggests unfocusing your attention on what’s trending, or what other people are wearing. “Stay the master of your choice,” he advises. “Following your own path is a personal approach to discovering a signature scent.”
Consider the “bungee” perfume method
Ultimately, a signature scent exists if someone wants it to exist, Howes told me. “Say, for example, someone wants to be defined by a particular style, and they get their confidence and joy from being consistent,” he adds. But life tends to be a little more nuanced than that. “We don’t wear the same clothes every day, so why wear the same fragrance?” asked Howes. For this reason, he prefers a “fragrance wardrobe” — owning a small selection of interchangeable scents. Picking and choosing between them is something Howes calls “bungeeing”.
“You can have a signature scent but also ‘bungee’ out to different ones when the time is right — and then return to your signature,” said Howes. “I have fragrances that I wear more often than any others, like Vegan Leather Jacket, which is smoky, deep and resinous, but it’s not right every single time.” With that in mind, Howes encouraged me to think about how I want to feel in the moment. “If you’re dressing a certain way to get closer to a certain feeling, you could then match your fragrance to that and you might feel a little more aligned,” explained Howes.
Epinette agrees that having a fragrance wardrobe — and even layering some of these perfumes — is the ultimate way to express individuality and create something as unique as you. And there are no rules. “Layering allows the wearer to create something truly signature, and you can do this by experimenting with blends of fragrances,” he says. “Personally, I don’t have a signature scent,” concluded Epinette, “but I choose [to layer] fragrances based on my mood and the occasion.”
There’s no need to spend a small fortune, either. Often, renowned perfumers are the brains behind more affordable fragrances. Epinette, for example, created & Other Stories’ Perle de Coco Eau de Toilette, $45, and Zara’s Bold Blossom Eau de Parfum, $35.90.
Among the many perfumes recommended to me by the experts here, I’ve found myself reaching for just one: Penhaligon’s The Dandy. It’s everything I need in a fragrance right now: a dash of confidence, a comfort element and the promise of lighter days. Here’s how I knew I’d found my signature: Leaving a work event recently, one of my beauty editor peers picked out my coat based on its lingering scent. I think that was all the proof I needed to know that it’s all mine.
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