The Art of Parfum

A bottle of perfume is a solution of volatile aromatic materials in alcohol, and every one of those materials is slowly breaking down from the day it is made. How fast depends almost entirely on where you keep it. Light is the worst of it Ultraviolet light breaks aromatic compounds

What niche perfume actually costs in Denmark, and what the money is buying.

Both ranges are made the same way. The difference is the materials, and the ones in Exclusive cost more because they take longer to exist. That is not the same thing as better.

Patchouli has a reputation problem that has almost nothing to do with what the material smells like. Where the reputation came from Patchouli oil became strongly associated with the late 1960s, and specifically with cheap, badly stored oil sold in large quantities. That version was heavy, muddy and slightly sour,

Fragrances sold on the promise of pheromones are common, and the claim behind them is considerably weaker than the marketing suggests. Here is what is actually established. Pheromones are real, in other animals A pheromone is a chemical released by one member of a species that produces a specific response

Oud is the most misunderstood material in perfumery, partly because most people encounter it in fragrances that contain very little of it. What it is Agarwood trees do not normally produce anything aromatic. When one is infected by a particular mould, it responds by producing a dark resin through the

A signature scent is a fragrance you wear often enough that people associate it with you. It is a reasonable thing to want, and the way most people go about finding one almost guarantees they will not. The mistake Looking for something distinctive. Distinctive is what impresses in a shop

A fragrance is not one smell. It is a sequence, and it is built that way on purpose. Understanding the sequence is most of what separates buying well from buying badly. Three stages Top notes are the lightest materials in the formula and the first to reach you. Citrus, some

There are five fragrances on this site. That is deliberate, and it makes choosing considerably easier than it would be on a site with two hundred. Here is how to go about it. Start with what you have stopped wearing Most people begin by describing what they like. It is