By Jane Ward

Have you ever wondered why a perfume may smell wonderful in the bottle but awful on your skin? Everyone’s body chemistry is different, and perfumes react differently to people’s unique skin oils and natural fragrance.

There’s a few simple guidelines you can follow to help you choose a perfume that works for you, and how to make the most of its fragrance.

Testing a perfume

Never buy a perfume without testing it on your wrist first. He scent of a perfume on a piece of card or a magazine page is vastly different to its scent on skin. This also gives you a chance to see if the fragrance lasts and the scent stays smelling nice. Don’t feel pressured to buy a perfume, you can always test them and go back to buy the next day.

Don’t test perfume on skin that is already fragranced by soap, deodorant, moisturiser or other perfume as this can distort the smell. It is believed our sense of smell peaks in the afternoon, and this is the best time to test perfumes.

Applying Perfume

Never apply a perfume to jewellery or pearls. Alcohol in perfume can strip the colour or coating on the jewellery.

If you have dry skin you may need to apply perfume more frequently than to oily skin as oily skin holds on to fragrance better. That said, never apply perfume to cracked or damaged skin as it may cause irritation.

Change your perfume from time to time. In winter you may choose to wear a stronger scent as cold temperatures mean scents are less powerful. Lighter floral perfumes are better for summer.

The best time to apply perfume is just after your body has dried completely after a bath or shower. Your pores will be more open and the perfume will soak into the skin better.

For maximum effect apply perfume to pulse points – the back of your knees, ears, toes, thighs, cleavage, temples, wrists, and between the ankles.