How to Choose the Right Fragrance: Lavender, Rosemary, Patchouli or Jasmine
Your fragrance is a powerful thing. Perfumes and colognes that men and women use can leave a strong impression on others, as well as attract potential partners. The perfume that you use will become part of your identity, and not every fragrance will work on your body’s chemistry. With thousands of fragrances in the market, it can be overwhelming to choose which scent best suits you. Your choice of fragrance will largely depend on what mood you want to evoke.
It can be difficult to describe scents accurately, but fragrances are classified into categories like fresh, floral, oriental and woods (or chypre). Fresh fragrances give an outdoorsy and light feel, like freshly cut grass. Floral fragrances, the most popular, give sweet bouquet-like scents. Oriental fragrances are strong and bold, and often smell heavier and sensual. Woods fragrances are often mossy and rich, commonly used in masculine fragrances.
Lavender
Lavender is one of the most commonly-used essential oils today. It’s been recognized as an effective stress-reliever, also fighting against colds, cases of flu, migraines, and insomnia. Many massage therapists have used lavender to help their clients relax. Lavender gives off a fresh, relaxing and deep floral fragrance. It has a distinctive scent that is the perfect fusion of lightness and deepness but never smells overwhelming. This essential oil also blends well with many other scents, enhancing their fragrance, and works as a middle note.
Rosemary
Rosemary is a refreshing fragrance that smells like woody camphor. It is known for being used in memory retention, alertness, and focus, as well as being an excellent aid in decongesting. Whoever wears it will be given an air of balanced freshness from its rich base and camphorous undertone. Rosemary comes from a short evergreen plant that grows in bushes, which bears a resemblance to a pine tree. This results in a minty fragrance that can be diluted when mixed with other essential oils.
Patchouli
Over the years, patchouli has had a reputation for being a “hippy” scent. This oil gives off a musky, spicy aroma that’s often used as a base note in perfumery. It is extracted by distilling the dried leaves of this green herb. It produces a sweet aroma with woody undertones, and it gets better with age. Aged distilled oil of patchouli will have a richer and fruitier scent, as compared to freshly distilled oil, which has a mintier fragrance. Patchouli produces scents that have dark, oriental and woody fragrances, used mostly in men’s perfumes. It mixes well with other oils such as vetiver, sandalwood, cedar wood, and jasmine. However, when combined with sweet scents such as vanilla, it can produce a more feminine fragrance.
Jasmine
An expensive essence, Jasmine is an essential oil that is difficult to extract. This exotic scent aids in calming the nerves, as well as childbirth. A very rich oil, Jasmine smells sweet and works perfectly as a middle or base note. Jasmine infused with other fragrances like sandalwood, rose, and vetiver will produce a richer fragrance with floral undertones. This flowery scent oozes a light and flirty sensation.
Lavender, rosemary, patchouli, and jasmine are just some of the essential oils commonly infused with fragrances. These essential oils work great on their own, but when blended with other right oils, it can produce elegant scents that work for different occasions.
