So I caught a discussion the other day on the definition of a Signature Fragrance. I've always heard it defined as the scent you wear all the time and that people associate with you. It's what you wear most often and would be the fragrance that people would describe you with. But the discussion presented an alternative definition that I find myself agreeing with. A signature scent should be something that you personally feel like represents the way you most want to smell. It's the fragrance that fits you like a glove and and makes you feel like... YOU. It may or may not be the thing you wear the most often - that would be your utility scent, not your signature. And it may or may not be the thing that other people associate with you. Instead, it is the fragrance that YOU most identify yourself with. As an example, the fragrance I love the most, and that makes me feel the most like ME, is Tom Ford's Black Orchid EDP and EDP Reserve. They are very similar, and I wear them interchangeably. But I only wear it on special occasions, or when I'm not planning much and will be mostly by myself for the day. (as a side note, I once wore it on a casual coffee date, and she told me it was the most beautiful scent she had ever smelled. I wear it now every time I know I'm going to see her). My utility fragrance - the one that I wear most often, and that I think more people would associate with me and how I smell, is Byredo Gypsy Water. I've worn that one more than any other fragrance I own, and have gone through nearly 1/3 of the bottle in a year. It's what I wear when I'm going to be around a lot of people, or when I'm meeting with a potential client, hanging out with my goddaughters, or just because it's Tuesday and I don't feel like spinning the fragrance wheel or playing games with my selection for the day. So what say you? How would you define your Signature? And have you found it, yet?

Training your nose is not just about smelling more bottles. It is about smelling with purpose. Start with the basics first. Learn the families: citrus, woods, aromatics, florals, amber, musk, spice, green notes, incense, leather, and sweet notes. Don’t try to pick out every single note right away because that’s where people get frustrated. The best thing I’ve found is using real-life references. Smell lemon peel, grapefruit peel, fresh basil, rosemary, coffee, cedar, leather, vanilla, incense, grass, pepper, and things like that. Then when you smell a fragrance, your brain has something real to connect it to. Also, don’t judge a fragrance by the first spray. Smell the opening, then come back 30 minutes later, then again a few hours later. That’s how you start noticing transitions. A lot of fragrances smell one way in the opening and totally different in the drydown. Side-by-side comparisons help a lot, too. Smell two fragrances in the same style and ask yourself which one is fresher, sweeter, woodier, cleaner, heavier, more natural, more synthetic, or smoother. You don’t have to be a master perfumer to notice differences. And don’t overload your nose. After a few fragrances, your nose gets tired. Fresh air helps more than coffee beans, in my opinion. The biggest thing is keeping it simple. Pick one note or one style at a time and build from there. Over time, you start recognizing patterns. You learn what real citrus smells like, what ambroxan does, what Iso E Super does, what clean musk smells like, what incense smells like, what cheap sweetness smells like, and what better blending smells like. That’s how your nose gets better. Not by pretending you can smell 40 notes in every fragrance, but by building scent memory one piece at a time. Buying small natural raw materials is one of the best ways to train your nose. You do not need huge bottles. Small samples are enough. Good places to look are Eden Botanicals, The Perfumer’s Apprentice, Perfumer Supply House, Creating Perfume, and Pell Wall. The Perfumer’s Apprentice specifically notes that essential oils and absolutes are very strong and should usually be smelled diluted, often around 10% or even 1%