Choosing the right perfume for you and your personality can be tough. If you’ve never worn perfume before or you’re just in the market for a new fragrance, the choices can overwhelm you. Do you go fruity and floral or opt for something muskier? Deciding on a signature scent comes down to personal preference and can take time.

Determining the very best fragrance for you, one that tells the world who you are, takes some finesse and a full engagement of your senses. Before you choose a fragrance you need to know the basics as perfumes fall under several categories of scent.

What do you feel most called to?

Floral:
Perhaps the most popular scent option among women, floral perfumes contain the scent of either one flower (rose, gardenia, lavender) or a bouquet of several varieties. Floral scents are feminine and romantic.

Oriental:
These scents tend to be muskier and smell rich and slightly spicy with hints of vanilla, cinnamon, and clove.

Chypre:
These fragrances are warm and dry and almost all built around a woody, mossy accord of bergamot with hints of oak, moss, patchouli, and citrus. This family of perfumes is characterized by an earthy, woodsy scent.

Green:
This is an ideal light fragrance to be worn outdoors. Think fresh cut grass, crushed leaves, and other fresh, cool scents that bring to mind the outdoors and open spaces.

Fougère: Fougère, which in French means fern, refers generally to fragrances that have a green accord through notes of lavender, sage, rosemary or other green-floral herbs, with a base like sandalwood or moss/musk to add depth. This family of scents is stronger and often used in men’s fragrances.

Oceanic:
Popular among men, these scents are influenced by the sea and evoke being by the ocean (sandy beach, salty air). Oceanic scents are clean, almost masculine, with hints of spice and citrus.

Wood:
Exactly what it says. Feels like you have just stepped into a forest, as these are the notes you will get with a woody scent. Think cedar, pine, sandalwood—scents that are earthy and musky.

Are you confused yet?

This excerpt was taken from Your Body, Your Style by Rani St. Pucchi. Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.

© Rani St. Pucchi, 2018

Rani St. Pucchi is an award-winning Couture Fashion Designer, a Style & Image Consultant, and a Relationship Expert. She is a Bestselling Author, a Speaker, an Inspirational Coach and a Trainer. Her recent TEDx talk: Is Your Body Image Holding You Back has received worldwide acclaim. Rani’s #1 International Bestselling Books, Your Body, Your Style: Simple Tips on Dressing to Flatter Your Body Type ; The SoulMate Checklist: Keys to Finding Your Perfect Partner; and Your Bridal Style: Everything You Need to Know to Design the Wedding of Your Dreams are available on Amazon and at Barnes & Nobles.

For more information on Rani please visit www.ranistpucchi.com