How to find your ideal wedding day scent

Fragrance 101: Know the lingo

Eau De Parfum (EDP)

This is lighter than true perfume, with an 8-15% concentration. However, a spritz of an EDP can last up to six hours, depending on your skin type.

Eau De Toilette (EDT)

Although an Eau De Toilette is lighter than an Eau De Parfum, it’s stronger than an Eau De Cologne. An EDT is a lot more ‘watered down’ than an EDP and is usually available in smaller, more convenient bottle sizes.

How to find the one

Go shopping with a reliable friend Choose an honest gal pal of yours to take along on your scent hunt. It’s always handy to get a truthful opinion especially when shopping for something as important as a wedding fragrance.

Remember, when you test a fragrance, spritz the scent onto your skin. It’s hard to judge the true scent on a tester card as the fragrance will react differently when it sits on your skin. Don’t be intimidated by the consultants. Tell them what scents you usually wear so they can help make the sniffing process easier and give you fragrances with similar notes to your favourites.

Customise your scent to the season you’re getting married in.

Are you a summer or a winter bride?

Citrus and floral scents work best in the warmer months (high wedding season) while woody, spicy notes suit autumn and winter. It’s easy to get ‘fragrance happy’ but remember not to spritz more than three fragrances on the same arm as the original scents can be distorted.

Don’t pressurise yourself into finding your ideal wedding scent within a day. It may take plenty of trips to the fragrance counter before you find the right one.

And once you’ve chosen, remember:

- Spritz your wedding day scent onto all pulse points: back of ears, ankles, small of your back, wrists (don’t rub wrists together, the scent can be distorted!), inside of elbows and cleavage area. The warmth of your skin and movement of your hair will help diffuse the scent.

- If your wedding fragrance has other scented products in the range, try fragrance layering to prolong the scent. Use a shower gel first, followed by a body cream and lastly, your fragrance.

- Try and get a smaller bottle of your scent to store in your clutch bag. This works well if your scent wears off quickly, allowing you to have touch-ups throughout the day and night.

Words: Kelli Clifton, Fairlady