With so many different fragrances out on the market, you may wonder if you should use perfume every day or have multiple scents stored in your collection. We say yes, you should!
Wearing perfume and cologne every day has several benefits. Spritzing on a scent often makes the wearer feel more attractive and confident and creates a better first impression. Wearing perfume can also act like an aphrodisiac or uplift one’s mood.
If you’re wondering whether or not you should use perfume every day or if it’s rude to wear perfume for certain occasions, then we have your back. We’ll also take you through why having multiple fragrances is a good idea and what occasions and scents pair well together.
Should You Use Perfume Every Day?
You can choose to wear perfume every day; it’s up to you. Just like we wear clothes every day, it’s perfectly fine to wear perfume every day.
And, just like we don’t wear the same clothes day in and day out, it’s nice to be able to switch out our fragrances for different occasions, too.
Wearing a fragrance every day isn’t something to be afraid of. Smelling great all day long, every day of the week is actually something to look forward to. Scent can greatly enhance someone’s appearance and improve the overall perception that people have of you.
It also makes you feel more confident and attractive, which is always welcome. Perfumes work really uplifting, and why wouldn’t you want that every day!
Should I Have Multiple Fragrances?
Some people enjoy wearing only their signature scent – and that’s fine! It’s a wonderful thing to discover your signature scent. However, there is a delight in playing around with multiple fragrances and using them to best suit the different occasions in your life, like at work, at home, and at get-togethers with friends.
Getting together with family, going to the gym, or even lounging around the house are all worthy events for wearing fragrances as well. We’ll discuss different occasions and perfumes in the following few sections, but now the question is, should you have multiple scents, and why?
You should own multiple different fragrances, as having multiple fragrances allows you to switch things up and have the right scent for certain occasions. Different occasions ask for different sorts of perfumes, and there aren’t many out there that will do well in all imaginable settings. Owning multiple allows you to pick the right fragrance for the right settings.
There are a few reasons why having more than one fragrance is beneficial.
- Not all fragrances fit every occasion
- Having multiple scents is fun to play around with
- Match your fragrance to your mood (i.e., spicy for sensual, flowery for social)
- The change of seasons call for a change in scents
- Using one fragrance can become boring after a while
Having one fragrance in your collection is not a bad thing, of course. You can probably think of one person who always smells divine, though the same. Whether this person knows it or not, they probably have a signature scent, which is a fragrance that an individual always wears.
With a signature scent, it’s the fragrance that you begin to associate with that person. You may even be able to tell that they are near you just by smelling the air. However, with multiple perfumes and colognes, you can not only keep people on their toes, but have some fun with your wardrobe, show off some personality, and uplift your mood too!
Different Occasions To Wear Perfume
Not every perfume will suit every occasion or event in your life.
For example, a spicy leather scent you’d wear to a New Year’s Eve bash may not be best suited for a funeral. A tone-downed perfume you’d typically wear to the office may not have enough of a kick for date nights. While having a signature scent is powerful in its own right, switching out your perfumes for the different occasions you may find yourself in is fun and exciting.
Let’s take a look at some occasions and perfumes that best go along with them.
During An Interview
Sans Zoom meetings, you’ll likely be crammed into a small space or at least physically face to face with your next potential employer during a job interview, and it’s key to smell fresh and subtle in a setting that’s fresh and new to you.
You don’t want to overpower the entire office, so go for a clean and light scent. Citrus-based fragrances, floral-based fragrances, and even aquatic-based fragrances will be great for an interview. Actually, most office-appropriate perfumes and colognes will do just fine here!
The Office
Just like in an interview, you want something that is light and won’t snuff your employer and fellow cubicle mates. Again, you’ll want to opt for light, citrusy scents. These tend to fade a little faster than heavier scents, so that will help should you accidentally overdo it. And you can always keep an atomizer or a travel bottle with you for a midday touch-up.
If you’re interested in an extensive list of office-appropriate fragrances, you can find them here! This link will take you to the list of men’s colognes for the office, and this link will take you to the list of women’s perfumes for the office!
After Work
When transitioning from business to pleasure, it’s best to switch up your fragrance, too, so you don’t feel stuck at the office all day. A scent that maintains some professionalism while feeling playful is just what you should reach for.
But since this is a relatively relaxing time period, you can go with just about any scent you enjoy. This time it’s all about you, so pick the one you get the most enjoyment out of!
Family Gathering
Most people break out the signature scent when they go to a family get-together. Whatever you do, something that is not too bold yet not too soft is the happy medium. Unisex fragrances work well here as virtually anyone can wear them.
The Tom Ford Private Blend Collection and the Private Line of Christian Dior are both popular unisex collections.
Date Night
Science tells us that people’s olfactory memory (scent memory) is the strongest in the human brain, so on date night, you’ll want to grab a fragrance with notes that are sure to leave an impression. Go with something alluring like vanilla, or something powerful like oud.
If you’re interested in a more extensive list of date night fragrances, you can read these articles. This link will take you to a list of date colognes for men and this link will take you to a list of date perfumes for women!
Wedding
For day-long events such as weddings, choose an Eau de parfum that has ample lasting power. Parfums tend to have the highest percentage of essential oils and the least amount of alcohol, so while they may not have the best sillage, the scent will stay on your skin until you show the couple off for their honeymoon.
Tobacco-based scents are a prime pick for weddings as tobacco in perfumery smells warm, mysterious, sweet, and intense and is overall a comforting scent. But just about any festive scent will do the job here. Just make sure you’re not pulling in all the attention, unless this day is about you!
Party
Your fragrance should do some of the talking at a party, not all of it, so opt for a perfume with an oud base that has been toned down by lighter notes such as rose and vanilla. Oud notes (also known as agarwood) are some of the most wanted and complex fragrance notes in the world and smell woody, dusty, and slightly nutty. Oud fragrances are rich and dark, but when subdued, they aren’t too boastful to overpower your guests or fellow party-goers.
You can also opt for fragrances based around notes such as vanilla, cinnamon, or boozy notes. These also tend to work great in a party-setting!
Outdoors
Some of the best fragrances for going outdoors are inspired by the scents of nature, so think outdoorsy smells for when you’re headed outside, like aquatic and marine notes, along with warm woody notes.
Most aquatic fragrances are perfect for the outdoors (links for best men’s and women’s aquatic fragrances), but so are green-smelling fragrances (links for best men’s and women’s green fragrances) and woody fragrances (links to best men’s and women’s woody fragrances).
These types of fragrances simply match the outdoors scenery, so they fit perfectly. But even floral-based and citrus-based frgarances work great here. Just about any natural-smelling scent will be great for the outdoors!
Funeral
For formal events such as a funeral, a more mature, serious, and not so playful fragrance is the best pick. You certainly don’t want to show up wearing the cologne you’d wear to the club! It also shouldn’t be overpowering.
Although it might even be best to not wear a fragrance at all here, if you do want to wear something, go with an inoffensive fragrance such as Escentric Molecules Molecule 01.
Lounging Around
Of course, you can break out your trusted signature scent, but you could also go for lighter fragrances that mimic a sun-shiny summer day. Fragrances that include notes of neroli, jasmine, and Sicilian lemon are all happy-smelling notes that can brighten and perk up any lounge day on the couch.
But in all honesty, any fragrance will do just fine when you’re lounging around!
How To Choose The Right Fragrance For Different Occasions
To choose the best perfume for each occasion, you’ll want to think about what exactly the occasion is, as well as a few other things.
- What will the weather be like?
- What will the temperature be like?
- Who is coming to the event?
- Is it formal or informal?
Now that you know the basics about the event, think about you and your collection:
- What fragrances do you have?
- What do you want to project? (confidence, sensuality, professionalism, etc.)
- Do you want and have the means to purchase a new fragrance?
- What could you add to your current collection for this occasion?
By thinking about these questions, you’ll almost always wear the best fragrance to any event.
Is It Rude To Wear Perfume?
Wearing perfume is not rude, but you should be mindful of your surroundings. Different settings call for different scents and strengths. Generally speaking, wearing a perfume is not rude. But you can definitely overdo it by spraying on too much.
Although wearing perfume isn’t necessarily rude, there are a few situations where you want to think twice before applying.
Think About The Occasion
Worth repeating; think about the kind of event you’re going to be attending and whether or not your selected scent is suitable. Remember that a loud and vibrant fragrance may not be best for formal events like weddings, church gatherings, and job interviews, and a toned-down woody or musk scent may be too dark for an office party or family get-together.
In the office? Many offices impose a limited use of scented products due to allergy sensitivities and other health issues, plus they can be cited as a distraction from work. Think about where you’ll be and spritz accordingly.
Think About Others
We briefly just touched on this, but some people have allergies or sensitivities to certain smells and overpowering ones. Some people even get sick. Most of us have experienced a giant whiff of someone walking by and wished we hadn’t!
Be considerate of others, and remember that when you share personal space, like in an office or a restaurant, other people will breathe in your scent. Spray moderately and appropriately. You can go heavier on the sprays in a nightclub than you can when you’re off to the office.
If other people start sneezing or coughing shortly after you enter a room, it’s a good bet that you probably are wearing too much perfume. You can wash some of the scent off in the bathroom if need be.
Is Wearing A Perfume Every Day Bad For You?
Wearing perfume every day isn’t necessarily bad for you, but you can experience adverse reactions from wearing perfume, whether it’s a one-time spritz on your wrist or a daily habit.
Some individuals suffer an allergic reaction upon wearing perfume or smelling someone else’s fragrance. They may experience sneezing, wheezing, couching, a rash, or a headache.
According to Dr. Heather Patisaul at the North Carolina State University, a biologist who studies how environmental exposures affect human development, ingredients in perfume that give it its scent is most likely going to be an allergen.
Trade-secret laws protect fragrance companies from not disclosing their specific formulations for their fragrances. The standard perfume terms “fragrance” or “parfum” are used as a catchall for over 10,000 different ingredients used in fragrances.
So when you spray your body with a scent, there’s virtually no way to know which of those many ingredients you’re spraying onto your body. For some people, this can cause an allergic reaction like a rash or hives.
Many perfumes and colognes, as well as other everyday household products like deodorant and body lotion, contain phthalates, a group of petroleum-based chemicals. It’s not clear, however, how much exposure is too much exposure to some of these chemicals, like phthalates.
If you don’t want to part with your favorite fragrances, we understand. You can try to minimize spraying directly onto your skin by spritzing onto your clothes or in the air near you.
Closing Words
Wearing perfume every day is more than fine. When you apply an appropriate fragrance with an appropriate number of sprays according to the occasion, there really is nothing to worry about. Of course, there will always be people that can complain, but those will be there regardless of you wearing a fragrance.
And although there are some cases of people who have a negative reaction to perfume, this is only a very small part. Chances are that if you are getting these reactions to perfume, you already know.
Overall, it is definitely recommended to wear perfume every day. It will enhance your confidence, your appearance, and it’s extremely effective at improving your mood!