Fragrance Masterclass, Lesson 3: How to Apply, Layer and Care for Perfume

You have learned to read a pyramid in Lesson 1 and chosen your signature in Lesson 2. Now comes the part most men get wrong: wearing it. Too much and you fill a lift; too little and you have wasted a beautiful bottle. Application is technique, and like any technique it can be learned in one sitting.

Step 1: application, the essentials

• Where: warm areas such as the sides of the neck, behind the ears, the chest and the inner wrists. Body heat helps the scent rise gently.
• Distance: hold the bottle roughly a hand's width from the skin, so the mist spreads instead of pooling.
• How much: start with two or three sprays for an eau de toilette and fewer for stronger concentrations, then adjust. Your nose gets used to your own scent, so others usually smell it more than you do.
• Do not rub: rubbing wrists together warms and disturbs the fragrance, flattening the top notes.
• Skin or clothes: skin lets the scent evolve with you; fabric can hold it longer but may stain delicate materials such as silk or light colours. Test on a hidden area first.
• Timing: apply after showering, on clean, moisturised skin, a few minutes before dressing.

Fragrance should be discovered, not announced. If people smell you before they see you, you have said too much.

Step 2: layering and care

Layering means combining products to build a personal effect. Keep it simple: an unscented or matching body lotion helps fragrance hold on dry skin, and two perfumes from the same family, say a citrus over a light wood, usually blend better than opposites. Add one element at a time and test the result as you did in Lesson 1. Then protect your investment. Heat, light and air are the enemies of perfume, so store bottles in their boxes or in a cool, dark cupboard, never on a sunny windowsill or in a steamy bathroom. Retire a bottle when the top notes smell sour, metallic or flat, or when the colour has changed noticeably. And if a fragrance ever causes redness or itching, stop using it and see a dermatologist.

Your final exercise

• Apply your signature with two sprays tomorrow morning and ask someone close whether they notice it.
• Adjust by one spray up or down until it is noticed only at close distance.
• Move your bottles away from heat and light today.
• Check older bottles: smell the opening and retire any that have turned.
• Revisit Lessons 1 and 2 whenever you test a new scent: reading, choosing and wearing are one skill.