Layering Fragrances

There is a creative expression that comes from layering scents. It is an ideal way to create your own signature scent by mixing and layering fragrances in a unique way. I buy a lot of fragrances that come from similar scent families (which I will come back to in a later blog), as they are specific groupings which I prefer such as ‘gourmand’ , ‘citrus’, ‘woody’ etc. This overlapping of notes which categorises them into specific families makes it accessible for layering them. These are a few of my current fragrance combinations with tips and tricks included.

Firstly, for this blog it is going to be important to know the difference of fragrance types/concentrations. Fragrances are usually categorised into concentrations types as follows; eau de cologne, eau de toilette, eau de parfum, parfum, elixir/absolut. This is in order of least concentrated to most concentrated. Not all scents or brands will release in all these concentrations, sometimes depending on the type of smell they are attempting to create, they may only release one sort. Eau de cologne and eau de toilette are the lowest concentrations of fragrance oils so they will last the least amount of time, cologne lasting less that ‘toilette’. They tend to be fresher, milder, lighter, sometimes citrusy scents as these types of citrus oils are more volatile (evaporate quickly) and therefore make the fragrance short lasting. Eau de parfums and parfums are heavier, and have more concentration of fragrance oils and therefore last longer throughout the day (approximately 8+ hours). These scents are mostly woodier (not all the time), possibly musky, and creamier. Some eau de parfums/parfums can be citrusy, but these citrus notes are usually laid upon heart or base notes (will come back to type of notes later) which the citrus notes can settle into and the scent just slowly transforms into a creamy/woody etc fragrance dissimilar to base notes found in the lighter concentration types usually. Elixir/Absolut concentrations can be rare, they obtain the highest percentage of fragrance oils and are much stronger and longer lasting than the others, they tend to sometimes be overwhelming and found in niche/luxury brands where they have enthusiasts interested in this experimentation. Using this amount of fragrance oils can be expensive, hence, why it is only found done by some brands who can afford these ventures and not all. They can be heavy and much deeper and richer. They usually have a woodier, smokier, incense, indulgent etc., base where the fragrance oils are intense, luxurious and not easily evaporated. This is why scents may only release in one concentration type. For example, if you are looking to create a deep and rich scent which focuses on incense, this mission would be lost using an eau de toilette where the lack of fragrance oils will force your target of an ‘incense’ smell to be light which is not the goal if you are trying to convey the warmth and smokiness of incense. Personally, I remember this in my head as arranging eau de colognes and eau de toilettes as ‘acidic’ fragrances (I will usually expect them to smell acidic whether that be because they are citrusy in notes or because of the sometimes sharp acidic tang that eau de colognes/toilettes have due to the small amount of fragrance oils masking the other alcoholic/acidic ingredients which make the substance of a fragrance liquid). I see eau de parfums/parfums as the opposite, therefore as ‘basic’. This is not in literal scientific terms of the ph scale, but merely how I imagine it in my head for ease. These are stereotypical definitions of these concentration types and not all fragrances will fall into these, but from my experience, most will.

Now why is this important to be aware of for layering? Because it denotes the order you should be layering your scents in. You should be layering your fragrances in the reverse order of fragrance concentration/from heaviest fragrance oil concentration to least. For example, you should spray on an eau de parfum before an eau de toilette or an elixir before an eau de parfum (however, it is unlikely to be necessary to layer on an elixir due to its original strength but you can test that yourself depending on your preference) etc. Using the concentration of an eau de parfum/parfum under your eau de cologne/eau de toilette will help prolong the duration of some of the notes from the lighter concentration fragrance. Eau de parfums/parfums will use a stronger concentration as already discussed which will usually alsoinclude more ISO-E or similar chemical ingredient. From my previous blog, you will know this type of ingredient helps ‘glue’ the oils to the skin. Layering an eau de toilette with notes of orange onto an eau de parfum you put on will glue some of the little amount of orange oil onto the iso-e ‘sticky’ skin and help it last longer than it might have on bare skin. If you have two eau de parfums and are confused of which to put down first, put the heavier scent on and then the lightest. For example, if you have one eau de parfum which smells of smoky tobacco, and another that smells of whipped cream and vanilla, it is safe to say you should layer your tobacco before your vanilla as the strong smoke smell will only cover and suffocate the more delicate smell of vanilla and it won’t be notieceable. Imagine when layering fragrances, you are building a cake. If you put whipped cream under the cake, then the whipped cream will lose its airiness and will be squished by the weight of the baked cake and suffocated and left unseen. You would put whipped cream on top of the heavier cake and you would put sprinkles on top of the whipped cream. This will let the sprinkles be visible rather than covered by whipped cream, and the whipped cream will help the sprinkles stick on. You see what I’m getting at now? How easy everything seems when it’s just a cake. I hope this helps with your understanding of layering.

My current favourite combination:

To give you inspiration, I layer 71 ‘Carmelized Vanilla & Macadamia’ by Sol de Janeiro on top of my Chocolate Greedy by Montale. It mixes chocolate with an orange zest with freshly baked cookies and makes for a delicious aroma. Montale makes the vanilla cookie scent from the Sol de Janeiro richer and more indulgent. You see that not only is it because my Montale has a higher concentration did it go below my Sol de Janeiro, but chocolate is heavier than vanilla in both scent (and physically as an ingredient if that helps) which is another reason it goes on my skin first.

Top Tip - let your first fragrance dry down before layering your second or even third or fourth scent (get crazy with it), it allows the ingredients such as ISO-E to settle (imagine glue, you wait for it to get less wet and dry in order for it to become sticky). This dry down should only take a minute or less.

If you don’t know where to begin, try your fragrances first. Layer scents which you have that already smell similar (stronger/heavier first remember!) whether it is because they are both floral or because they are both woody. Use your nose and intuition. Or perhaps, try researching notes. If two of your fragrances have vanilla, maybe the base note of chocolate in one of them might deepen the other, and the strawberry in the other scent will help liven and freshen up the moreish and rich chocolate scent. There is endless opportunities to create. Get experimental with it. You might even disobey the similarity suggestions and find three opposing scents that miraculously work together!

Best of luck with your layering adventures. Let me know about your unique combinations (maybe it became your own iconic scent).