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FIND YOUR FRAGRANCE

Not sure where to start when it comes to fragrance? We’re here to help

Finding a fragrance you love can be overwhelming. There are so many choices and types, it can be tricky to know where to start. We’re here to help you unravel the mystery of your nose.

First off, forget about finding ‘the one’, that’s too much pressure. You should switch up your fragrance depending on the season or your mood, because fragrance should be fun and say something about you. Read our guide on comparing scents and fragrance types, as well as tips on how to make it last longer.

HOW TO BUY FRAGRANCE ONLINE

If you want a new scent and haven’t got time to go to the shops to try them out, you can successfully buy fragrance online, you just need to do a little research first.

1. Read this guide to discover exactly what you want. Do you want an eau de toilette or eau de parfum? What fragrance families and notes do you like? Answers below…

2. When you’re perusing, read about the fragrance’s notes. Understanding how these work are key to a successful shopping mission. Notes are the layers of the fragrance. Top notes are what you’ll smell first, heart notes make the main character of the fragrance and base notes are the ones you’ll smell the longest, leaving a lasting impression.

3. Read the reviews. See what people are saying about it.

COMPARE BY SCENT

Did you know your nose can detect 10,000 more smells than the tongue can detect tastes? That’s why fragrance is so powerful and why our experience of scent is so personal.

The fragrance world is divided into ‘families’, which is based on the fragrance’s dominant characteristics. Often, and without even realising, we’ll fall for one family time and again. Instinctively, we prefer scents from some fragrance families and dislike others – although we may tend towards one particular family for colder weather, another for sunny times.

There are four family groups – floral, fresh, woody and warm.

FLORAL

Close your eyes and think of June weddings, garden parties, spring blossoms… This is the floral family. Many of its fragrances have jasmine and rose base notes, with a blend of notes like peony, gardenia, tuberose, lily of the valley, magnolia, mimosa, etc. Our iconic White Musk® fragrance blends fresh notes of clean aldehydes, jasmine absolute, lily of the valley and sensual, cruelty-free musk.

FRESH

Bright, uplifting and zesty, with notes like lemon, bergamot, pear, orange, grapefruit and mandarin. Fresh fragrances smell clean and you’ll probably be more drawn to them in the summer because they conjure up memories of sunshine, holidays and a sea breeze. If you like the sound of that, our fresh and zesty blend, Blue Musk Zest might be the scent for you. With its lively blend of citrus notes, featuring uplifting grapefruit, green lemongrass and bright geranium. Plus, our signature cruelty-free musk.

WOODY

In If you like earthy, woody smells then this family is for you. Look out for fragrances with notes like sandalwood, cedar, patchouli and vetiver. Those last two aren’t woods: they’re roots and leaves, respectively – but you’d never guess, from their intensely earthy, woody character. Woody fragrances can be given a spin by adding spices, fruity notes, or herbs. Our floral, aromatic and woody Full Iris blends notes of juniper berry and powdery iris with a deep base of cedarwood.

WARM

Encompassing bold notes like amber, coumarin, orris, vanilla and resins. If your nose is twitching, it’s possible you’re being drawn to this warm and spicy fragrance family. They tend to have a heavy, diffusive richness that’s more suited to after-dark wearing. Like our Black Musk scent, which has notes of spicy pink pepper and creamy ylang-ylang, combined with fierce musk and a sensuous vanilla base.

COMPARE BY TYPE

Once you’ve identified a scent family your nose longs for, next you need to decide how intense you want the fragrance to be. This intensity and how long it’ll last depends on the concentration of oil it’s made with – ‘eau de parfum’ being higher and lasting the longest, with ‘eau de toilette ‘ being lighter and ‘fragrance mist’ being the most delicate. It’s really down to personal choice, so always try a tester and see how it feels.

EAU DE PARFUM

Made with a high concentration of perfume oil, it’s an intense hit on the senses, which will last for hours and hours. You might go for an eau de parfum on a special day that turns into night, or when you want to make sure you’re smelling of your favourite fragrance for a long time. Our Full Rose Eau de Parfum is a multi-faceted, fresh and aromatic fragrance that blooms with intensity.

EAU DE TOILETTE

This has slightly less oil concentration than eau de parfum, so it’s a great choice for everyday use as it’s a noticeable scent that isn’t overpowering. If you’re more into subtle scents, then our White Musk® Eau de Toilette will linger just right. It’s a light blend of florals with notes of clean aldehydes, comforting jasmine and our sensual, cruelty-free musk.

FRAGRANCE MIST

A wonderful refresher that you can spray anytime to liven up your senses. It has a light concentration of oils and lasts for a few hours. So it’s perfect if you’re more at ease with a lighter scent, especially in the daytime when you just want to linger of your favourite fragrance. Our White Musk® Flora Fragrance Mist is fresh and uplifting, with notes of bergamot, graceful muguet and comforting musk.

“I love White Musk® Eau de Toilette, it has a fresh feel and I get a lot of compliments when wearing it!”

Almar4

COMPARE BY RANGE

Our modern fragrances are designed to be worn by everyone and anyone. We have such a broad range of types in all the fragrance families, you’re guaranteed to find something you’ll love. By wearing them we want you to feel empowered and inspired to be a force for a good.

MUSK

Our Musk Collection has been going strong since 1981, when we launched one of the world’s first cruelty-free musk fragrances. Today, we blend the sensual scent of musk with a wide variety of notes so that everyone can discover a fragrance that truly enhances their power.

CHOICE

Our fragrances aren’t just beautiful, they deeply express your personality. Our Choice Collection features five fragrances with unique character, so you can get expressive and switch up your scent to match your mood.

FULL FLOWERS

Discover our collection of one-of-a-kind Eaux de Parfum inspired by the blooming scent of the whole flower. Each fragrance has a rich and fluid composition built around a responsibly-sourced, high-quality natural flower extract.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR FRAGRANCE LAST LONGER

Is there a knack for applying perfume? The answer is yes. These are our top tips to make sure you get the most out of your scent.

1 APPLY TO PULSE POINTS

The best place to spray perfume is on your pulse points – places where there’s more heat to help the fragrance diffuse with more intensity. Places like your wrists and neck, the inside bit of your elbows and your knees, or just below your belly button. You can also spray it on your clothes or on your hair to help it linger.

2 LET IT BREATHE

Perfume likes to breathe on your skin and gently immerse itself into the air around you. If you haven’t got time to sit around naked, choose to spray it onto places you’re not about to cover up with clothes straight away. Also, spray your fragrance far enough away so that it arrives on your skin as a fine spray, this tends to be at least 5 inches (12cm) away from your body.

3 DON’T RUB

You may have seen your mum or people on TV spray perfume onto their wrists and then dab them together. Don’t do it! Perfume likes to be left to settle atom-by-atom on your skin and gently diffuse and reveal itself to you and the world in its own time. Rubbing can also encourage it to vanish faster.

4 STORE IT SOMEWHERE COOL

Where you store your perfume will factor into its lifespan. The heat and humidity of a bathroom may cause it to lose its scent quicker, as will somewhere sunny. The best place to store it is somewhere cool, away from radiators and sunbeams, like a cool bathroom cabinet or dressing table out of the sunlight.

5 COMPLETE YOUR ROUTINE

If you love, love, love your scent, invest in other products within that range – a shower gel, deodorant, body lotion, etc. By subtly layering the scent, it’ll last on your skin for longer.

FRAGRANCE GIFT SETS

Our Floral & Fearless White Musk® Duo includes a shower gel and fragrance mist, so that they can smell of this iconic fragrance from head-to-toe. The scent has a fresh balance of notes including clean aldehydes, jasmine and our cruelty-free musk. It’ll leave them feeling empowered, uplifted, maybe even nostalgic.

TIMELESS SCENTS

Our bold and genderless Blue Musk is the new name for White Musk® for Men, because we believe fragrances should be for everyone. It’s an aromatic twist on a classic. Lavender, geranium and sandalwood notes blended with our cruelty-free musk. Infused with natural vetiver oil from Haiti.

TRENDING NOW

Our new Full Ylang Ylang fragrance radiates with a solar blend of notes inspired by all parts of the ylang ylang flower: smooth petals with creamy ylang ylang essential oil, spicy branches with black pepper and velvety leaves with vanilla.

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