I started my candle-making journey around 2014. If you read my origin story, you know my "why" for starting a candle and skincare business was my deep love and passion for both.
I rely heavily on my sense of smell to curate products not only tell a story but also helps you curate your personal oasis to escape, relax and nuture your mind, body and soul.
When I started my journey, all I knew was that I loved to create and in many cases, my unique scent blends were created on a whim, or scents that I knew most people would love like lavender, coconut and sandalwood. What I didn't know was that there was something in the fragrance world called a Scent or Fragrance Wheel.
The scent wheel is a diagram that categorizes scent families into four groups - floral, oriental, woods, and fresh. The scents side by side play well together for example, soft oriental plays well with citrus and oriental complements water. There's so much more to it but I will save that for another blog.
It wasn't until I started hosting sip and scent classes that I truly discovered how amazing the fragrance wheel truly is and how is has helped me guide others in finding their signature scent.
Over the years, I have hosted scent blending classes where guests can spend 2-3 hours with me creating their signature scent. There are NO rules except for a few concepts and formulas to assist the scent blending process.
Finding your signature fragrance is an excellent form of self-expression and boosting your mood.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when finding your signature scent.
1. Be open. Your signature scent may be unexpected. While it’s natural to stay in your comfort zone and stick to your ‘faves .’There are scents that you may be totally against, but it’s just that you’re unfamiliar with the scent, and you need to spend a little more time with it. Also, some scents are more tolerable when blended with another scent. For example, I am not a huge jasmine fan, but when I mix it with a scent like a coconut or vanilla fragrance, I love it! It's less overpowering and plays well with sweeter or gourmand scents like coconut and vanilla.
Fun fact: The human nose can detect over 1 trillion scents
2. All fragrances are not created equal. This is a continuation of number one. As someone who has been working with scents for several years, I know a thing or two about fragrances. One of the things that I have noticed as a home and body care maker is that not all scents smell the same and are not created equal in value and materials.
3. Start by trying three scents at a time. You know this if you have been to my sip and scent events. It is best to start with three scents, a top, middle and base note. These are the three components that make up a fragrance. Trying too many scents at one time can be overwhelming, and too much of one scent can
4. Follow your nose. If you are repeatedly drawn to a particular scent/fragrance, there’s something about that fragrance that is pulling you in. I typically gravitate to more fruity/citrusy flavors like grapefruit, lemon, orange, and coconut.
Don’t be afraid to indulge and sample the scents you gravitate to the most.
A quick tip: Sample scents by putting the scent on your wrists or inside your elbows every 20 minutes to see if you like it.
5. Think about how you want the scent to make you feel. Last but certainly not least, one of the most important parts of discovering your signature scent is to think about how you want the fragrance to make you feel. Do you want to feel relaxed? Do you want to feel sexy? Playful?
There is no right or wrong way to find your signature scent. These are helpful ways to guide you to finding scents that bring out your personality, uplift your mood and evoke positive memories.
*Gourmand scent - a scent that consists primarily of synthetic edible notes - often described as olfactory desserts.
If you have questions about scent discovery, email me at Shontelle@flowesscents.com.