With the arrival of spring, many things change: we store away the coats, look for lighter garments, and start spending more time outdoors. And our fragrance can also accompany that change.
But before talking about spring aromas, it’s worth clarifying: in perfumery there are no strict rules that indicate what we can wear according to the season.
If you love an intense, sweet or woody fragrance in the middle of a spring day, there is no reason to stop wearing it. Perfume is, above all, a personal choice.
What does happen is that temperature changes how a fragrance behaves and can also alter our perception and our desire to wear certain scents.
When the temperature rises, we seek freshness
With the first warm days, there tends to be a desire for perfumes that feel more luminous, airy and fresh. Citrus, green, aquatic, floral, and juicy fruity profiles begin to take the spotlight.
Bergamot, mandarin, lemon, grapefruit and orange contribute that sparkling sensation so closely associated with sunny days. The green notes can add freshness and naturalness, while flowers such as peony, freesia, lotus flower or some rose and jasmine accords, treated in a lighter and airier way, allow maintaining the floral character without the fragrance feeling heavy.
It’s also a great time for clean musks, those aromas we often associate with skin freshly bathed, clean clothes or an almost soapy sensation. They are easy-to-wear profiles and especially pleasant as temperatures begin to rise.
The paradox of fresh perfumes
There is something curious that happens with heat: precisely when we seek fresher and citrusy perfumes, we choose notes that tend to be more volatile.
Many of the aromatic molecules characteristic of citrus evaporate easily, and when the temperature increases, that process can speed up. Therefore, that spectacular release of lemon, bergamot or mandarin we feel when applying a perfume may disappear relatively quickly.
This does not mean the perfume is of poor quality. Nor that all fresh fragrances last little.
Longevity depends on the complete formula, concentration, the raw materials used and how the fragrance is built, among other factors.
That is why it is also important to adjust expectations: we can’t always ask for an extremely fresh and citrus perfume to behave the same as one that is dense, amber, woody or gourmand.
And sweet perfumes?
They don’t have to disappear from the vanity until next winter. Spring can also be gourmand.
The difference may lie in seeking sweeter, brighter and airier notes: fruits paired with vanilla, creamy accords accompanied by flowers, musks and sweet or gourmand fragrances that incorporate citrus or green elements.
Even an intense perfume we wear in winter can still work if we simply adjust the amount we apply.
Because changing seasons shouldn’t mean following a perfumery manual. It can simply be an opportunity to revisit our vanity, try what we already have and discover which aromas make us want to wear them again when sunny days return.
Sole Nardo, a physician and content creator specializing in perfumery and olfactory communication
@solenardoscents
