Many brides put a lot of thought into their wedding day fragrance to ensure it works with the style, vibe and location of their wedding day. There are so many choices though – you could pair your fragrance with your partner’s or wear a scent worn by a Royal or A-lister on their wedding day. Finding the perfect scent is your first job, after that knowing what you should never do with perfume on your big day is the next most important thing. Here are our tips to maximise your wedding day scent.
Choosing Your Wedding Day Scent
But first a word on finding that special scent. Department stores are a good place if you know what you’re looking for, but if you don’t use a Fragrance Finder to find something new you will love. Our favourite independent tool is Fragrantica (and it’s the most comprehensive). Simply type in a favourite fragrance and it will serve up at least 20 scents with similar vibes, but you can also refine your selection by changing the setting from ‘similar’ to ‘popular’ meaning you can opt for something less well known. Then head to a store to try them on.
Tip: Don’t overwhelm your skin or senses with multiple scents at the store. Instead of spritzing different scents, choose just one to wear on your skin for the day (see more on that below) and ask for perfume blotters for the rest, marking the name of each on the strip. Smell these occasionally during the day to decide if one deserves another try.
Wedding Scents We Love: Kilian Paris Rolling In Love EDP, €254.25/50ml, Prada Beauty Un Chant d’Amour EDP, €290/100ml, Fenty Eau De Parfum, €130/75ml and Juliette Has a Gun Vanilla Vibes Eau de Parfum, €145.45/100ml.
Things to Never Do With Perfume
1. Don’t Walk Into Your Scent
Everyone has their own method for spraying scent, some like the wrists and neck, others like to walk into a cloud of scent or to mist it through their hair. For longevity, spraying your scent on the wrists and the back of the neck is best, as these pulse points will warm the scent and disperse it. On your wedding day, do not walk into your perfum in case you get droplets on your dress casuing stains, especially if you’re wearing silk or satin. More on that below.
2. Don’t Spritz Your Hair
Spritzing the hair is not wise in general, as some perfume can contain a lot of alcohol which dries out your hair and can even age the skin especially on the décolletage. Stick to the back of the neck, and use a perfumed hair mist if you’d like your hair to smell good, or you want to complement your scent. These have little or no alcohol, and sometimes they contain hair-boosting ingredients like panthenol or castor oil. See our favourites below.
Hair Mists We Rate: Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady Hair Mist, €120/50ml, Diptyque Eau Rose Hair Mist, €58/30ml, Byredo Gypsy Water Hair Perfume, €63/75ml and Parfums de Marly Delina Hair Perfume, €65/75ml.
3. Don’t Crush The Notes
Rubbing your wrists together after applying perfume is hard to resist, but don’t do it. Perfume has a developing concentration of different notes that start with the most volatile top notes. These evaporate fastest, then scent’s middle notes emerge, so the perfume takes on a new aroma. The most stable and long-wearing notes are in the base of your fragrance, which last hours after you apply it. These are what everyone else will smell. Rubbing your wrists heats up the molecules, and can affect the way your perfume is supposed to develop naturally.
Tip: Spritz your scent before you dress and allow it to dry on the skin without touching it.
4. Don’t Mist Your Dress or Veil
You might be tempted to spritz your wedding dress or veil with scent, but not only can fragrance stain the material on the day (especially if it’s a coloured scent), the alcohol can affect the fabric in the long term. Remember, perfume smells differently on the skin than it does on material, so to make your wedding day scent last, buy it in a Discovery Set or a sample size and pop it in your bridal bag for the day for top ups.
Discovery Sets We Love: Victoria Beckham Fragrance Discovery Set, €30/3 x 2ml, Tocca Garden Collection Eau de Parfum Set, €60.45/6 x 5ml, Maison Margiela Replica Memory Box, €41.95/10 x 2ml and Kayali Vacay in a Bottle Miniature Set, €105/4 x 10ml.
5. Don’t Cut Corners on Concentration
When you go shopping for the fragrance you will wear on your big day, there’s a good chance it will be available in different formulas – from lightest to strongest concentration, there’s; Eau de Cologne (EDC), Eau de Toilette (EDT), Eau de Parfum (EDP) and the Holy Grail, Parfum. Naturally the higher the concentration of perfume the longer it lasts, and the more expensive it will be. But it’s worth it for longevity.
Tip: Remember when testing potential scents, if you sample an EDP it might take two to three hours for the true scent (base notes) to reveal itself compared to an EDT which is lighter. A parfum is stronger again, and pricier, so wear this for at least four to six hours before committing to it.
Love exploring the world of wedding scents? Read our 10 Alternative Wedding Fragrances for Brides, or 14 Iconic Wedding Fragrances for Brides, Unique Scents for Grooms or Fragrances for the Summer Bride.
