Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at York U chapter.

From candy apples to oaky moss, everyone likes smelling like something. It’s not that difficult finding out what type of scent you’d want as a perfume. There are two basic rules for finding the perfect scent, from your body chemistry to your preferences. Despite your preferences, we’ve got to be careful with body chemistry: we don’t want anything overpowering. Just because it smells one way in the bottle doesn’t mean it’ll smell the same on you. So, don’t be afraid to try it out on your wrists before buying it.

Wary Warnings

Knowing what you like might take a bit of testing, but I assure you it’s well worth your while. There’s another reason why we should test it on us prior to the actual purchase. We don’t know if we’ll have allergic reactions to some of these scents because we aren’t often exposed to some of the chemicals found in perfumes in our daily lives.

Fancy Floral

Floral perfumes tend to be romantic and great for special dates but they can be very complex and perhaps overwhelming to some. I guess you can say it can give you a confidence boost to wear them. Flowers, like lavender and roses, always give off a dreamy and sensual smell. If jasmine is what you’re looking for, it gives off a heady and sensual feeling with its scent. Though if you do want a sweeter floral scent, roses are always suggested. If you’re looking for a more rough, masculine scent, violets are a great choice. My favorite scent for florals is lavender, but it’s not for everyone. I’ve even heard some people describe the scent as metallic.

Honey Tea Herbals

If you love tea and adventuring outside where the moss grows, I would recommend these scents for you. They’re rather grounded and calm like tea or yoga in the mountains. Sandalwood has  been said to exude a warm, powdery or creamy smell of wood. Maybe you’re a sweet yet spicy kind of person? Patchouli-pepper and vanilla is the perfect mix – a bit musky but sweet enough. Elemi and labdanum create a cold pepper scent. The neat part about those two together is that they smell different to everyone. Personally, my favorite herbal scent would be peppermint and sandalwood, it’s fresh but has a musky odor. It’s almost as cleansing as citrus scents.

Sexy Citrus

This is my second favorite scent because it’s clean yet stupendously vibrant. Lemon and bergamot make it feel like you’re having fun in the sun on summer vacation. Brazilian oranges and sandalwood or rose and grapefruit provide a citrusy floral, which is amazing for those who like combined scents. Lavender and tangerine are wonderful relaxers that also perk you up!

Sassy Sweet

Strawberries and cream, so sweet and delicious. My all-time favorite scent because who doesn’t want to smell like baked goods? A lot of the scents in sweets are vanilla-based, especially when dealing with baked goods scents. Lemon and vanilla are the perfect clean and sweet mixed scent. Similarly, oakmoss with banana scents make the perfect sweet and grounded combination. After all, who doesn’t like the smell of sweets and baked goods?

Now, good luck my sweet strawberry friends, and hopefully these descriptions will help you find what’s perfect for you!

six women standing in dresses against a cliff
@thiszun

A 28 year old, who is psychology turned photography major. started off in Guatemala, lived there for a couple of years until I received citizenship in Canada. After that, I went to school for 12 years, under the Canadian school system. I had a couple of traumatic events after I had graduated from high school damaging my memory. So I currently have a surprised memory. But with all those traumatic events, I was finally able to get treatment I was denied originally. I spent about a month originally, and have been in and out of their system as an in-patient. I got proper treatment. Now, outside of school I spend a lot of time in treatment centres of CAMH. I’ve spent a couple of years off due to mental health, only to have a deeper understanding for treatments, people, and the ways but could help them enjoy their lives more. It’s always such a good feeling to see people blossom into who they deserve to be. I’m still learning how to be okay, and being who I should be.
Averie Severs is one of the Her Campus CC's for the York U chapter. She is a film production major with a focus in documentary filmmaking.