Beauty trends are created and popularised on social media - scentmaxxing is one. Editor Trudi Brewer shares a viral beauty trend you may already be practising.
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Created by teenage boys like The Real Cologne Boy, who swapped Lynx for luxury colognes to achieve perceived maturity and attractiveness, scentmaxxing for adults is a practice women have perfected for decades. Similar to fragrance layering, where you can intensify your fragrance to create a unique, best-smelling version of yourself, scentmaxxing involves applying multiple layers of luxurious fragrances in various forms.
What is scentmaxxing?
Wearing only designer fragrances might be a stretch for some, but for those committed to scentmaxxing, it's a deliberate daily practice. Scentmaxxing is about enhancing your scent by wearing bold, long-lasting fragrances in everything from deodorant to body oils and luxury fragrance.
The Grown-Up Version of Scentmaxxing
If you're anything like us, you already have a fragrance wardrobe. With that comes body lotion, oils, and designer deodorant. An evolution of fragrance layering, we know that from body care to the final spritz of your favourite perfume, many scented products contribute to this tradition. With ingredients that complement each other, it's easy to build a scent wardrobe that helps you create a unique scent profile from head to toe.
What’s new
MAISON MARGIELA Afternoon Delight EDT, $64.
Vanilla-laced fragrance is enjoying a revival, but not the cloying vanilla perfume of the 80s. This latest self-indulgent scent transports you to a Parisian café where freshly baked Madeleines fill the air. Coined an amber-gourmand fragrance, it’s both comforting and sensual, thanks to the wonders of sandalwood, carrot extract, almond essence, and Madagascar vanilla. It’s both delicious and exquisite. The brand suggests: As damp skin locks in scent, apply the fragrance straight after showering or bathing and before getting dressed.
Scented Body cream
Beginning with the right choice in body cream or lotion to complement your fragrance and elevate its staying power is the start of scentmaxxing. Additionally, as the temperature drops, your skin becomes drier, so well-nourished skin retains fragrance longer during cold winter months.
Chloé Eau De Parfum Body Cream, $111.
This divine body cream evokes the feeling of being in a beautiful rose garden in the height of summer. It’s luxuriously hydrating, and the like designer scent smells of roses; it’s the perfect cream to slather on before bed.
Deodorant
Possibly the hardest-working scent you will wear, deodorant is the key to an overall scent-sorial experience. A luxurious deodorant is the start of elevating your scentmaxxing game.
NARCISO RODRIGUEZ For Her Deodorant Spray, $80
In the convenience of a spray, and the famous scent of rose, peach and musk, here’s how an everyday beauty duty can be elevated by a beautiful designer brand.
Hair Perfume
Scent is released with movement, so hair perfume makes a lot of sense. It is also a rapidly expanding fragrance category. From smoky aromas that add a sexy element to beachy, fresh air scents that evoke a holiday vibe, hair perfume can be easily layered with other fragrances to create a perfume that is uniquely yours. Oh, and by the way, it’s not exclusively for your hair; you can spritz it on your clothes, too.
Diptyque Eau Rose Hair Mist, $68.
This isn’t the only option for hair perfume from a luxe-y French fragrance brand, but we think this is the jewel in their hair mist collection. It’s a blend of refreshing orange blossom, bitter orange, juniper, angelica root and patchouli with hydrating castor oil to nourish hair while you use it.
Perfume Oil
Not only do perfume oils blend beautifully with traditional scents, but they also help create long-lasting wear, adding depth and complexity to your overall fragrance. Consider pairing a vanilla perfume oil with a citrus hair perfume, or a citrus scent with a more floral, musk-based perfume.
TOM FORD Soleil Blanc Shimmering Body Oil, $200.
Our guilty pleasure is this divine body oil. Created to drench the skin with the scent of summery white flowers, amber and sandalwood, blended with hints of golden shimmer in a blend of precious jojoba, olive, and safflower seed oils. Expect your skin to be hydrated, heavenly scented and sporting a subtle sparkle.
You may already be an expert.