Expert advice on wearing fragrance

Thierry Mugler’s Marketing and PR Directory for the Asia-Pacific Region John Marangos tells you how to wear your scent — and shows us why Thierry Mugler scents are a world-wide phenomenon.

I. Don’t stick to the textbooks when it comes to wearing your scent. John, who has been in the fragrance industry for over 21 years, suggests that you wear your fragrance in whatever way makes you feel good. “I believe that fragrances are mostly about pleasure, so if it makes you feel great to rub your fragrance on your belly, or spray it on from head to toe, it’s entirely up to you.” If you don’t know yet how you’d like to wear your fragrance, he suggests trying the pulse along the neck and wrists, as well as behind the knees and the ankles.

II. Layering scents is a crime we commit everyday. “Many people don’t realize how much layering of fragrances goes into our daily routine. Your shampoo, conditioner, soap, body lotion, tissue, and hand wash all have fragrances.” So layering two perfumes, John feels, would just add to the hodgepodge of scents. “Layering two fragrances would be like mixing two or three wines. I think that’s the best example — it would be like mixing a pinot, a shiraz, and a cabernet.” Not a very good combination.

III. Try this test. John suggests using a body wash, lotion, and perfume from the same fragrance line on one hand, and just the perfume on the other. “You will notice that the hand you’ve applied all three fragrances to will have a depth in its scent that the other hand will not have.”

IV. To make a fragrance last longer, use eau de parfum. In case you didn’t know, the difference between an eau de toilette and an eau de parfum is not just the price tag. An eau de parfum holds more of the essence of he fragrance, and will last six to eight hours. But John also says, “It is important to note that we all have very different skins. The way a fragrance smells on you is affected by your age, your diet, your skin type, and various other fragrances in your daily routine.” One fragrance can smell a hundred different ways on 100 different people.

V. Your fragrance should be all about you. Thierry Mugler put it best when he said, “I would much rather have one woman who really loves our fragrance and can’t live without it than 10 women who just like it.” All Thierry Mugler fragrances are not meant to please everyone.” But they obviously please many without even trying, even when some 500 fragrances are launched every year. Thierry Mugler’s Angel has remained number one in France, number two in Europe, and the one of the top 10 in the USA. Alien captures the same creative force behind Angel, with Thierry involved in every step of the process.