To decide the right perfume you have to recognize its many notes and their consonance with your personality.

THE NOTES
Every fragrance has several notes to it like which develop as you wear it. First you smell the alcohol content which evaporates as you wear it. Then comes the top note, the first heady rush of scent which surrounds you soon after you spray it. This evolves into the heart note which develops into full glory lasting for about an hour. Finally, it is the dry down note or the base note which gets subtly enmeshed into your body odour and stays on for a longer time. The reason why most of us can't smell the perfumes which we use is because the base note gets mingled with our own body odour, blurring the fine distinction.

WEARING THE PERFUME
 A fragrance is both, public and personal. If you want to use a perfume to basically lift your own spirits, try the eau de toilette or the deodorant form of it. Use all over your body and soon it will mingle with your body odour. On the other hand, if you want to use a fragrance for a formal do and intend to leave a whiff of memories behind then be sure to use the eau de parfum form of the brand you like best. Contrary to the eau de toilette, a parfum should be used primarily on the pulse points of your body like the back of the ears, the wrists, the neck, even the back of your knees.
 
BUYING PERFUMES
 Shop for perfume when you have time to browse, relax and enjoy what is essentially a luxurious experience. Take a hint from perfumes you already like. Chances are your favourites will fall into two or three of the perfume families. You can then find other perfumes that you like from the same family. Experts also suggest that women avoid shopping for perfume at the end of your menstrual cycle when sense of smell is weakest. And don't wear one perfume when you are shopping for another. At a store, try the tester scents on widely separated pulse points; say the wrist and crook of the elbow of each arm. Smell the top note and then wait 20 minutes to let the body notes develop. If you decide you like a perfume, then buy the eau de toilette form first and wear it for a few days before investing in the far more expensive parfum form of the brand you think suits you best.

TAKING CARE
Keep empty perfume bottles in your lingerie drawers or with your kerchiefs. Avoid keeping your best scents in the bathroom over the washbasin along with detergents and toothpastes because too many scents rolled together will diminish your sensitivity toward fragrances. Finally, if you've got a fragrance, wear it! The days when perfume was hoarded and saved for special occasions are well and truly over.