As I wrote this, my aunt is softly humming Michael Buble's rendition of It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas in the kitchen while she whips up her famous apple pie. What am I doing you ask? Well, trying to figure out what to bake and what look to pull for the annual Christmas brunch with my friends of course. When it comes to red lipstick I always turn to YSL to complement my look, this year's favorite color comes down to two; no. 08 and no. 15.

Have I mentioned that December is probably my favorite month of the year? I got to see friends and families who flew in from different countries and cities, plus we got together and catch up. Sometimes even reminiscing the past, with all the jokes and things we did years ago.

Well, from my humble home to yours..

May this holiday brings you peace and joy!

A friend of mine gave me an idea to do a blog post about what kind of fragrance to use during the day and what kind of fragrance to use on a date, cocktail parties, weddings, and etc. Well I might have the nose for this, I begin to second guess my job and maybe I should just work in the field of fragrances instead of handling spreadsheets. There should be an aim whenever you spritz on your perfume, mine is who I want to impress or where am I going. Let me give you a case as an example. Let's just call it case #A.

#A

You are invited to lunch for the launch of an upcoming product or maybe a friend is throwing a garden party as a birthday theme located in the beautiful garden of your city or your friend's getting hitched in their backyard.

So you pick your dress.. a light airy dress that enables you to move like you are on cloud nine and shoes that will not cause you to trip over on the cobblestones.

You thought to yourself "I have this under control" and then when you are about to dash out the door, grabbing your purse on the way it dawned on you that you have not spritz on any type of fragrance.

So you marched back into your room and sat in front of your vanity, trying to pick which fragrance to use for today's event.

The weather? Hot and sunny, with a bit of a wind.

You finally ask yourself, "which one should I use?"

Well hello case #A nice meeting you, let's get down to business. If you have a day event outdoors I would recommend a floral scent, clean, or citrus-y for this type of event. Why? Simple, you do not want your scent to be overpowering mother nature or the host of the event so keep it light. Something like Tom Ford's Neroli Portofino, Dior's Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet, Hermes' Un Jardin Sur Le Toit, or Gucci's Gucci Bloom should do it, keep in mind that the time you spend underneath the sun will affect your body temperature hence affecting the scent. Moving on to case #B!

#B

You have to get ready for a meeting with the rest of your colleagues at 10 am.

Your boss will be present and will be in close proximity to you.

So what scent should you use?

Since you do not own the company you work for, I will again say wear something that is not overpowering to others since your aim is to impress your peers and your boss. Something light and demanding yet not too demanding. My suggestions would be Chloe's Eau de Toilette, Hermes' Jour d'Hermes, Chanel No 19 (for big presentations), Prada's Infusion d'Iris, or BVLGARI's Bvlgari Pour Femme.

Now normally I would have not post this here, perhaps on my Instagram stories, yes.

But since a dear friend of mine keeps on asking on how to wear perfume the right way so it stays on longer on your skin, I feel it is necessary that I write it down here. A little story of my love for fragrance began when I was 5 or maybe 6 when my dad brought home Versace's Baby Rose Jeans as a birthday gift to me, I remember treasuring it like gold and only use it on special occasions. As I grow older came the next perfume of my childhood, Cacharel's Anais Anais, from one of his travels as a souvenir for me. If you are asking me do I still have both of those fragrances I will say no because they are intended for a younger audience, you are probably wondering or even might have gasp at this point and ask to the screen "Perfumes have audience?" well yes, fragrances or perfumes as people like to call it have their own markets. For example, when we talk about the iconic Chanel No. 5 we will definitely picture a sophisticated woman who has everything figured out and knows exactly what she wants, someone who is as strong minded as Coco Chanel perhaps or we will think about our mother, grandmother, and aunt. Why is this happening? because like I said perfumes have created an image behind their smell.

I took me all my life to find my signature scent and to know which notes work on me and which does not. So if you are still an explorer and thinking that you cannot find the right scent that works wonders to you, fear not my friend because you will eventually find it. What's my signature scent? Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent and Valentina by Valentino, one is for the night and one is what I wear on day to day basis. I still have a few more options to pick from, each one suitable for different occasions as previously documented on my blog post about scents.

So as we all know there are different types of fragrance:

Now moving on the 411 situation, how to apply perfume the right way!

1. Put it on the inside of the wrists, not to close to your hands because you will wash your hands sooner or later and it will disrupt your scent. The inside of your wrist where it is warm so when you shake your hands and greet people they can smell your fragrance too.

2. Underneath your jawline on both sides, it is also a warm place and when you give someone a kiss he or she can smell the fragrance too.

3. Behind your knees, the fragrance will follow you anywhere you go and people who sits down while you walk on by can smell your fragrance.

4. On your hair, they created hair mist for a reason but a trick I use and taught by my grandmother is to spray the fragrance to your hairbrush and then brush your hair with it. That way you can control how much you spray on the brush and not damage your hair in the process.

Well there you go, my A-Z on fragrances.

Hope you share the same excitement as I do when it comes to fragrances.

XO