Wearing the ultimate accessory...

Coco Chanel said take one item off before leaving the house, by the looks of the Lagerfeld Confidential documentary, Karl Largerfeld, who is currently the head of the house of Chanel, does not advocate Coco's sentiment - we are a bit more of Karl's thinking...and we believe the ultimate accessory is fragrance. Coco was also very famous for her enjoyment of fragrance, and she was well known as Robert Piguet's best customer for one of his iconic scents BAGHARI, which she stopped wearing as soon as she developed Chanel Number 5.

Sometimes it is not which fragrance you wear but rather how you wear it! 
Fragrance is not a part of New Zealand's cultural or artistic landscape that is given much attention outside of commercialised advertising.  However...at WORLD we have our own unauthorised finishing school on offer 7 days a week in any of our stores!

The cultural and historical importance of a number of our fragrances, as well as the contemporary significance of the newer lines demands that we offer with these scents the knowledge and passion to give you as the wearer the very best experience of these luxuries.  Whilst there are numerous opinions about how to wear your fragrance here are a few tips that are tried and tested by WORLD.

1. Get the most from your 'silage' - (the trail of scent left behind by a perfume) - we've found that if spray your fragrance on to the back of your neck, shortly after stepping out of the shower, whilst the skin is still wet and pores are open.  Sitting on the back of your neck the warmth of the skin will assist the fragrance find its ultimate scent and float delicately around you all day and night long!

2. Be sure to spray on areas of your skin where the blood flows closest to the skin, hence the back of your neck, your wrists, you décolletage and event the backs of your knees - keep in mind scent rises slowly so throughout the day the fragrance resting on the back of your knees will continue to surprise and delight.  Be sure not to rub your wrists together as this can bruise and distort the fragrance.  Also be sure not to spray too much directly into the base of the throat as your nose will quickly become too used to the scent of your fragrances and will in time no be able to smell them.

3. Choose your fragrance as it chooses you.  Whenever buying fragrance be careful not to overwhelm yourself - this is different for everyone.  Narrow your choice to two fragrances and spray one on each wrist, leave for at least 10 minutes to see how the fragrance reacts to your skin.  Each persons skin has a different chemical make-up and will effect the different notes of the scent.  For instance, a more pale skin will, most probably, react poorly to a citrus scent as the acidic build up in the skin will hamper the citrus flavour, this explains the legendary citrus fragrance that have come from the Mediterranean region where people predominantly have more olive complexions.   

4. Don't limit yourself to one fragrance...we know this sounds like a sale pitch...but if you just wear one fragrance you are limiting the mood changing and nostalgic effect fragrance can have on you.  Smell is our most closely connected sense  to our memory, which explains why our minds take us directly to a moment, a person or a place when we try fragrance or before we begin dinner!  With this in mind, fragrance can have a fabulous effect on our mood and memory.  Try purchasing a new fragrance well before your current one runs out and you will very soon have a nice little collection to choose from.  Choose scent on how it makes you feel; you will have a day fragrance to make you feel content and comfortable, an evening scent to make you feel sexy and confident, a weekend scent when you can be bolder and more esoteric with you choice, and importantly - choose a fragrance for occasions like your wedding for you and your partner, or a ball, a cocktail party, even a professional moment of importance - an interview, a presentation? The fragrance will lift you with excitement and reassurance as well as defining that moment in years to come.

5. Understand your fragrance.  If you are to buy a piece of quality high fashion, jewellery or art you would make sure you knew who the creator was or who the brand was, so that you are able to take confidence and pride in their work and your taste.  Fragrance must be taken as seriously,  don't be decided by good looking half naked people on a billboard, be guided by all of your senses and your intellect.  Let the authentic craftsmanship speak to you and don't think its shallow to let the bottle itself inspire you...you have to want to pick it up everyday!  Don't buy a fragrance just because...own it because you love it!       

 Smell them in your mind first by clicking here...