Become a fragrance alchemist with my expert tips and tricks on how to layer fragrance and discover my best perfume layering combinations to try.
9 minute read
Layering perfumes is a beautiful way to create and customise a scent that’s unique to you. Introducing exciting and unexpected fragrance notes to your favourite fragrance can transform its aroma and is a perfect way to make a scent your own. Experimenting with layering allows you to cherry pick the fragrance notes and families that you love, giving you creative reign to concoct a personalised scent that captures the essence of you. Layer your fragrances, darlings, and you’ll float through the day with a magical mystique that will make everyone what to know which perfume you’re wearing.
Fragrances feature a blend of top, heart, and base notes that interact beautifully with one another to create a distinctive aroma. Layering fragrances allows you to curate an even more complex scent profile that spotlights an array of intoxicating fragrance notes. Experimenting with layering different fragrance families adds nuance to your scent, unlocking new combinations of fragrance notes and creating intricate scent pockets and interactions.
Applying and layering multiple perfumes can help your fragrance to last even longer. The more fragrance you apply, the stronger your scent will become and the longer it will last; when you are layering different perfumes, you naturally end up applying more product which can help to unlock a longer wear time. Longevity in fragrance often comes down to the strength of a scent’s base notes; when layering perfumes, you are multiplying the number of base notes at play which can give your custom fragrance boosted lasting power.
Layering fragrance is an art, darlings, and not every fragrance pairing will be a love connection. Considering the fragrance notes and fragrance families of your favourite perfumes will give you a clue as to whether they will layer well. When choosing which perfumes to layer, select fragrances that have a commonality and feel like they reside in similar fragrance worlds. A good example of fragrance synergy from my Fragrance Collection of Emotions is Joyphoria and Love Frequency; both scents feature floral notes which gives them a common plain, allowing their warm and woody fragrance notes to dance as one.
The best way to approach layering is to choose a fragrance that will act as a base scent, then weave in other fragrances that will complement its collection of notes. Think of layering fragrance like building a house, darlings; set the foundation by spraying on your chosen fragrance, then build from there by layering new elements on top.
You can layer any type of fragrance from eau de parfums to body sprays. When I am layering fragrances, I prefer to work from highest to lowest fragrance intensity. Applying an eau de parfum as the first layer of your fragrance provides longevity and intensity which could be overpowering when applied on top of an eau de toilette or fragrance mist which are lighter. Instead, spray on stronger, more dominant fragrances first, then layer on lighter scents to allow them to sparkle on top.
If you’re learning how to layer fragrance but don’t want to wear your creation all day, try layering your perfumes on a piece of card to experience the way that scents interact without committing to the wear time. Layering perfumes is all about experimentation – you won’t know until you try, darlings! This testing stage is where the magic happens and allows you to practice your layering skills to become the alchemist of your fragrance dreams!
Tilbury Tip: Did you know that fragrances smell different on a tester card to your skin, darlings? Once you’ve found a fragrance match, spray your fragrance dream team onto bare skin to experience the full effect.
Now that you have chosen which fragrances you will be layering today, it’s time to consider your approach to layering. Subtlety and balance are the secret to successful fragrance layering, darlings. Layering perfumes doesn’t necessarily mean spraying on fragrances like for like! Consider which scents you may want to be less or more prominent and play with their ratios to discover the best blend for you.
Darlings, the most important thing to remember when layering fragrance is that the choice is all yours! Fragrance is personal to everyone – if the scents you are layering make you feel magical, that’s all that matters! Get creative with your fragrance combinations and have fun layering perfumes… Who knows when you might discover your new signature pairing?
The floral and woody fragrance families share an out-in-nature quality that makes them easy to layer. Woody notes like cashmeran, ambery woods, and sandalwood pair beautifully with floral notes like jasmine and rose, transporting you to a labyrinth of towering trees lined with forest flowers.
Charlotte’s Choice: Love Frequency and More Sex
Love Frequency and More Sex layer to create a romantic flame. Notes of Turkish Rose and Woody Dry Amber form a lasting love, coming together to create a heady, woody scent that allows floral notes to blossom in new, irresistible ways.
Pairing earthy and aquatic perfumes can create a refreshing, revitalising scent that captures the breath-taking beauty of scenic valleys and coastlines. Mossy, woody notes like myrtle oil and cypress offer an earthy landscape that allows aquatic notes like seaweed absolut and watery accord to swim freely, layering like fresh rain on a forest floor.
Charlotte’s Choice: Magic Energy and Calm Bliss
Magic Energy and Calm Bliss have a yin and yang relationship that unlocks grounding relaxation. Magic Energy is an energising, earthy fragrance, and Calm Bliss is an ambient, aquatic scent; together, these energies synergise and centre refreshing notes like Watery Accord, Jasmine Sambac, and Seaweed Absolut to strike a perfect balance.
Do you love florals, darlings? Floral perfumes are such a classic choice; spray them on and you’ll feel effortlessly elegant. Layering floral perfumes is easy as their prominent floral notes come together to create the most beautiful bouquet. Think of layering florals like a trip to the flower market – choose your favourites and create something sweet and spectacular!
Charlotte’s Choice: Joyphoria and Love Frequency
I love to layer Joyphoria and Love Frequency to create a magical floral aura. Joyphoria’s white flower heart notes of Ylang Ylang, Tuberose, and Jasmine Sambac marry blissfully with Love Frequency’s romantic Rose notes, creating a tapestry of florals that feels like a solar rush of love!
There is natural synergy between fresh and floral perfumes; these two fragrance families are closely related with fresh and floral scents often featuring lighter, brighter fragrance notes. Common fresh fragrance notes like bergamot, cypress, and coconut water accord pair beautifully with delicate florals like jasmine sambac and ylang ylang, creating a sparkling symphony that feels like a breath of fresh air.
Charlotte’s Choice: Magic Energy and Joyphoria
There is a lively spirit that’s unleashed when you layer Magic Energy and Joyphoria, darlings. These fragrances are designed to energise and uplift, and when layered alongside one another, notes of Vanilla Bean Extract, Cypress, and White Flowers create a fresh, floral fervour.
Woody, musky fragrances are deeper and moodier than fresh or floral scents, and this commonality allows them to co-exist in the same scent world. Layering woody scents like cypress, palo santo, and cashmeran with magical musks is the secret to concocting an intoxicating blend with a strong, grounding aroma.
Charlotte’s Choice: Magic Energy and More Sex
Darlings, layer Magic Energy and More Sex to discover the secret to magical seduction! The contrasting characters of these eau de parfums mesh in the most magical way, intertwining Cashmere Woods, Palo Santo, and Olibanum Resinoid with seductive Leather, Ambroxan, and Sandalwood to create a provocative, aromatic scent that leaves them asking for more!
Earthy and floral fragrances have a complex relationship; both earthy and floral notes have a green, refreshing aroma, however, floral perfumes explore sweeter and lighter fragrance notes, whereas earthy scents often delve deeper into mossy, outdoorsy notes. The two can work in tandem to create olfactory magic – use a floral scent to add sparkle to your favourite earthy perfume or use an earthy perfume to anchor your signature floral scent with grounding roots.
Charlotte’s Choice: Magic Energy and Love Frequency
The earthy allure of Magic Energy and the floral beauty of Love Frequency are a magical scent match! Magic Energy’s deep woods and greenery feel all the more magnetising when wrapped in a cloud of romantic Rose and Pink Pepper courtesy of Love Frequency.
Ignite the senses by layering spicy and leather perfumes! If you wish to create a scent that feels smokey and seductive, reach for a combination of fragrances that feature warm, aromatic spices like cinnamon bark, black pepper, and frankincense and an addictive rush of head-turning leather. Layering rich, sultry scents transports you to the corner of an old jazz bar where the night is young.
Charlotte’s Choice: Cosmic Power and More Sex
Artfully layering Cosmic Power and More Sex unlocks a captivating fragrance combination of leather, spice, and everything nice. The lavish Leather note and Sexual Accord in More Sex set the mood, presenting Ambroxan, Aldron, and Musk as a flirtatious base that allows Cosmic Power’s spicy notes of Cinnamon Bark Oil, Vanilla Bean Extract, and Amber Accord to sizzle and serenade.
With over 30 years experience, Charlotte Tilbury MBE is the world's number 1 makeup artist and British beauty entrepreneur. Charlotte established Charlotte Tilbury Beauty in 2013, which is now a record-breaking beauty brand that has won over 400 awards.