Perfume: How Did You Choose Your Signature Fragrance?

Fragrances have many facets and with sensual pleasures. With so many perfumes out there out and new ones coming out, how does one pick that one you can call your signature fragrance?

There are way that we as humans as a whole sniff things. We know by studies done that odor perception varies with age, sex, pregnancy and hormonal state. It is also a fact that we associate scent with colors, textures and sounds. You know a scent of a rose without seeing the rose as an example because sometime in your life you smell a rose.

Did you know that we capture most information about a scent with one single sniff? Yet we all tend to sniff more than once any scent we smell as if to be sure that the first sniff is telling us the truth if its good or bad. Each of our minds have unique patterns of how a scent is responded to, as we sniff a new scent, our minds unknown to us is asking, have we smelled this before? What emotions does it make us feel? Does it smell the same as the last time we smelled it? Who was wearing it? How did that person make us feel etc. All this is going on within seconds of taking the first sniff of anything, from food to the newest perfume.

Yet we are all passionate about smelling good! Doesn’t matter the brand of perfume, the price or who is promoting it. Perfumes are highly personal and our appreciation for them is not simply emotional, its really deeply thoughtful as well.

Did you know that all perfumes come with three notes? First note is the first one you sniff when you open the bottle, the second note is the one you sniff after the bottle has been open for a bit and the third is the one that last the longest. The third note is the true scent and the one that last the longest on your skin. Then why try to pick a perfume by sniffing it on a piece of paper? Each perfume with response differently to our skin. To truly know if that new perfume is really you, it has to be worn for a while. Try it on your skin, walk around a bit before deciding if it is you. And think how does it make you feel?

Did you know that even though a perfume may have been created with multiply different scents to create one, we only really smell them as a whole? We smell it like a forest, not each single tree. If that is true, then why do they offer coffee beans to “clear the nose” when coffee alone may have over 300 different scents of its own?

The fact remains that perfume is met to be worn, not decided by a sniff off a piece of paper. The next time you apply your signature fragrance or on the hunt for a new one, ask yourself two basic questions. How does it make me feel and how does the scent on my skin really truly reflect who I am as a person?

Never buy a perfume because of who is promoting it, or who’s brand name is on the bottle. Perfume is an magical experience, feel it, know it and appreciate it. It will become a part of who you are, not make you but add to your overall beauty ideal of what makes up the unique person you are. Remember that the next time he walks by and says ‘Wow you smell amazing!”

Copyright 2009 Kim Snyder Owner Overallbeauty.com. Offering pure, classic Overall Beauty Minerals in variety of eye shadow colors, magic lash eyelash enhancer, BB nail polish. We also carry all natural/organic captivating scented body & bath products and so much more for an overall beauty experience.

Are Sulfate-Free Shampoos Really Better for your Hair?

Just how "Green" is your shampoo? Is is sulfate-free? Read on about why using a sulfate-free shampoo is better for your hair.
If you are like anyone else, you love to wash your hair at least every other day of not daily. As you lather up you can help but love the feeling of all those bubbles but did you know that the very ingredients that give you that amazing lather may also be the most damaging to your hair?

Most mainstream shampoos contain sulfates which is great for making lots of lather but not so great for your personal health, your hairs health and even the environments health.
So why are the mainstream companies still using sulfates in their brands of shampoos?
For the most part it is because sulfates are cheap to make and create lots of lather. Being that we are all have become accustom to the idea that lots of bubbles means really clean hair they keep making cheap shampoo’s.

Just what are sulfates and why are they an issue? You will find the in the shampoo’s ingredient listed as sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) which are in fact really a harsh chemical surfactants that are found in lots of other products including toothpaste. They are known to cause eye and skin irritation plus when you use shampoo that contains these ingredients they can be absorbed through the skin.

Did you know that sulfates are really far from being gentle and can be causing damage on the very thing you are trying to pamper? Yes your hair! Sulfates are very drying and can damage hair follicles which could lead to hair loss. All because we really enjoy our amazing lather while washing our hair. It can also strip the hair and scalp of essential oils causing that drying effect. Worse if you are spending lots of money to color your hair, it causes the color to fade quicker so you have to get your hair colored more often.

If you want to change your brand of shampoo and start looking into more natural and or organic shampoos but don’t know what to look for? Here are a few tips on what to look for while reading the shampoo bottle label.
Look for ingredients such as gylcerine and glucosides that come naturally from corn and sugar. Usually found on the label as decyl glucodisde or coco-glucoside. These ingredients won’t give you that lots of lather you maybe accustom to but try it for a few weeks and your hair will become healthier, shinier, silkier and softer. Now isn’t that a great trade off?
The information in this article is to be used for informational purposes. The information contained herein is not intended to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional hairstylist advice.

One finally thought, sulfate-free shampoos are going to cost a bit more than your mainstream shampoos do because of their ingredients. So don’t be surprised at that, but you will in fact use less to cleanse your hair and your hair will be better over all. Isn’t that worth a extra few dollars at the counter? Your hair will love you for it!

Copyright 2009 Kim Snyder Owner Overall Beauty, where beauty rules!

Offering only the finest in mineral makeup, U faKtor Sulfate-Free shampoos & Conditioners, natural/organic skincare and BB Couture nail polish, and more!

Attn: Ezine & website editors. You may reprint this article in your ezine or website as long as byline and copyright are included with it. Visit Overallbeauty.com today!