Demi Rawling Walks Us Through The Art Of Layering Fragrances

Bazaar Arabia’s newest columnist Demi Rawling takes on that age-old perfume issue: how to find the perfect combination of fragrances

What is layering? How do I layer my perfumes together? Does layering make my fragrance last longer? These are a few of the questions I receive almost daily – having built an established perfume community over the past several years, peopleseek my personal advice regarding all things fragrance.

I started collecting perfumes as a teenager, having a small collection filled with the usual suspects, Victoria’s Secret, Juicy Couture, Dolce & Gabbana and a few stolen from my mother’s collection, of course. I was always passionate about scent, even wearing my mother’s perfumes to school in Year 4, until my teacher reprimanded me for wearing Kenzo Flower.

As I became completely in awe of the world surrounding scent – I spent many weekends in my local department store, sniffing all the beautiful fragrances I would one day own – I was enamoured by the beautiful bottles and the fragrances inside and was determined to learn about every aspect of what went into making a fragrance.

What is bergamot? What does oud smell like? What is layering? Why do all my favourite perfumes contain vanilla? I was on a mission to learn as much as I could about perfumery until one day, I decided to start a YouTube channel dedicated to reviewing my fragrance collection. Four years later, I’ve built the second-largest channel on the platform dedicated to reviewing perfumes – sharing my honest opinions with my community and helping them to learn, navigate and discover the world of fragrance.

So, what is layering and how do you do it?

I became curious about layering three years ago – it felt forbidden to me at the time, layering two perfumes together? How could I do that, what if it smells wrong? I would usually practice by layering two perfumes on a tester strip to see if the notes of each fragrance were actually compatible – eventually, discovering some beautiful combinations.

Honestly, there is no rule to layering, it’s a little like being a chef. You need to figure out what ingredients complement each other and build your signature scent from there. To give you an idea: citrus fragrances often complement light woody fragrances and some transparent floral scents. So Escentric Molecules’ Molecule 01 complements Dolce & Gabbana’s Light Blue. And Chanel’s Chance Eau Fraîche complements Parfums de Marly’s Delina la Rosée.

Another simple way to introduce yourself to layering is by combining fragrances with similar olfactive profiles – blending together two white floral scents or two fruity scents together is a great way to dip your toe into the arena of layering. And then once you feel more familiar with the concept, you can expand your scent skillset to make more daring combinations.

A personal favourite layering combination is Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rouge 540 mixed with Initio Parufms Prives’ Oud For Greatness. This combination isn’t for the faint of heart – both fragrances already have such a strong, intense character.

Baccarat Rouge 540 becoming an overnight success, the scent speaks for itself – BR540 is an ambery floral fragrance, opening with a sparkling, slightly spicy saffron note, the dry down is anything but – it has a deep, woody dry down, perfectly mingled with the scent of burning caramel all the while maintaining a light, fluffy airiness to its character – intoxicating.

Oud For Greatness – or as I like to call it, mystery in a bottle, is strong, dark and gothic, you’ll definitely turn heads with this one! It also opens with a warm spicy saffron note, OFG is an aromatic, smoky, nutty oud fragrance with a hint of sweetness in the dry down.

The two fragrances complement each other perfectly – BR540 with its sweet, burning caramel note combined with OFG’s deep, smoky, woody dry down – these two fragrances will fill the room, leaving you with an enormous scent trail and all eyes on you.

If you’re game enough to take your layering journey to the next level, something I’ve started to incorporate into my fragrance routine is using an attar, or an oil in simplified terms. Since moving to Dubai two years ago, I discovered a new passion for them. I was not well-acquainted with using an attar at first, but soon enough, I couldn’t leave the house without applying one. It brings a new dimension to your ‘scent of the day’, not only making your fragrance more intriguing, the high percentage of oil provides your fragrance with a substantial base to grab onto, thus making it last longer.

What are the benefits of using an attar?

They are 100 per cent concentration of perfume oils, meaning nothing is diluting the liquid – it’s pure gold in a bottle. I like to apply an attar just before spraying my perfume – enhancing the depth and longevity of your fragrances. My recommendation is to apply the oil behind each of your ears and on the back of the neck – then proceed with your normal fragrance application.

There are many different attars on the market although a recent discovery of mine and a personal recommendation is from the Oman-based perfume brand Amouage. The brand recently launched six new attars made from the highest quality of raw materials based out of Oman – the collection is show-stopping.

My favourite being Vanilla Barka, which was made in collaboration with master perfumer Dominique Ropion, the scent is pure heaven. A captivating vanilla with hints of tonka bean and frankincense all while being wrapped up in a warm blanket of sweetness. My layering recommendation: Amouage’s Vanilla Barka with its Material attar.

So, should you try layering?

Absolutely. Layering is a way to obtain your own scent personality. It is the fragrance equivalent of bespoke haute couture It’s all about discovering what works and what doesn’t on your skin and for your olfactory sense.

There are no rules to layering, let your nose guide you and don’t be afraid to try something new. You are unique and your scent should be too.

From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s January 2022 issue