Perfume Dictionary: Sillage3 min read
You know when you walk past someone and you catch a whiff of their perfume? That’s the perfume sillage, saying hi to you!
What is perfume sillage?
Sillage is borrowed from the French language and translates to “trail.”
Perfume sillage is the trail that the scent leaves as it diffuses around its wearer. Or imagine it as a bridal veil: some brides prefer short veil and some love to make a statement by opting for a long, flowing cathedral veil.
Some perfumers call it scented aura and others call it scented radiance. In other words, if you can smell the perfume of the person without standing close to them, it means the perfume has a good, strong sillage. If you can smell the perfume of the person across the room, the perfume has a predominant sillage.
The weaker sillage fragrances are more introvert, they are worn to please the wearer, not the entire subway.
How to test sillage?
In order to test the sillage of your fragrance, try this simple test: Spray it just once in a clean, empty room and close the door and the windows. After ten to fifteen minutes, open the door and take a deep inhale. This simple sniff test will tell you if the fragrance you use will linger in the elevator long after you leave it. Or refuse to leave your skin and go mingle with the air around you.
How to heighten sillage?
To boost sillage, apply the fragrance on your pulse points and a piece of clothing or accessory to spread the scent around a bit. Understanding the perfume sillage might come handy when shopping for a scent online, in the perfume description, especially if the scent is described as heady, bold, strong, powerful, which means that the fragrance has stronger sillage.
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[…] In order to get a more detailed information about sillage, diffusion and application, I suggest you read our What is perfume sillage? blog post. […]
Colin Grigson
Shouldn't you differentiate sillage and projection? They are different things, but the article doesn't make this clear. I see a lot of reviews on a leading site mention sillage (usually) or projection, but not very often both, and I think a lot of people think the two terms are interchangeable.