March 1998

Using fragrance to make an impression

By Lisa Wong

Wearing perfume is one of the strategies people use to enhance their personal appeal.

The behaviour reportedly is related to basic human instincts.

Ms Michelle Chea Chin-san is a marketing officer of Calvin Klein Cosmetic Corporation.

She said the will to attract the opposite sex is the strongest motive for wearing perfume.

One should be careful when choosing a perfume — it could be embarrassing if the wrong one is chosen, experts say.

Photo by Lisa Wong

“By wearing perfume, people feel more comfortable and confident, and they start to develop it as a habit.”

Mr. Lam Bing-wai is a Year 1 physics student at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

He said, “When I was in Form 4, I went to a ball and danced with a girl. It was so dark that I could not see her face clearly.

“However, the perfume she used left a very deep mark in my memory. After all these years, I still get a very sweet feeling whenever I encounter the fragrance again.”

Mr. Richard Zee is a clinical psychologist at the Yang Memorial Social Service. He said different smells have different impacts on one’s psychology.

“During the process of personal growth, smelling and touching are two of the earliest senses that are fully developed.”

He took the reaction of a newborn baby as an example, “A baby may cry when it is held by a stranger because it is not familiar with the person’s smell.

“So this explains why perfume can enhance one’s attractiveness. Others will still remember your fragrance even if your face starts to fade in their memory.

“People wear perfume in a search for that primitive and basic feeling embracing them when they were still babies,” added Mr. Zee.

Another reason why people wear perfume is the association of certain smells with memories.

“In some cases, a person may require his or her companion to wear a certain kind of perfume before making love. It may be because that particular kind of fragrance is linked to his or her sweet memories,” said Mr. Zee.

A female staff member of the Good Year Perfume Centre said that people choose perfume according to current trends.

“Fragrances extracted from flowers and fruits are the leading fragrances now because they give people a fresh feeling.

“At the same time, they give the user a young and energetic image,” she said said.

A representative of Red Earth added, “Women wear perfume as a way of expressing their personality, like quality accessories. It adds a finishing touch to the art of grooming.

“Moreover, perfume affects our moods. It bolsters our ego, gives us confidence and a powerful erotic appeal.”

However, it can be embarrassing if someone wears the wrong perfume — or wears too much, for that matter.

Ms Malvis Chan Lap-kaye, a Year 2 marketing student at the University of Science and Technology, is a regular user of a brand-name perfume.

Said she: “I wanted to share it with my friends. However, my friends did not like it and said the smell was really bad.”

Ms Wong Yung, 26, a secretary, said that it is disgusting for a woman to wear excessive perfume.

“It makes me vomit, especially those perfumes with very high con-centrations,” she said.

Miss Hon of the Good Year Perfume Centre added, “People have to be very careful when choosing perfume. They have to consider their body smell when deciding what kind of perfume to wear.

“A wrong combination of body smell and perfume will change fragrance to a bad odour,” said she.

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