How to Wear an Extrait

Every Aether fragrance is an extrait de parfum, at a concentration of 30% or more. Dave makes them to last and to project, and aims for six to eight hours on skin. A stronger perfume asks for a lighter hand, so here is a short guide to wearing one.

Start with less

An extrait carries more perfume in each spray than an eau de parfum or an eau de toilette. One or two sprays is a sensible start. Wear it through a day before adding more, because adding a spray tomorrow is easier than waiting one out today.

Skin first

Perfume opens on warm skin. Spray the inside of the wrists, the base of the throat or behind the ears from a hand's width away, and let it dry without rubbing. Rubbing hurries the opening, and in Chapter One the opening is often the brightest part: the pineapple in 01 Before The Crown, the mango and pomelo in 02 What Remains of Summer, the orange in 06 Sun Through Linen.

Read it over the day

An extrait changes slowly. The first minutes belong to the opening, and the heart and base take over across the hours that follow. Reading a Perfume, Note by Note explains how each Chapter One fragrance is described from opening to base, and the Note by Note essays follow every bottle in turn.

Close, or heavier

Part of the chapter is built around musk and sits near the skin. 03 Space Between Us is a soft musk with iris and orange blossom, and 04 Tea Beneath Clouds sets oolong tea and fig over soft musk. At the other end are the fragrances with the most weight in amber, resin, woods and smoke: the plum, oud and resin of 05 Plum Beneath Snow, the tobacco and rum of 07 The Last Golden Hour. For a small room or a long dinner, one spray of these is usually enough. The Beast Mode Era Is Ending makes the case for wearing perfume at that distance, and Musk, Tea and Citrus in Chapter One reads the softer bottles together.

Fabric and the bottle

A scarf or a coat collar holds perfume well, though some fabrics mark, so try an inside seam first. Keep the bottle out of sunlight and away from heat. A drawer or a cupboard is a better home than a bathroom windowsill.

If you are unsure

Find Your Fragrance sorts Chapter One by note and by family. Or write to Dave. He composes every Aether fragrance by hand in La Conner, Washington, answers every email himself, and can recommend one for you or for a gift. Made by Hand in La Conner tells how a release is made, and people on the list get two full days to buy each new release before it opens to everyone.