This is because your everyday, ideal-for-the-office scent may be too light for the people you’re meeting with in Dubai or too strong for your colleagues in Tokyo.
“Taste for perfume has always been different from one country to the other,” said the Parisian perfumer Frédéric Malle, who founded the fragrance line Éditions de Parfums. “Despite the fact that the entire planet is now offering practically the same thing, these differences in taste remain and will remain. They’re deeply rooted in our cultures.”
Men aren’t exempt here. A scent can help a guy get noticed at the office the same way a standout silk tie can.
“Businessmen these days need an edge,” said Fabrice Penot, who co-founded the perfume line Le Labo. “Fragrance can bring that to them. Maybe they wouldn’t have worn it thirty years ago, but today they’re getting out of their comfort zone.”
Many traveling men and women, though, choose to go scentless in transit, as a courtesy to fellow airline passengers.
That includes Diane Venet, who organizes exhibits of fine jewelry and often travels to London, Paris and Miami. On the ground, she is a such a fan of Éditions de Parfums’ Carnal Flower that she ducks into the restroom before business lunches to reapply. “I put it on to be sure to be seducing,” she says. “It’s a great help. People tell me I have beautiful blue eyes, but I think the perfume is a great addition.”
But even she goes fragrance-free during flights. “I was sitting next to a lady while flying from Europe to America and didn’t like her perfume,” she said. “It was terrible.”
What to spritz when disembarking? It depends on where you’re going. The United States and Britain have basically the same preference for more understated scents that you shouldn’t be able to smell farther than a handshake away — whether it is Prada’s Infusion d’Iris for women or Calvin Klein’s Eternity for men.
When in Russia and the United Arab Emirates, though, dab on a heavier fragrance, advises Steven Gontarski, manager of the Scent Bar, a perfume shop in Los Angeles. He recommends oud-based scents like YSL’s M7 or Tom Ford’s Oud Wood for men in these places. (Oud comes from the wood of the tropical agar tree.)
“We have a customer who works in finance and does a lot of business in Dubai,” he said. “He was at a dinner and a colleague leaned in and said, ‘What you’re wearing is a Middle Eastern scent.’ It was a huge compliment.”
In South America and Africa, too, heavier scents are the mode. Stephanie Bruni, 42, a television commercial producer in New York who travels often to both continents, usually wears Le Labo Patchouli 24 or Le Labo Oud 27; she believes these two smell best when it’s hot. But when she works with people for the first time, she uses only scented body lotion.
“I don’t want to show up in a big cloud of perfume,” she said. “I don’t want to offend.”
In Asia, her view would be appreciated. “They think perfume shouldn’t be invasive,” said Trudi Loren, Estée Lauder’s vice president for corporate fragrance development worldwide. “It shouldn’t interrupt another’s personal space.” For women traveling there, she suggests gossamer florals like pureDKNY’s A Drop of Rose.
Khaled Nasr, 34, who works for a company that makes semiconductor equipment and microchips in Los Angeles, takes fresh-from-the-shower-smelling Creed’s Green Irish Tweed on his business trips to South Korea, Japan and Taiwan, even though he prefers stronger colognes in the United States. “You have to understand the culture and what they expect, and just go easy with it,” he said.
Beyond deciding which scents to bring, you also have to decide how to tote them.
Some perfume aficionados who also use only carry-on luggage buy special shatterproof cases for their allotted 3.4 fluid ounces, or 100 milliliters, of fragrance — like Le Labo’s metal container that can be engraved with your initials (for $135).
Others stockpile the atomizers they have received at department stores while sampling scents. Ms. Bruni travels with tiny amounts of two or three scents and a scented candle for her hotel room. She also spritzes her travel pillow. “It’s comforting,” she says, even if “people make fun of me.”
Of course, there is always a chance that the right scent will be awaiting you at check-in. Le Labo, for example, supplies the shampoo and body wash at all of the Park Hyatt hotels around the world. Evidently the hotelier is finding it a popular touch.
“I got a call from the big boss, and he was telling me their cost of amenities has increased dramatically,” Mr. Penot said. “People have been stealing more shampoos and shower gels.”
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/business/global/choosing-a-scent-that-suits-your-business-destination.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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