The Sneaky Reason Your Favorite Fragrance May Change Over Time  

The other day I decided to wear a perfume I hadn't worn in months—a year even. It was collecting dust on my vanity as all the other scents got more attention. When I sprayed it on, it felt different. While it was still the beautifully crafted formula I had fallen for in my mid-20s, now it felt like it didn't suit me. It felt off, like I was wearing a sweater that just didn't fit right. 

Our favorite perfumes are actually connected to our needs at that time in our life. "The reason is because we all have different comfort zones and what we need at that moment," says Yang. "Your favorite fragrance now may not even be something that you liked three months ago or two years ago. Especially because pre-COVID, we all had very different states of mind and a different lifestyle."

And as Yang told us, our cravings tell us exactly what our needs are: "Especially the people that are holistic-minded like me would say, 'If you're craving something spicy, go eat spicy foods' because your body knows what it needs," says Yang. "This is actually very related to energy and chakras. If someone is really into neroli and ginger at that moment, it's because your second chakra is thirsty and you're looking for that energy."

Additionally, our changing perfumes may come down to the notes and ingredients themselves. 

"And when we were working with ingredients—especially with naturals—it's very much like the food, wine, and spirit world; your harvest from a year, two years, is very, very different," she says. "The cost is different. The quality is different. The materials that get yielded from batch to batch vary a lot."