If you’ve been following the series of guest posts about wedding perfume, you’ve gotten nine (well, eleven, actually) different perfume options for three distinct Vegas wedding styles: a desert wedding, Vegas chapel wedding and Strip hotel and casino wedding. Today is a more general post that provides tips on making your perfume go the distance on your wedding day, where to buy perfumes in Las Vegas, and more!
How Do You Make Your Wedding Day Perfume Last?
It makes sense that you would like your scent to last as long as possible on your wedding day. Angela shared some tips at the perfume blog Now Smell This on how to make your perfume last throughout your wedding day, including applying eau de toilette over moisturizer (fragrance-free, or matched to the scent) which prevents evaporation from the skin and adds length to your perfume’s wear.
For even more staying power, Angela recommends you use a more concentrated parfum of the scent in addition to the lighter eau de toilette, which could have extraordinary lasting power when paired together. You might also transfer some of your scent to a small atomizer so you can carry it with you to reapply throughout the day’s festivities, just as you might do with lipstick. You can buy these atomizers at Sephora, and also some drug stores.
Where to Buy Perfumes in Las Vegas
It’s no Paris when it comes to perfumeries, but Las Vegas has a variety of locations where you can sniff, sample, and purchase many fragrances. It’s a great place to go shopping if you come from an area where the selection is not quite as good, like I do.
In addition to mainstream stores like Sephora and department stores like Macy’s and Nordstrom who carry more commonly found fragrances, there are a number of spots that offer more unusual and hard-to-find scents.
This is not a comprehensive list and you will find stock changes from time to time at the shops, but it’s a good place to start. If you have a particular scent in mind (perhaps one of Angela’s recommendations) you can often check with the particular brand’s website for a store finder or stockists.
Many luxury brands have their own fragrances in the multiple locations of their boutiques up and the Las Vegas Strip including: Burberry, Chanel (carrying Les Exclusifs de CHANEL perfumes) Cartier, Givenchy, Fresh, Fendi, Dior (carrying La Collection Privée), Hermès, Emporio Armani, Lanvin, Lalique, L’Occitane, Coach, Tiffany, Tom Ford, Prada (Exclusive Collection at Crystals) and Van Cleef & Arpels (carrying Collection Extraordinaire) to name a few. Try Wynn Esplanade, Fashion Show Mall, Via Bellagio shops, Grand Canal Shoppes at Venetian and Palazzo, Forum Shops at Caesars and The Shops at Crystals for these stores.
Acca Kappa, Guerlain (including the Exclusive Collections) and Jo Malone have dedicated standalone boutiques at Venetian and Palazzo. Fresh and Agent Provocateur have locations at Caesars Palace Forum Shops.
For more speciality and niche scents such as Annick Goutal, Acqua di Pharma, Amouage, Apothia Los Angeles, Bois 1920, Creed, The Different Company, Frédéric Malle, Jouany Perfumes, Tokyo Milk, Diptyque, Kilian, Serge Lutens, Comme des Garcons, Byredo, Costume National, Molton Brown, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Library of Flowers, Yosh or Nest head to Barneys New York at the Venetian, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue at Fashion Show Mall or Skins 6|2 Cosmetics at Cosmopolitan.
While Perfume Shopping
While shopping, do not feel pressured to “smell the coffee beans.” As you sniff more and more scents, your olfactory glands will naturally tire, and regardless of what you smell, only time will reset your ability to sniff. The beans trick just buys the clerk more time to sell to you. Take a little walk then return if you find your sense of smell is fatiguing, which typically occurs after three or four scents. You might also ask for a sample to see how it wears over the day. Perfume shopping should be fun, not tiring, so go with some friends as a pre-wedding outing, and definitely try out the showy Frédéric Malle scent chamber at Barneys New York at Palazzo! More great perfume shopping tips here.
How to Wear Perfume
When applying, consider spraying a bit in your hair before you see your hairstylist so when you finally take your wedding hairstyle out late that night, you will get a little bit of the scent in it. In addition to the base of the neck and wrists, also may also like to target sprays behind each knee, in the elbow or in your décolletage. As scents can sometimes stain fabric, it is not recommended to spray it on your dress, or spray a cloud which you “walk through.” If they’re around, be sure your photographer gets a photo of the bottle while you get ready! Get more tips on perfume application from Now Smell This.
Need More Perfume Help?
I cannot recommend Now Smell This enough as someone who is just learning more about perfumes. This excellent blog provides all sorts of helpful information including scent reviews, a perfume glossary, information on perfume concentrations, suggestions for the groom if you are searching for a gift, and even personalized recommendations for readers on Mondays.
Have fun finding your perfect wedding day perfume! (PS: My wedding day scent? Citron de Vigne by Fresh, but these days I would likely go with Féminité du Bois by Serge Lutens)
Special thanks and note goes to three sources for this post, especially the mini-guide to perfume shopping in Las Vegas: Julia’s great overview of different places to buy scents in Las Vegas, Your Perfume Guide’s frequently updated Vegas shopping list and my husband, who all helped. And of course, many thanks to Now Smell This writer Angela Sanders for her expertise in this month long wedding perfume series!