Last updated on May 1st, 2024 at 03:38 pm

Have you ever woken up in the morning and felt that you couldn’t get going but somehow stumbled out of bed and into the shower.  Often, once you have had the shower you feel much better and wide-awake, ready to face the day ahead.

You may think that this is down to the water but strangely much of the feeling good is down to the shower gell that you use.  Many gels ad body washes contain smells, often based on natural fragrances and these affect the body and mind, waking them up.  For example there is a well known range of shower gels based on mint and lemon – both of these aromas have been proved to affect the body in a positive way.

Another way that  you can wake yourself up and feel good is to smell good at work.  I am sure that you do not knowingly go into work with body odour but at the end of the day, especially in the summer or if you work in a hot place there is the tendency to be less fresh than you started.  In these circumstances a good deodorant or splash of perfume/aftershave can be enough to get you through the day.  There are many suppliers of perfumes including high-street stores, supermarkets and online stores such as Fragrancedirect.

It is even possible to buy small bottles of perfume / aftershave that you can use to top up with during the day – this can help if you have a meeting that you need to go to at the end of the working day and you have been working in a stuffy office or sitting in a car or on a train for several hours.  The important thing to remember here is that you are topping up an existing fragrance and not to add a new one on top of the one you put on that morning.  Fragrances are usually based around one of several basic scents families :-

• Floral:  Based on flowers, these are popular with many age groups.
• Fruity: – Normally based on citrus fruits for a base these are often fairly light and sweet smelling, making them good for everyday wear.
• Green: – These remind you of the outdoors on a summer’s day, and tend to be favoured by younger people.
• Oceanic: – Fresh scents that tend to mimic the tang of the ocean air, again these are a good choice for everyday wear.
• Oriental: – Oriental scents tend to be fairly heavy, and rich with spices and heavier scented flowers making them superb for evenings out rather than as an everyday perfume or aftershave.
• Woody/Musky: – These scents tend to be heavier, and usually suit a more mature person.

You should remember that every-ones body chemistry is slightly different and that this chemistry affects the different fragrances in different ways – this means that the fragrance that you like on someone else may not be the right one for you.  One way to test this is to go into your local department store or store that sells aftershave or perfumes and use one of their testers – spray a little onto your wrist or neck and then leave it for several hours to see if you still like the smell.  The reason for leaving it for some time is that many perfumes give off an initial burst of smell that can be different to the underlying basenote – it is this basenote that stays with you and is the one that you need to check.

By using these simple tips you will not only smell better at work, but you will feel better about yourself and may even be more relaxed, just by adding a dash of shower gel in the morning and a splash of perfume or aftershave.