Scents part of Filipino culture, what scents to use for what occasion — beauty experts

MANILA, Philippines — Prices may go up and down, but Filipinos’ love for scents remains constant, said Sharon Decapia, Marketing Assistant Vice President of Watsons Philippines.

In SM Beauty, she said, scents are the department store’s top category together with cosmetics in its 80 stores nationwide, followed by skin and hair.

“It’s a growing category. We’re a market leader, actually. We have hundreds of brands and thousands of (products) inside a department store. We have the widest range – from the most affordable to luxury brands," Decapia told Philstar.com at SM Beauty’s recent Celebration of Scents held in SM Mall of Asia Atrium in celebration of International Fragrance Week.

According to her, Filipinos go for many signature scents and not just one.

“Among Filipinos, it’s part of the culture to smell good especially during summer. Smelling good is always considered a good complement among Filipinos even from childhood,” she claimed. “When we were kids, we were brought up in a culture na ‘pag mabango ka, pinupuri ka and then you feel good with yourself. You feel confident. Ganu’n ‘yung Filipinos, they associate scent with good feelings.”

Besides to smell good, Filipinos buy fragrances because these are “also evocative of memories and emotions,” Decapia said.

“So if you want some mood booster, parang the easiest way to uplift your mood is through fragrance,” she added, affirming that Filipinos collect perfumes with beautiful bottles.

At the Celebration of Scents showcase, the department store chain displayed its best-selling fragrances that are mostly international brands from fashion houses, some like Bvlgari with exclusive lines only available in SM Beauty, said Decapia.

Among Filipino brands, body mists and colognes are the most popular, she said.

“We offer scents from different scent classifications, including citrus, aqua, spicy, romantic, florals – all types of fragrances that would suit your taste,” she enthused. “The best thing about it is that it’s authentic. Because you can buy fragrance anywhere and that’s the truth, but the guarantee that what you’re buying is authentic is 100% here.”

At the launch hosted by Nicole Andersson, Tin Conde, Senior Trading Manager of top scents distributor Luxasia Philippines, enumerated the different types of fragrances and the perfect occasions to use them. These are:

• EDTs or Eau de Toilette for daytime use,
• Eau de Parfum or EDPs for romantic dates or dinner with friends, 
• and perfumes or “parfums” for social events like weddings or parties.

“Scents have the ability to affect our energy and mood,” Conde said. 

“Citrusy scents can perk up one’s energy, floral scents can uplift senses and relieve stress, fruity scents are fun and youthful, woody fragrances are warm and earthy, aromatic fragrances provide a relaxing feel, oceanic or aquatic scents promote tranquility, amber or oriental fragrances are sensual, and spicy fragrances have an alluring scent and can help boost brain power and attention spans.”

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