Perfume expert warns not to wear this scent on your wedding day to avoid disaster

Fragrance experts at LOOKFANTASTIC share how to avoid these common perfume ingredients ruining your wedding day.

Smell has a powerful impact on our emotions and memories with 75% of daily emotions linked to scent. This connection is especially significant on special occasions, such as weddings, as the right fragrance can create lasting emotional memories.

But while the scent may produce happy memories for years to come, it can also cause disaster.

From staining your precious garments to causing unexpected skin rashes, your signature wedding day scent could spell horror on your big day.

What scent to choose to commemorate your wedding is as big of a decision, with sources from LOOKFANTASTIC showing that Google searches for the term “best perfume for wedding day bride” have soared 200% over the past twelve months, and searches for “wedding day perfume for bride” have increased by 100%.

To help future brides and grooms pick the perfect scent for their wedding day, Fragrance Experts at LOOKFANTASTIC share what NOT to look for in your next perfume purchase to help avoid any wedding blunders.

Three things to avoid when choosing your wedding day scent

1. Essential Oils

Essential oils form the base of many popular perfumes due to their naturally strong aromas and long-lasting scent. As a result, those looking for a long-lasting wedding day scent may gravitate towards them.

However, despite their benefits, the natural formulation of essential oils means they have a higher level of pigment than synthetic scents. Patchouli, clove, and cinnamon in particular have a darker natural hue that may stain any garments they come into contact with. As many wedding dresses and suits are made from lighter, and more delicate fabric, which are often dry clean only, staining from essential oils could spell ruin for your wedding attire.

To avoid this, stay away from scents labelled as ‘fragrance oils’ as they often have a higher concentration of essential oils than other formulations such as colognes and Eau de toilettes.

2. Alcohol-based perfumes

All perfumes and colognes contain a percentage of alcohol as it allows the liquid to evaporate on contact with the skin, leaving only the scent behind. But some types of perfume contain more alcohol than others.

If a scent contains a higher level of alcohol, this can cause the skin to become irritated and red when the product comes in contact. This is because a large percentage of alcohol mixed with other synthetic ingredients commonly found in popular perfumes can cause mild allergic reactions. This is not what you want on your wedding day.

In addition, alcohol-based perfumes can often cause oily-looking spots on white fabric, as well as damage delicate fabrics such as silk, rayon, and acrylic.

Make sure to always do a swatch test before your big day to ensure your skin and clothes don’t react to your chosen scent. If you are unsure of which perfume to choose from, perfume discovery sets are a brilliant way of testing individual formulations to help you find the right one.

3. Darker, concentrated perfumes

Warm scents like vanilla and floral fragrances such as rose are traditionally chosen for weddings because they are often associated with romance and intimacy. These scents help set the mood for a romantic celebration, making them popular choices for such special occasions.

But while they are often a bride’s go-to scent for the big day, they can also cause staining to their dress.

This is because dye is often added to products to make them easily distinguishable and signify which scent family they belong to. Think warm yellow tones for vanilla and pink hues for rose. While these are often added in such a small quantity that they will not show up on clothing or the skin, your wedding day is not the time to test this

Especially when perfumes that contain vanillin, heliotropin, and coumarin can actually darken over time due to their natural composition. Which may cause a previously non-staining perfume to cause disaster on your big day.

To avoid any nasty surprises while spritzing, keep your chosen perfume in a cool, dry place away from sunlight to avoid oxidation, and opt for fragrances that are lighter in colour.

How to get perfume stains out of a wedding dress

Despite all of your careful pre-planning, sometimes accidents do happen and your wedding day scent can cause marks on your dress. If this occurs, follow these simple steps to remove the stain from your dress.

1. Apply baking soda: after a perfume stain appears, resist the urge to immediately rub the mark and instead sprinkle baking soda over the area. Leave on for a couple of hours or overnight if possible, allowing for the powder to soak up any liquid or oil left on the fabric. Once left, gently shake or brush off the powder.

2.  Use a vinegar solution: dilute white vinegar with water in a 1 part vinegar to two-part water formulation, apply with a cloth to the affected area, and then rinse thoroughly with water. Do not use hot water as heat can often cause a stain to set permanently.

3. Vodka Solution: For any highly scented stains, mix equal parts vodka and water, and spray the area lightly. Let air dry.

For any hard-to-remove perfume stains, consider taking your dress to a professional dry cleaner to avoid further damaging the fabric.