As the creator and CEO of perfume house Bond No. 9, Laurice Rahme is a woman well-versed in scents. Though her fragrances all pay homage to New York City, we’re such fans of the brand that we couldn’t resist picking Rahme’s brain when she made her way to Saks Fifth Avenue Beverly Hills on Thursday to debut her latest fragrance, Park Avenue South. So how do you find your signature scent?

4 WAYS TO DISCOVER YOUR SIGNATURE SCENT

1.     I believe you need to love it instantaneously and then discover more and more when it develops.

2.      Overall you need to wear a fragrance for a few hours to determine if you really love all aspects of it, and if you will continue to do so over days, weeks and months.

3.   The bottom note is what develops last and what stays with you for many hours long after the top note has disappeared. The base is what blends with your own skin scent to create a scent individual to you and that will be part of you.

4.      Fragrances and their diffusion develops on the skin in phases or layers—the top note is what you smell right away when you spray it, usually the sparkling and vivacious fresh notes, an invitation the fragrance extends to you to smell a little bit longer. The middle note is the “heart” of the fragrance; it should or character where the essence of it will become apparent. For example, warm and sensual, floral and intoxicating, aromatic and clean.