Create Your Own Signature Scent

Have you ever wanted to smell exclusive? To have a scent that can not be replicated on others, cannot be described easily, or has never been smelled before?

Well, have you ever layered a perfume before?

Initio is a perfume house that has a small selection of base perfumes, which they call Magnetic Blends. While these perfumes can be worn alone, they were created to be layered underneath the rest of your fragrance wardrobe to create a unique new fragrance. The Magnetic Blends have an extraordinarily long lasting staying power, and thus are excellent at also extending the longevity of your layered perfume.

For spring, we want to focus on Initio's Magnetic Blend 7. This is the second base they made, with their first being Magnetic Blend 1, and third being Magnetic Blend 8 (now discontinued). Magnetic Blend 7 is more "feminine" leaning, meaning that it can add a creamy floral softness to your scent, or it can sex up your scent with the allure of musk. It's a cleaner smelling musk than you may think of when imagining musk, so we definitely suggest giving this a try.

Like all of their Magnetic Blends, Magnetic Blend 7 increases the pheromonal effects of your perfume or cologne. It is versatile enough for anyone to wear, regardless of gender.

How Do You Layer Perfumes?

Layering perfume is easy! The hard part is choosing what to layer. We always recommend putting the Magnetic Blend on first, followed up with your selected perfume. Initio cautions against rubbing the scents in, and suggests a gentle patting motion (although, we personally don't think you can crush a molecule, but we're not the scientists are we?). Once you have an understanding of how Magnetic Blend 7 works, we will list a few of our favorite combinations.

Magnetic Blend 7 is only one note: musk.

Having only one note in a perfume can seem strange, what's the point of it? Before modern perfumery came to be in the 19th century, perfume was the name for single-origin scents, such as oud, myrrh, rose, or frankincense. The turn of modernity for perfume came when notes began to be blended, which introduced the idea of top, middle (or heart) and base notes into fragrance.

The brand Initio itself was created to pay tribute to this early era of perfume. Initio focuses on the sensorial aspects of perfume, and always uses pheromones in their fragrances. Some of Initio's pheromones are naturally occurring, such as the effect that jasmine has in high doses, while some replicate the molecular structure, such as with musk.

What Does Magnetic Blend 7 Smell Like?

Depending on your own body chemistry, as well as what you decide to layer ontop, the fragrance can become more powdery, musky, or caramelly. People sometimes describe this as the little black dress of perfumes because it can bring your daytime scent into evening wear. Adding Magnetic Blend 7 to your fragrance adds a sandalwoody and dirty (in the best way) dry down to any scent. It smooths out spicy perfumes, so is great for adapting more winter-friendly scents to spring.

Although the research surrounding the link between humans and pheromones is limited, it is surmisable to say that -- since humans are animals, and animals definitely have a link to pheromones -- humans are affected by pheromones. Perfume has always had an affect on our emotions, and now you can increase this facet of your perfume via layering.

The affect Magnetic Blend 7 will have can be difficult to define because it transforms on your skin, as well as with how you layer it. It can lean more creamy, cashmere, or vanilla, all depending on what other notes you add on top. We always suggest placing the Magnetic Blend on your skin first, and then following it with your perfume of choice, as opposed to the other way around. Magnetic Blend 7 is a sexy, clean musk building block for your fragrance wardrobe without being overwhelmingly flower forward.

What does this mean for your perfume? You are getting the purest form of pheromones, without any imperfections that might arise from naturally derived products. Plus, no reindeer are harmed in production, which is incredibly important.

Our Pairing Selections

Here are some of our favorite combinations that give us a whiff of spring. Please note that these combinations are tested on our staff's skin, so their body chemistries will alter fragrance accordingly. You may experience a different effect from layering Magnetic Blend 7, so we always recommend playing around with a combination for a few days to determine its full affect. You are always welcome to stop by our store in person and we can take you on your personal scent journey.

If you're not sure what perfumes you want to begin layering with, you should take our Fragrance Flight quiz and bundle. We have a short, easy quiz that will help you decide which perfumes to try out. What is your favorite combination of perfumes to layer? Have you tried Magnetic Blend 7 yet? Stop by Bellini's on NW 23rd and let us take you on a scent journey!