I have to admit that I'm a sucker for perfumes and colognes and currently have several in my collection. There is just something about the sweet smell of a lovely perfume that makes me feel good. Even when my husband puts on his Old Spice or Aqua Velva, I find myself following him around the house. Oh I must say that I have tried to update my other half with newer colognes; and they do smell good on him, but the Old School stuff is made for him. Anyway getting back to perfumes, here a a few rules of thumb to follow and ones that I live by.

1. Never over-spray yourself. Spritzing over and over again will not make the perfume or cologne last any longer during the day. My advice is to wait about 5 to 6 hours and reapply, but very sparingly. Remember you may not be able to smell perfume on yourself after several hours but those who you come in contact with do.

2. Layering different scents is okay to do as long as they are not strong and over-powering by themselves. I like to layer floral scents together because to me they fuse very nicely.

3. When storing your perfumes, do it with great care so it can last for years. Do this by keeping them away from temperature extremes, especially heat which can change and turn the scent which usually makes it smell rancid.

4. A big no-no is to buy a fragrance just because you like the way it smells on someone else. As you may know, everyones body chemistry is different so what smells good on one person, can smell not so attractive on the next. Always try a perfume on yourself and let it settle into your skin for a few minutes to see what the reaction is going to be. At many department stores the sales clerk will spray a card for you to smell scents, but if I'm not sure and am interested in buying it, I will spray on the inside of my wrist.

5. My final advice when buying a fragrance is to first of all; don't buy those cheapo sprays that come in a can and are named closely after a popular brand name perfume. They are a waste of money and are more alcohol then scent. Also if someone comes up to you on the street and trys to sell you perfume that's been stored in the back of a car and it's 90 degrees outside, run as fast as you can and don't look back because the fake perfume peddlers are persistent.

I hope you come away with some new tips on perfumes and colognes in this Hub. Also all you guys out there, don't feel left out. The same rules apply to you.