Office perfumes

What makes a perfume work in an office

An office is shared air. People sit close for long stretches, rooms are warm and ventilation is limited, so the main quality of an office perfume is restraint. It should be clear without being insistent, pleasant at arm's length, and it should not announce itself in a lift or at a desk. That usually means clean musks, soft florals, citrus, tea, herbs and light woods rather than dense gourmands or smoky resins.

Restraint is not the same as dullness. A quiet perfume can still have a clear idea, such as papyrus and tobacco in a short list, or a single citrus against vetiver. The skill lies in building the idea so that it stays close to the wearer.

How to choose an office perfume

Check the intensity and the concentration, not only the notes. An eau de toilette or a light eau de parfum is easy to place. Apply one or two sprays on the chest or wrists, never in a cloud, and let colleagues ask where it comes from rather than whether you are wearing something. Think about your workplace too: an open-plan floor calls for a softer choice than a private room. Our guide to how to apply perfume explains how to apply small amounts and where a perfume sits best.

From the collection

Perfumes that suit the working day, from the houses on our brands page:

Les Eaux Primordiales Musk Superfluide is an icy white musk: aldehydes, neroli and ambrette on top, rose, iris and violet in the heart, and benzoin, white musks and Ambroxan below.

Goldfield & Banks Bohemian Lime puts Australian finger lime and coriander over a base of vetiver, Atlas cedarwood and Australian sandalwood.

Maison Crivelli Papyrus Moléculaire is a woody, powdery perfume built on papyrus, with coriander, black pepper, sandalwood, tonka bean, tobacco and a leather accord.

Sospiro Vibranna opens with bergamot and orris, puts nutmeg, moss and lily of the valley in the heart and rests on amber, musk and patchouli.

Xerjoff Renaissance is a fresh perfume of mandarin, lemon and Calabrian bergamot, with mint, lily of the valley and Bulgarian rose in the heart, over musk, cedarwood, amber and patchouli.

Essential Parfums The Musc pairs red ginger and lavandin with beeswax absolute, Nirvanolide musk and Australian sandalwood.

Diptyque Eau des Sens is an eau de toilette of orange blossom, angelica root, patchouli and juniper berry, built around the bitter orange tree.