80 perfumes and counting: Moon Ga-young’s scent obsession revealed

Moon Ga-young/ Captured from BAZAAR's YouTube channel

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Actress Moon Ga-young showed off her love for perfume, a passion shared by many younger people, who use fragrance as a way to express themselves.

In a recent video released on Harper’s Bazaar Korea's YouTube channel, Moon unveiled the contents of her bag, pulling out several bottles of perfume.

“I’m obsessed with scents, so I always carry two or three perfumes with me,” she said. “It actually takes me longer to choose a fragrance than to pick an outfit. I’m not exaggerating — I have around 80 bottles at home, all on display.”

Moon shared that instead of spraying perfume on her wrists, she applies perfume to the backs of her hands and arms, as well as around the neck and behind the ears. She also sprays it into the air and walks through it so the scent settles naturally on her body. To avoid mixing scents, she uses unscented hand and body creams.

For many young people today, perfume is more than just a finishing touch — it’s a way to express identity. Some even invest more in fragrances than clothing, carefully testing different scents to find their signature.

Using perfume properly can help you leave a lasting, pleasant impression — especially as summer approaches and sweating increases.

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How to choose

Moon said she prefers to concentrate on lingering base notes over the initial scent. Perfumes are structured in three layers:

– Top notes: the first impression, lasting 5–15 minutes

– Middle notes: the core scent, lasting 15 minutes to 2 hours

– Base notes: a lingering scent, lasting over 4 hours. Heavier base notes like wood, musk and amber tend to last longer.

Perfumes are also categorized by concentration:

– Perfume (Parfum): 20–30 percent fragrance, lasts 8+ hours

– Eau de Parfum (EDP): 10–20 percent, lasts 5–8 hours

– Eau de Toilette (EDT): 5–15 percent, lasts 3–6 hours

– Eau de Cologne (EDC): 2–5 percent, lasts 1–2 hours

People should choose their fragrance based on their personal taste, the season and their lifestyle, considering scents the individual already likes, the image they want to project and their personality. For someone with an active lifestyle, light citrus scents are recommended. For an office setting, subtle floral scents work better.

For summer, choose lighter notes, such as citrus for freshness, herbaceous or grassy notes for a clean feel and light florals or fruity blends for an airy vibe. In winter, deeper and warmer woody or amber scents are more popular.

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How to apply

Moon noted that perfumers often advise avoiding the wrists. Instead, apply perfume to pulse points like behind the ears, the neck and the collarbones — areas where warmth helps diffuse the scent.

Because wrists are frequently in motion and prone to friction, it’s better to spray the backs of the hands or arms. Rubbing one's wrists together can break down fragrance molecules and cause the scent to fade faster.

For a subtle effect, spray into the air and walk through the mist, as Moon does.

Avoid over-applying — spray from a distance of 15–20 cm, applying 1–2 sprays to 2–3 areas. Using unscented lotions helps preserve the original fragrance. Layering with the same scent is possible but can become overpowering.

How to store

To keep perfume fresh:

– Avoid direct sunlight, heat, and humidity

– Store in a cool, dark place (10–20°C)

– Avoid refrigeration

– Keep the cap tightly closed to prevent oxidation

Unopened perfume typically lasts about 5 years; once opened, around 3 years. Depending on storage, it may remain usable for 3–5 years. If the scent changes or sediment appears, it’s best to discard it.

This article from Kormedi.com, Korea’s top health care and medical portal, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.