TL;DR: there's no universal right answer. A signature scent simplifies your routine and becomes a real olfactory calling card, but you end up barely smelling it yourself. Rotating several perfumes avoids fatigue and adapts to occasions, at the cost of a bit more thought each morning.
What a signature scent gives you
Wearing the same perfume every day creates a strong association: people around you end up linking that scent to your presence. This is often cited as a real social advantage — some enthusiasts recall being identified years later by a perfume they no longer even wear.
The most commonly mentioned downside: from wearing it daily, you develop a form of nose-blindness and end up barely smelling your own perfume, even though it remains perfectly perceptible to others.
What rotating several perfumes gives you
Rotating several perfumes — one for work, one for going out, one for summer, one for winter — keeps each perfume "fresh" for longer, without getting tired of it. It's also the approach most cited by collectors who own more than a handful of bottles: rotation becomes almost a natural consequence of having a collection.
The most commonly cited middle ground: "signature rotation"
Between a single signature scent and full rotation, many enthusiasts adopt an intermediate approach: a handful of perfumes that come back regularly, without any single one completely dominating. This approach keeps the "calling card" aspect of a signature scent while avoiding monotony and nose-blindness.
How to decide what works for you
- If you like simplicity and want to be associated with one specific scent, a signature scent (or two, to cover the seasons) is probably the right choice.
- If you like discovering new things and never want to get tired of a perfume, rotation suits you better — as long as you're fine thinking a little more each morning.
- Tracking what you wear and how often can help you spot, almost without noticing, which mode actually suits you best over time.