On November 21, 1962, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Gilberto, Sergio Mendes and others took a stage at Carnegie Hall in front of about three thousand people. The sound system gave them trouble, and they played anyway. New York heard bossa nova live, and Sol de Janeiro later named a perfume mist after that year.

I like that a body spray can carry a story like that. The brand was founded in 2015 by Heela Yang, who spent more than twelve years at Lancome and Clinique before moving to Brazil, and its name means Sun of January. The brand says cheirosa means to smell incredibly delicious in Portuguese, and the numbers are year references: Cheirosa 62 nods to 1962, the era of The Girl from Ipanema. A body spray is the lightest fragrance category, and a perfumer quoted in Cosmopolitan puts the fragrance oil at about three percent, against 10 to 15 percent for an eau de toilette. That means you use it freely, and you top it up.

The trick is to treat the first grid as a wardrobe. Cheirosa 62 Bum Bum is the pistachio, almond, salted caramel and sandalwood one, and it comes in a refillable bottle. Cheirosa 68 Beija Flor, 48, 71, 39, 91 Rosa Charmosa, 59 Delicia and 76 fill in the rest. Pick two: one to start the day, and one for the evening. The refillable versions, like 62, 59 and 76, are the easy way to keep one going.

Here is how I would choose a vanilla: think of what kind of sweet you like. Cake, cream, milk or toasted sugar all read differently, and the name on the bottle usually tells you.

PHLUR's Vanilla Skin is the soft, skin-close one, and Heavy Cream is its richer sibling. Summer Fridays' Vanilla with vanilla cake and radiant amber is the warm one, and Sephora Collection's Vanilla + Almond Milk is the light, nutty option. OUAI's Ibiza has tonka bean and vanilla, Josie Maran's Vanilla Vibezzz uses natural scents, Maison Louis Marie's Fleur de Vanille is the floral one, and Emi Jay's Aura in Toasted Sugar is the one to try if you like a caramelised edge.

A pairing I like: a vanilla mist on your hair and a body cream in the same family on your skin. The scent lasts through the afternoon, and you smell like one person, not two.

What I would skip: spraying a strong vanilla mist just before you sit in a small meeting room. It is a soft, generous scent, and other people did not sign up for it.

Try this: keep a fruity mist in the fridge door for the hottest week of summer. Fresh scents feel best when they are cool, and the first spray after a shower is a small event.

This is the daytime shelf. Ceremonia's Guava and Summer Fridays' Pink Guava are the two guava mists, and Sol de Janeiro's Limonada Gelada is the creamy, refreshing citrus one. Maison Louis Marie's Fruit du Dragon is the unusual one, OUAI's Santorini brings peach and honeysuckle, and Gisou's Glazed Cherry Honey is the sweeter, stickier one. PHLUR's Island Swim is the beach one, and Olaplex's Signature Hair & Body Mist is the clean, simple pick.

A pairing I like: a guava mist for the commute and a vanilla mist for the evening. Fruit is awake, vanilla is sleepy, and both suit their hour. Keep the fruity mist in your bag and reapply at lunch, since a light scent fades fast and you will want a second pass by mid-afternoon.

What I would skip: any body spray on skin that is already red or irritated. DermNet notes that fragranced products can cause irritant or allergic contact dermatitis, so patch test a new one on your inner arm first.

A habit worth borrowing: moisturize first, spray second. A mist on damp, moisturized skin has something to hold on to, and a mist on dry skin has nothing to cling to.

This grid is the base layer. Summer Fridays' Body Butter Balm comes in Pink Guava and Vanilla, and both are rich creams with hyaluronic acid that match the mists above. Sol de Janeiro's Brazilian Bum Bum Cream is the classic, and the Beija Flor Body Oil and Glowmotions Glow Body Oil are the shinier options for bare legs. Kayali's Yum Boujee Marshmallow 81 and Yum Pistachio Gelato 33 are silk souffle body creams, the dessert ones, and OUAI's St. Barts is the moisturizing cream for anyone who wants a light tropical touch.

A pairing I like: the Pink Guava butter and the Pink Guava mist, or the Beija Flor oil under the Cheirosa 68 mist. Matching scents let each product do a little less work.

What I would skip: an oil over skin you are about to dress. Give it ten minutes, or your favourite linen shirt will show it.

I think a body spray is best treated as a small wardrobe, not a signature. One for the commute, one for bed, one for the weekend. That is a more honest way to use something that fades in a few hours, and it asks very little commitment of you.

Start with Cheirosa 62 if you like gourmands, or Ceremonia Guava if you like fresh, and a body cream that matches. Bossa nova filled a hall in 1962 and left New York humming. A good mist does the same to a room, in a slightly quieter way. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Lattafa Angham and the Fruity, Musky, Vanilla Perfumes I Pair With It and Power of You Armani and the Fruity Vanilla Perfumes Around It.