I love perfume. Even though I work from home and spend all day at a computer, I don’t feel right unless I have my morning spritz of a favorite fragrance. I tend to stick to a few fragrances because I can never make up my mind about new ones. There are so many available, I find it bewildering and somewhat overwhelming. But, I have decided I need to give some new ones a try. But before I do I went on a mission to learn from experts how to make the best choices. This is what I learned about how to buy a perfume.
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1. Go Prepared
If you are looking to spend some serious cash on a fragrance, then you need to do go ready for business! Make notes on your phone about each one you sample so you can compare, and you can even take some small envelopes to preserve samples.
2. Go Scent Free
Go perfume shopping wearing absolutely nothing scented. You don’t want to confuse the fragrances when you are trying to make an important decision. Sometimes, a perfectly nice perfume can be made to small horrible when mixed with another scent.
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3. Head Straight for the Counter
Don’t wait and do your perfume shopping last. Your nose is always more sensitive and susceptible to fragrances when you have first come in to the store from the fresh air.
4. A Few at a Time
Don’t overload you senses by trying to sample too many different perfumes at a time. Work with around 3 or 4 so that you don’t get confused.
5. Evaporate
Allow the alcohol to evaporate from the perfume before you lift your wrist to smell it. It will allow you to get a much truer sample of the scent.
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6. Short Inhales
There is an art to perfume testing, just like wine tasting! You want to take short little inhales rather than one big in breath; that way you will get more notes coming through.
7. No to Coffee Beans
Some perfume counters offer a smell of coffee beans to cleanse your senses in between samples, but this can be an overload during a big session. Instead just take a big inhale of your scarf or a sleeve.
8. Make a Note
Make a note of which blotters you have already sampled. It can get really confusing when you are have gone through between 15 and 20 already.
9. Be Compare Aware
Always be aware then when comparing two scents, the first one you smell will always seem stronger because it is the first hit that your senses have to take.
10. Spray Yourself
Never let the counter girls spray the perfume for you. Always do it yourself. It saves you getting drenched in something that they are trying sell on the cheap!
11. Smell It outside
If you can, always try to see what the perfume smells like outside of the store, out in the open air. It’s hard to tell if something is too strong or not strong enough in the confinement of a beauty department.
12. Don’t Smell Too Close
If you want to make sure that you buy a perfume that is going to leave a pleasant trail, test out smelling it from a distance rather than right at your nose.
13. Different Concentrations
Remember that there is a vast difference in concentration of different perfumes, with Eau de Parfum being the strongest and Eau de Toilette being the weakest.
14. Wait to Buy
Do not make the mistake of getting swept up in the sale girl’s talk and buying right away. Take some time to think about the purchase.
15. Samples
Do be ashamed; take as many samples as you want, that is what they are there for after all!
16. Show Thanks
If your sales associate has been particularly helpful in your quest for a new fragrance, then don’t forget to show appreciation; it can be tough job to please people!
17. Educate Yourself
Go in with an already extensive knowledge of the fragrance families and notes that best suit you. This will cut out a lot of unnecessary time looking at perfumes you do not like.
Happy perfume shopping. Do tell us about the next perfume you buy or last one you bought and why you love it.
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