How to find the right perfume for you

Isn't it a magical experience to fall in love with a perfume or cologne and walk around smelling like a million bucks? Perfume is not just an invisible accessory, but it defines your own style, attitude and above all reflects your personality.

With hundreds of perfumes on the market, finding your perfect scent can be tricky. Also, your nose picks up on some scents differently than others so it's always a good idea to sample the perfume at least twice before you decide to pull the trigger on it. There are just so many different factors that go into picking out the scent that is right for you. 

We know it sounds daunting but trust us we are here to make your fragrance discovery journey fun and easier. You don't need to be a master perfumer when we are here to help you find a fragrance or cologne that is right for you.

Know your taste

Before you start shopping, it's important to know what kinds of scents you don't like. Its easier to make a list of smells that you don't like rather than the ones you like. For example, I hate the smell of coconut so I'll avoid any perfume that has that note. Scent preferences are very personal and finding the right scent may mean trying out several different fragrances before settling on one that works for you.

You could try smelling some food items that have strong flavors, such as chocolate and coffee. Perhaps, you like the smell of the bakery you frequently visit, or you love to smell flowers like roses or peonies. If spices are your thing, find out what spices your nose loves. Think about what emotions each smell evokes in you. Do you feel energized after smelling a certain smell? Or does it transport you somewhere else? Now that you know what smells you like and don't like, let's move on to trying some fragrances.

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What feelings does the perfume evoke?

Consider what you and others who will smell the perfume will feel and does that align with your needs. For example, Parfums de Marly Layton Exclusifs is a leathery smoky scent with a sexy profile. It will be quite inappropriate to wear to the office.

As you get more into the perfumes world you will start to build a collection of different perfumes to wear on different occasions.

You can also buy perfumes for different seasons but its not necessary. You can wear most perfumes throughout the year.

Test on your skin

Always apply the scent on your skin when testing. Tester strips are a waste of everyone's time. Why? Because you would be wearing the perfume on your skin, not a piece of paper. It's no secret that some scents smell better on some individuals than on others because of their body chemistry, hormones, etc.

Apply a small amount on your wrist and leave the store. Thus you can try two perfumes at a time, which is what we recommend. More on that below. Don't rush, let the perfume react to your skin chemistry and show its range of notes. (And for the love of God, don't rub your wrists.) Smell it every few hours and notice all its notes - top, heart and base. Ask your friends and family how they like it too.

After a whole day of use, you pretty much have an idea of the perfume smells on you and whether you like it or not. This will also give you an idea of its lasting power.

Don't smell too many scents at once

Have you ever been to a retail store and had a pushy salesperson spray a bunch of perfume on you until you couldn't distinguish one from another and ended up buying something that you didn't like after wearing it once or twice?

This has happened to the best of us. The trick is to not try too many perfumes at once. The smell of too many perfumes confuses your nose and your judgment gets clouded, so you end up buying something you don't fancy later. When it comes to sampling perfumes, less is always more. We recommend you don't try more than two fragrances in one go.

And "resetting the nose" with coffee is over-hyped. It doesn't work that well.

Buy perfume samples

Another good way of sampling scents is subscription services like ScentGod, where you can sample a scent for a month for a fraction of the retail price. You get to try the perfume for a few days, live with it, and see how it works with your body chemistry and whether it's right for you or not.

Perfume is expensive — especially if you buy designer brands — so it's always a good idea to sample them properly before spending your hard-earned cash.

FAQ

How to choose the right perfume for my body chemistry?

Yes, things like your skin temperature, how oily and sweaty your skin is and your diet affects the smell of a perfume. Hot and oily skins increases the sillage of the perfume, sometimes you may not even want that.

But there's no point discussing this because you can't change your body chemistry. So the practical thing to do is try different perfumes until you find the ones that work well on you.

Do pheromones affect a perfumes smell?

Pheromones are a fad in perfume industry. No scientific data has yet confirmed the presence of any pheromones or the ability to detect them in humans.