A Beginner’s Guide to Building the Perfect Fragrance Collection
Shopping for perfume can be extremely overwhelming for the inexperienced nose. You go to your local beauty store with great intentions only to be left with confusion when all the different scents start blending in your head. Even worse, you may think you found your new signature scent only to realize that it smells totally different on you. No worries, I’m here to help! Here are some tips that helped me build my fragrance wardrobe:
Never Trust Tester Papers
The composition of a tester paper is vastly different from that of human skin so the way the scent blends will never be exactly like how it blends with your own skin. Moreover, fragrances smell different on everyone simply due to differences in body chemistry and other factors like what body wash and lotions you use. Therefore, the best way to test a fragrance is to simply spray it on your skin and wear it around for a few hours. This allows you to test the scent’s unique reaction to your body chemistry as well as other factors like longevity and projection power.
Take Your Time
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Likewise, you will not be able to smell all the fragrances on the market in just one or two store visits, especially if you’re testing on your skin which you really should (re: tip no. 1). Therefore, take your time with this process and don’t feel pressure to make a purchase decision when you aren’t ready. Try to fit fragrance testing into your usual errand routine. Going past Sephora? Stop in and try on a new fragrance on each hand and see how they wear through the day. After doing this a few times, you’ll have a better sense of what you like and might want to buy.
Keep A Record
Obviously, as you’re trying on different scents over a period of time, it’s easy to forget what scents you liked, disliked, and why. For this reason, I also recommend you keep four running lists in your notes app: (1) fragrances you want to smell, (2) fragrances you smelled and liked, (3) fragrances you smelled and disliked, and (4) fragrances you’re convinced you want to buy.
Look For Similarities In Your List
Your four lists give you a clear understanding of what types of fragrances you like and dislike which will allow you to narrow your search pool and not waste time testing fragrances that you know you won’t like. For example, if all the fragrances in your dislike list are fruity florals, then you know that you don’t like that and should probably stop smelling scents in that family. Similarly, if all the scents in your list of likes have common notes of tonka bean or vanilla, then you can safely assume that you like those notes and should test more perfumes with them. As you test more scents, you’ll have a wider understanding of what your favorite scent families and notes are which will help you start identifying fragrances you might like based on the notes without ever smelling them. This will also help you cross into the world of blind buying scents: purchasing scents you haven’t smelled yet which is like a fun game of fragrance roulette.
Enjoy The Experience
Shopping for fragrances can be a super fun way to engage your sense of smell (rather than sight which is typically the main focus of beauty), and enjoy what I like to call a little luxury. Take the time to learn what you like and only buy the fragrances that make you smell like how you want to feel. You deserve it <3.
