If you don’t see a reason to test perfumes before purchasing, just imagine buying a perfume based on internet hype only to later discover that you hate the fragrance.
It stings even harder when you smell a fragrance on your friend and you ask for the name, then go on to make a purchase only to discover that the perfume smells horrible on you.
The best way to avoid all that heartbreak is to test perfumes before purchasing them.
Tips for testing perfumes
- Firstly, avoid wearing any fragrance on the day that you’re going to test the perfume. This will prevent the scents from mixing and confusing you.
- It’s better to test fragrances in the morning. Your sense of smell is at its peak in the morning.
- Avoid olfactory fatigue by not smelling too many perfumes in one day. Take breaks between your tests.
Don’t bother smelling coffee beans to recalibrate your nose. That has been proven to be a myth. It could even have the opposite effect by overwhelming your sense of smell.
How to test perfumes
1. Make a list of perfumes that you will love to try. This can be from perfumes you love on friends, some perfume ads you saw on tv, and some popular brands you see around.
2. If you are shopping from a self-service store, you can go straight to the shelves to seek out those perfumes. Otherwise, go to the sales counter and ask the sales representative to introduce the perfume you want to you.
When narrowing down on a particular perfume, ask the sales rep about the scent; if it is popular, if people love it and if the scent is nice.
3. Ask for samples and take them home. This will give you enough time to check if you love the perfume.
Perfume samples are usually very cheap or free and they come in sizes. They provide an opportunity to assess every detail about the perfume before committing to purchase the standard bottle.
4. Testing on skin: You can test the perfume on your skin by spritzing on the back of your hands. Make sure your hands are clean before you commence the testing.
Leave the perfume to dry naturally without rubbing. Smell the perfume but do not touch the hand to the nose. Avoid washing your hands during the tests because the soap can alter the ph balance of your skin and make them smell different.
RELATED: Why Perfumes Smell Differently on Everyone
5. Test on blotting strips: Paper blotters (a.k.a fragrance blotter strips) are cards made into small strips that people can use to test perfumes. Fragrance blotter strips are a neutral medium for smelling and evaluating the aromatic compounds of a perfume. These paper strips give a comprehensive impression of the fragrance.
They prevent the fragrance from mixing with other smells on your body. They are also usually freely available at the perfume stores. If you’re testing a lot of perfumes and all the sheets look the same, you may want to write the name of each perfume on the paper it is tested on.
Thick matte paper is usually more absorbent than the glossy types, so, you should go for the former. However, fragrances react differently with everyone’s skin, so the blotters may only reveal some aspects of the perfume to you.
How to use blotters to test perfumes
a. Do not spray the fragrance directly onto the blotter because it can let the head notes hit too sharply. Spraying directly onto the blotter may not let the alcohol evaporate and that can distort the notes. Liquid may also gather on the card’s surface because the card cannot absorb all of it.
b. Instead, spray the fragrance twice in a downward motion and pass the blotter through the fragrance cloud. Continue to smell the blotter at intervals to check the longevity of the perfume.
c. You don’t have to buy on the same day that you’re testing. If you want to see the evolution of the notes in the different perfumes you are testing, store the blotters in separate places in your bag so that you can smell them later without the scents interfering with one another.
