Lance Carson
Choosing a perfume can be a tricky business, especially considering the thousands of options on the market. Perfumes smell different on everyone, so it's important to sample a scent before committing to a purchase. The fragrance you wear can become a subconscious way for people to remember you and how they perceive you, so it's worth taking the time to find your signature scent. There are a few ways to test a perfume's smell, such as using a paper smelling strip, also known as a blotter or mouillette, or spraying it directly onto your skin.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| How to test perfume | Use a paper smelling strip, also known as a blotter or Mouillette |
| Avoid touching the perfume with your skin or nose | |
| Avoid touching scented candles, reed diffusers, or lotions | |
| Use a travel-sized bottle and test the fragrance for a week | |
| Types of perfume | Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Cologne, Eau Fraiche |
| Strengths of perfume | Eau de Parfum (15-20% oil), Eau de Toilette (5-15% oil), Eau de Cologne (2-4% oil), Eau Fraiche (1-2% oil) |
| Notes of a fragrance | Top notes (opening notes), middle notes (heart notes), base notes |
| Fragrance families | Warm, woody, oriental, fresh |
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What You'll Learn
Using paper smelling strips
Paper smelling strips, also known as blotters or mouillettes, are long or square paper cards that are typically white and absorbent. They are commonly used to test perfumes and can be found in the perfumery sections of department stores, specialist shops, or airport duty-free areas. These strips are useful for getting an initial impression of a fragrance, but keep in mind that the scent may differ when applied to the skin.
When using paper smelling strips, it is important to follow certain techniques to ensure accurate results. Here is a step-by-step guide:
- Hold the smelling strip away from you and spray the perfume downwards onto the strip, avoiding any surfaces underneath. This prevents the perfume from landing on your hands, clothes, or the table, which could interfere with the scent.
- Spray the perfume once or twice onto one end of the card. Do not overspray, as the strip needs to absorb the liquid.
- Handle the strip only by the unscented end to avoid contaminating the fragrance.
- Hold the strip close to your nose, but do not touch your nose with it. Take short, light whiffs to avoid fatiguing your sense of smell.
- The initial impression you get will be the 'top notes' of the perfume. As the fragrance develops, you will start to perceive the 'heart' and 'back notes'.
- If you are testing multiple perfumes, try to hold the strips like a fan, keeping the scented tips away from each other to prevent the oils from mixing and altering the scents.
- You can also use the other end of the strip to write down the name of the perfume to keep track of your favourites.
- Instead of discarding used strips, you can place the ones you like into separate pockets or compartments to experience the fragrance again later in the day. Just make sure the strips are dry to avoid damaging your belongings.
While paper smelling strips are a convenient way to test perfumes, keep in mind that the scent may differ when applied to the skin due to individual body chemistry. Therefore, it is recommended to test perfumes on your skin, especially after shortlisting your favourites using the strips.
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Understanding fragrance notes
The scent of a perfume is made up of a combination of several fragrance notes. These notes are the different layers of scent that you can smell in a fragrance. Notes are classified in a fragrance pyramid with three basic categories: top notes, heart or middle notes, and base notes.
Top notes are the initial scents that you smell when you first spray or apply perfume. They are the lightest and most volatile notes, and they typically last for about 10 to 15 minutes. Examples of top notes include citrus, floral, and fruity scents, such as lemon, bergamot, and grapefruit. Citrus notes are fresh and uplifting, while floral notes are often found in middle notes and are feminine and romantic. Examples of floral scents include rose, jasmine, lily, and violet leaf. Fruits and vegetables provide a nuanced texture and a refreshing feel to fragrances.
Middle notes, also known as heart notes, are the scents that you can smell once the top notes have evaporated. They typically last for about 2 to 3 hours and are the main body of the perfume. Examples of middle notes include floral scents like rose, jasmine, and lavender, as well as spicy scents like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom.
Base notes are the scent that lasts the longest and is the one you remember most. They kick in about 30 minutes after applying the perfume and work together with the middle notes to create the fragrance's scent. Base notes bring depth and solidity to a perfume and are usually rich and "deep". Examples of base notes include oriental notes like amber, musk, and vanilla, and woody notes like sandalwood, cedarwood, and patchouli.
Other unique notes include fig leaf, which gives modern "fig" fragrances their bitter-green-allied-to-coconut-sweet scent, and tomato leaf, which is featured in some perfumes like Eau de Campagne by Sisley.
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Recognising fragrance families
There are four main fragrance families: warm, woody, oriental or amber, and fresh. The woody family includes warm and opulent scents, mixing incense-like fragrances like sandalwood and patchouli with drier notes like cedar. Woody fragrances used to be dominated by masculine perfumes, but now more female and unisex fragrances are being created within this family. Common notes include oak, sandalwood, rosewood, and cedarwood.
The fresh family is defined by zingy, aromatic compositions backed by underlying woody notes. These perfumes are bright, herby, citrusy, clean, and oceanic. Common notes include lemon, orange, neroli, bergamot, grapefruit, and mandarin.
The floral scent family is one of the most common families and is usually feminine. Common notes include bergamot, oak moss, and patchouli.
The oriental family, also known as amber, includes herbs, spices, and dry powdery resin notes. Amber scents are described as sensual, warm, and exotic. They are rich, smooth, and distinct, and you will remember them from the first spray.
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Avoiding nasal fatigue
Olfactory fatigue, often referred to as "nose blindness", is a very real phenomenon that occurs when your body becomes desensitized to certain smells over time. This is a natural defence mechanism to prevent overloading your nervous system, allowing you to respond more effectively to new stimuli. However, it can be frustrating when you're trying to test out new perfumes. So, how can you avoid nasal fatigue when checking a perfume's smell?
Firstly, it's important to ""reset" your nose between each new scent. This is a process also known as "cleansing the palate". One popular method is to smell coffee beans or lemons, as the acidity helps to reset your olfactory palate. You might have noticed coffee beans at perfume counters for this very reason. Alternatively, you can simply smell the sleeve of your shirt or your unperfumed skin, as the inherent scent can also act as a natural "cleanser" for your nose.
If you're going to be smelling a lot of different perfumes, it's a good idea to take longer breaks in between to give your olfactory senses a chance to rejuvenate. You could also try using aromatherapy oils or exploring natural ingredients, as these have been shown to reduce the risk of olfactory fatigue. Alternating between two or more fragrances can also help to prevent nasal fatigue.
If you're particularly sensitive to fragrances, it might be worth taking extra precautions. You can ask those around you to avoid wearing strong perfumes or colognes, and use natural, unscented products yourself to reduce your exposure to potentially irritating chemicals. Being mindful of these factors can help you avoid nasal fatigue and make the process of checking a perfume's smell more enjoyable.
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Testing on skin
Testing perfume on your skin is an important step in the perfume-buying process, as the fragrance will react with the warmth, flora, and natural oils of your skin, creating a scent that is unique to you. To start, narrow down your selection to one or two fragrances that stood out to you when tested with blotters.
When testing on your skin, it's best to limit yourself to two wrists, as testing on multiple parts of your body increases the chances of different fragrances contaminating each other. Spray your chosen fragrance on your wrist, ensuring that the spray is not too close or too far from your skin. Avoid rubbing your wrist with your finger, as this can also cause contamination. Allow the perfume to dry naturally, and without touching your wrist with your nose, inhale the scent.
It's important to let the fragrance develop over time. Avoid washing your wrists or splashing water on them, as this will interfere with the scent. You can periodically refer back to the scent to observe how it changes and develops. You should also try to test the perfume earlier in the day, as our sense of smell is usually sharpest in the morning.
After spraying the perfume on your wrist, you can go about your day and do something else, allowing the fragrance to interact with your body's natural chemistry. After 15-30 minutes, or even longer, take a sniff of your wrist to see how the fragrance has evolved. The scent will deepen over time as you experience each of the levels of notes in its formulation.
Remember, the concentration of a perfume determines its longevity on the skin, so keep this in mind when making your purchase decision.
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Frequently asked questions
You can use a paper smelling strip, also known as a blotter or mouillette, to test the scent without contaminating your skin. Spray the perfume onto the strip and smell it. You can also fan out multiple strips to compare several fragrances.
Perfumes smell different on everyone due to our unique skin chemistry. Before buying a full-sized perfume, try a travel-sized bottle to see how the scent interacts with your skin over a few days.
You should test a perfume for at least a few days before buying it, as your skin's chemistry can change from day to day.
You can test around three fragrances before experiencing nasal fatigue, where you are no longer able to distinguish between scents.
The strength of a perfume is determined by its concentration of oil. Eau de parfum, for example, typically contains 15 to 20% oil and lasts between five to eight hours.
