30 seconds is the average time you need to try a perfume and know if you like it. But if you read our previous article on the 3 notes that compose any fragrance, you should know that it needs time to fully reveal itself. Today, let’s learn how to test a perfume in the best conditions to give it a chance…
The blotter : your first ally in your olfactory journey
If you have a curious nose, you will not settle for trying only one, but several fragrances. In order to keep space on your skin, use blotters to make a first selection among the fragrances that intrigue you the most. Spray or soak the testing paper and wait a few seconds to let the alcohol evaporate, opening the way to the top note. Then hold the blotter about ten centimeters from your nose and try to recognize the smells overwhelming you…
Sens of smell: take a break to smell better
If you smell too many fragrances in a row, you will probably not be able to distinguish their different notes. To prevent this frustrating feeling, you may be invited to sniff coffee beans. Concretely, the effectiveness of this method has never been scientifically proven. Smelling coffee beans allows in reality your spirit to focus on a simple and recognizable scent. It allows to not disturb and influence your nose when you try different perfumes consecutively. Between two tests, you could also easily go out to take a breath of fresh air. Or even smell your own scent in the hollow of your elbow.
Your skin, the ultimate test
You refined your selection and only 2 or 3 perfumes remain: it is a Cornelian choice… Now is the time to try those fragrances directly on your skin, to see how they will evolve at it touch. Indeed, each skin is unique and the same fragrance can smell differently depending on the skin on which it is applied. According to the type of epidermis or the acidity of the skin, a perfume can be very discreet or too invasive for instance. First of all, always try a perfume in a cool place and on a clean and unscented skin, on which you did not apply cream or lotion. You don’t want to mix different scents. You want to smell the harmony of your skin and the second one: your new perfume.
Apply therefore these fragrances on a warm and accessible place on your body: your wrist, where your pulse beats. Don’t rub them! This gesture, which we do without really knowing why, breaks and blends olfactory molecules of the fragrance. Ideally, try the scents thanks to a spray that spreads the perfume optimally. Let the alcohol evaporate and inhale by quick and delicate several breathes. The top note reveals itself, rapidly replaced by the heart one and followed by the more persistent base note. In a shop, do not hesitate to ask for a sample to try it at home for a day or two, and in different conditions: even the weather is important!
Does this fragrance suits me?
You have followed all these steps but you still have a doubt: is this perfume made for me? Does this smell represents me? You can ask for your friends, family and beloved advices… But keep in mind that a perfume is a subjective creation! Everyone will have a different opinion of a fragrance depending on many factors: his personality, his mood and desires, his olfactory memory or the season… We only have one advice to give you: trust yourself! If you love a perfume, then it is made for you. It is that simple.
If you don’t know our fragrances (yet) and this article made you curious to try them, you will love our Discovery Set! It contains the samples of all our eaux de parfum and some blotters to test them at your own pace! We are (sooo) curious, so feel free to give us your most honest feedback…
What about you: what is your scented ritual to try a perfume?
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