How To Know If A Perfume Is Right For You?

Selecting a perfume is an art. A nice perfume not only completes your outfit, but also enhances your confidence by a few notches. Now comes the question, how to pick a signature perfume, or any perfume for that matter which suits you! Our senses become more developed and pronounced later in the day. So make sure you go perfume hunting during afternoon or later in the day.

How an average person selects perfume?

You head to a store. Try on a dozen of perfumes and narrow down the selection to 2-3 items and then proceed on to buy one of them or maybe all of them, only to realize later that it smells differently the day after. Or perhaps doesn’t stay long enough on you for people to notice the aroma.

Why does this happen?

What smelled so good, almost divine the day before fails to create an impact in real time. That’s because the perfume you are wearing can mix with the fragrance of other products that you are wearing, like cosmetics, body lotion, etc.

There are basically two types of perfume- Eau de Toilette- a  less intense perume and Eau de Parfum- The more intense version which stays longer and is great for night time wear.

Notes In a Perfume

Top Note– Its also called as the Head note. It is the smell that is first to affect your senses.

Middle Note– It is also called as the Heart note. It is the smell that starts to evolve after 15-30 minutes of wearing the perfume.

Base Note– Its the original base of the perfume which stays on till 24 hours or even lingers on till the next day.

Things To Keep In Mind While Selecting a Perfume

  • Have a rough idea about the type of fragrance you want to buy. Fragrances are categorized into floral, citrusy, aquatic, oriental, combination and a few other categories.
  • Keep in mind the time of the day you are planning to wear it in. For example, its better to stick to lighter notes like citrus and floral during the day and pick up heavier ones for the night which can be more of oriental ones.
  • Just like the time of the day, its wise to keep in mind the seasons during which you intend to wear the perfume in. Summers are warm, so stick to less heavy scents and keep the heavier formulations for winters.

How To Test A Perfume


Use paper strips to test the initial selections, lets say 5-6 perfumes which you want to try.

Select 2-3 from the initial selection and try them on your wrists. Don’t rub the skin. The molecules tend to break down and it can affect the fragrance.

Leave the store. Yes, seriously.

If possible, come back the next day and buy the one you have zeroed down on. If its not possible to come back the next day and buy, trying leaving the store for 2-3 hours and they come back and buy. Its when the middle notes have started diffusing into the air and you can have a better perspective of which one to buy.

A Bonus TipCarry some coffee beans in a paper bag and if you get mixed up on scents, try smelling them!

Let me know your favorite perfume in the comments below. Also, let me know if have any special tips/tricks to select a perfume!



13 thoughts on “How To Know If A Perfume Is Right For You?

  1. These are some great tips!!! My fave perfumes and pretty much the only ones I wear are Chloe Roses and J’Adore Dior. I need to try spraying on paper to notice the different notes and see whether it’s Parfum or Toilette. xo, Nikki

    Liked by 1 person

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