Buying Perfumes is never easy especially if you like them! There are people who pick up perfumes as gifts in airports and just pick up for the heck of it. For those with love for perfumes, it is way beyond just picking it from the shelf.
So I decided to write at least some basic tips that one can use even if one has to buy them as gift in the limited time at airports.
- Never buy a perfume without smelling them, unless you have used the one you buy, before.
- All perfumes (unless it is fake or some cheap ones) have tester bottles kept along with new ones, to spray, smell & test.
- With a wide array of choice of perfumes, it is better to test the perfumes on "Test Strips" before narrowing down to top two options! (Sometimes attendants themselves will spray it for you on the strips).
- Ask the store attendant for Test Strips or you will usually find them near the perfume shelf itself - Just plain white strips. (See picture)
- Before or after spraying the test, do write it on the strip the name of the perfume, which will be handy when you return to it after testing 3-4 perfumes. Else you might end up in confusion & have to start the exercise all over again. :)
- Once sprayed, wait for a while, allowing the top notes to evaporate and then feeling the middle & bottom notes. Bottom / Base notes are the ones which finally give you the idea how that perfume is going to be smelling on you after sometime!
- While testing multiple perfumes, it is always better to inhale coffee beans and then choose the next option of perfumes. Do ask the attendant for some coffee beans! All stores will have it.
- If you are familiar with fragrances like spicy, fruity, woody etc. and have preference do ask the attendants to showcase perfumes accordingly.
- If and when unsure of the choice to make, do carry those test strips with you, leave it in your pocket and after returning home you are probably able to decide depending on the lasting impression it leaves :)
- When you have narrowed down to top two choices from the options galore, test the perfumes in your wrist or hand, to get a real time effect on how it smells in your body!
For me personally, buying a perfume is a Ritual. I need my own sweet time & sometimes even prefer to do it alone or with someone who considers it as much a ritual as I do :)
