How to test and choose a perfume
Updated
Most bad purchases come from testing too quickly. A perfume evolves for hours and reacts to your skin. Here's how to test it properly — and why a decant is the ideal tool to do it.
Always test on skin, never on paper
Paper blotters only reveal the top notes and ignore your skin chemistry. Yet it's that chemistry that transforms a perfume: two people can wear the same fragrance and smell different.
Spray on your wrist or forearm, don't rub (it breaks the molecules), then let it live.
Understand the three phases: top, heart, base
Top notes express themselves in the first few minutes: fresh and volatile, they fade fast. The heart appears after 15 to 30 minutes and gives the perfume its character. The base, which emerges after one to two hours, is what stays on your skin at the end of the day.
Judging a perfume on its top notes alone is like judging a film by its trailer. Wait for the base before deciding.
Give it a full day
Wear the fragrance for a whole day before deciding: check the longevity in late afternoon, ask people around you, see whether it suits you at the office as well as in the evening.
That's exactly what a decant allows: enough juice for several full wears, without the commitment of an entire bottle.
Don't test more than three perfumes at once
Beyond three fragrances, your sense of smell saturates and stops distinguishing anything. Space out your trials, and smell coffee or your own skin in between to "reset" your nose.
FAQ
How long does it take to test a perfume?+
Ideally a full day. A perfume evolves for hours: only the base notes, which appear after one to two hours, tell you what you'll really wear.
Why shouldn't you rub perfume into your skin?+
Rubbing breaks the scent molecules and distorts how the fragrance develops. Spray, then let it dry in the open air.
How many perfumes should you test at once?+
Three at most. Beyond that, your sense of smell saturates and can no longer tell the fragrances apart.