HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT PERFUME

How to find the right perfume is one of the most commonly asked questions I get. Choosing the right fragrance can be daunting, especially when you’re faced with a wall of scents to choose from, but with a few simple things in mind like your lifestyle, preferences, and body chemistry, you can find the perfect perfume for your unique personality and style. Whether you’re a classic floral fan, a cozy musk lover, or an adventurous scent explorer, there’s something out there for everyone. From understanding the different fragrance notes and families to learning about the different oil concentrations, this guide will give you the knowledge and confidence to find your signature scent.

1. What to consider when choosing a fragrance and how to find the perfect perfume

First and foremost, you need to figure out what you’re looking for in a perfume. By taking into account your lifestyle, preferences, and body chemistry, you’ll have a better shot at finding the perfect perfume for you.

Your Lifestyle – What kind of environment do you spend most of your time in? Are you a student who kicks back in a dorm room or a businesswoman who spends most of her time in an office? These are aspects of your lifestyle that have a direct impact on the type of perfume you should buy.

Let’s talk about preferences – What are your favorite scents? Do you lean towards floral fragrances or are you an earthy musk lover? Are you looking for a light and airy scent for everyday wear, or something bolder and more exotic for special occasions? Do you want something for the gym, something that’s office-safe, or something more sensual for date nights?

Knowing your preferences and when you picture yourself wearing a particular fragrance can help narrow down your search. Even though I don’t believe in being too rigid when it comes to wearing fragrances according to seasons , I do believe in that perfumes truly bloom when worn at the right time and for the right occasion.

2. Understanding fragrance notes and families

When choosing your signature scent, it’s important to understand fragrance notes and above all, what notes do your current favorite fragrance/s share among them because you can find a pattern  that will help you find the right perfume for you.

Perfumes’ formulations can be broken down into three main parts: the top notes, middle notes, and base notes.

The Top Notes – These are the notes you smell right away. For the most part they’re light and refreshing, and they usually linger for only a few minutes. Citrus scents, especially bergamot, orange, and grapefruit, are common top notes.

The Middle Notes – These notes are a little more complex and stronger than the top notes, but not as strong as the base notes. While they come into play when you first apply the perfume, they usually fade away after a few hours. Floral scents such as jasmine, tuberose, and orange blossom are common middle notes just to name a few.

The Base Notes – These notes are the strongest and last the longest. They’re usually earthy, musky, and often smell more like the perfume itself. These scents are the last ones to come through when you first apply the perfume. Common base notes are Benzoin, Vanilla, Patchouli, Cedar, and Sandalwood.

I have a quote that I stick to when looking for new perfumes:  “never judge a fragrance by the top notes”. This is basically because they’ll disappear pretty quickly, and you could be ruling out from your life an amazing perfume. However, if you feel that the initial spray is off-putting and you can’t stand it, please move on; there’s enough on the market to choose from so there’s no need to make any type of commitment here. Even though you don’t have to love the top notes, at the very least you have to like them because otherwise you won’t enjoy the fragrance no matter how gorgeous the dry down could be.

3. Taking into account your body chemistry

Since we are all different, our body chemistry is also different, which means that what smells good on one person might not smell as good on another individual which is totally fine and normal. There are ways to figure out which scents are most likely to work well with your body chemistry, such as using a perfume wheel or by trying to find a pattern in the fragrances you already have. You can also take a quick quiz to find out which fragrance families are best for your body chemistry or you can have a fragrance consultation with me by clicking here. I’d be happy to help you find the right perfume for you 😍.

4. Testing fragrances before buying

Before you commit to a full-size bottle, you should test a few fragrances to see which ones work best for you; this is why I’ve compiled a list of legit sites to shop for samples and decants here in the US and in Europe. You can get this list for free just by signing up to my newsletter (check my homepage and you’ll see the form when you scroll down on your right-hand side towards the middle of the page).

It’s important to try fragrances outside of your home because somehow, when you change the environment, it “cleanses” the bias you might have when sniffing perfumes at home. Has it ever happened to you that you try a perfume at a department store, you buy it and when you get home it doesn’t smell quite the same? , you can get a general sense of how a perfume smells on you. At the very least, you should test different fragrance families to see what works best with your body chemistry. You should test fragrances at different times of the day to get a better idea of how they’ll smell throughout the day. You can also test different scents on different parts of your body to see how they interact with your skin chemistry.

5. Choosing the right concentration

Most fragrances come in different concentrations, so you also have to decide how strong you’d like your scent to be.

Eau de toilette (EDT)

EDT is the lightest concentration and usually lasts a few hours. For EDT oil concentration ranges from 5% to 10-12%, and they are a great option for the gym or for work, especially, if  you are surrounded by people who might not be into fragrances. Perfumes can be headache-inducing, so being mindful about the people we interact with is always a good thing to keep in mind.

Eau de parfum (EDP)

EDP is stronger, and it can go anywhere from 12-15% oil concentration all the way up to 26 and even 28% oil concentration, and it usually lasts 6-8 hours, sometimes even more.

Pure Parfum

Parfum or extrait is the strongest concentration at around 28-30% oil concentration, and usually they last more than 10/12 hours on the skin. It’s also important to note that EDPs and parfums have less oil than EDTs, which can make them last even longer, but they’ll sit close to the skin and won’t have a noticeable sillage which is the trail you leave behind when you walk. No concentration is better than other, it’s just a matter of preference.

6. Choosing the right fragrance

Now that you know what to look for in a perfume, you can start the hunt for your perfect scent. A good place to start is by looking at different perfume collections from major brands. You can also browse fragrances by olfactory group, and research the notes present in each fragrance. This can help narrow down your search and give you a better idea of what scents you like. That being said, it’s very important to understand that many notes we like in their purest form, often times don’t smell as such when they’re processed to be used in perfumery, let alone when they’re blended with other notes and accords including synthetic notes and ingredients. For this reason, even though knowing the notes you like is good, isolated notes don’t mean much, so don’t make a purchase decision based on the notes  you saw on the internet, and try to avoid blind buying perfumes. However, if you still want to blind buy, I’ve made a video with tips and strategies to guide you. Click here to watch the video (but don’t forget to come back to keep reading 😉 ).

7. Fragrance subscription services

If you’re having trouble finding the right scent, you can try a fragrance subscription service. These services let you sample a variety of different perfumes each month, and they usually offer both men’s and women’s fragrances. You can usually select your preferences and scents for each month, and some services let you exchange a bottle if you’re not happy with it. These services are a great way to find the perfect perfume, especially since you can try several different fragrances without committing to one in particular, and usually they come in generous 5-8 ml containers so you’re getting more perfume than what you get with just a sample. There are plenty of subscription services out there, and I recall one that I used to be subscribed to called scentbird (disclaimer: this is not an affiliate link. I’m providing the information just to help my readers find a good deal).

Now, before you start shopping for fragrances, make sure you’re in a positive state of mind. If you go into the experience with a negative attitude, you’re more likely to rule out scents that might otherwise have been great for you. You should also keep in mind that different scents smell different on different people as I mentioned above, and that’s totally ok.

How to find the perfect perfume is such a hot topic that this is actually my second post about it, and both blog posts complement each other so if you want to read my other post about how to find the right perfume, click HERE.