The Ultimate Guide to Sampling Fragrances
When it comes to fragrance, we think sampling is a must. After all, it's the only way to guarantee that you end up with a scent you truly love.
It's easy to get caught up in a quick sniff in a crowded store. But if you do it right, sampling fragrances can save you money, time, and space. It can also provide a lot of fun along the way!
After sampling thousands of fragrances, here's our ultimate guide.
How to Samples Fragrances
The Process:
- After you put it on a test strip or on your skin, give it a few seconds to settle before putting it to your nose. This is especially important for fragrances that contain perfumer's alcohol (ie: most perfumes/colognes). Otherwise, you'll smell more of the alcohol than the essence of the fragrance.
- Take the first sniff lightly. Sometimes, you'll end up actually having to breathe in deeply to smell a faint scent. But other times, a fragrance can have massive projection. You don't want that first sniff to hit you over the head.
- There are multiple phases to a fragrance: the opening, middle, and drydown. Some fragrances are linear, but most change from beginning to end. So it's important to smell it at the beginning, then ~30 minutes later, and then a few hours later. Otherwise, you can end up with a fragrance you don't like.
How You Feel:
- Don't force it. If you don't love something, you don't love it. Especially if you don't even particularly like it! Even if you don't love any of the samples you try at first, that's okay. There are thousands of other options out there, so there's no need to feel boxed in. There's truly something for everyone, and the more you try, the more you'll hone in on your taste.
- It's a good idea to choose a scent that smells good on both the test trip and your skin. Fragrance smells different when it interacts with each person's skin chemistry, so it's important to see what it smells like on your individual skin before buying a bigger size. But it's also important to see what it smells like on a neutral surface like the test strip, so you know if you'll like the way it smells on your clothes.
- If you have any observations about how you feel about each one, take notes. That will help in the future in identifying what aspects you do or don't like as patterns emerge. You might think you'll remember, but the more fragrances you try, you'll quickly see over time that it's easy to forget!
How to Use Perfume Sample Vials & Dabbers
Many fragrance sites (including us!) sell 1ml samples that don't have an atomizer/spray top. When you're starting out, it can be confusing to figure these out. Here's our guide showing you three different methods you can use, including:
1. Dabbing it on your skin with the wand, which is the extension piece under the cap.
2. Holding it up to your skin to dab/pour a little onto it.
3. Our favorite method: dipping in a cut up perfume test strip.
We also go over how to open them. (Hint: gently wiggling the top back and forth and slowly pulling up.)