How to Test Perfume Properly

Most people test perfume wrong. They spray it on a blotter, smell it once, decide yes or no, and either buy or move on. That process tells you almost nothing about whether a fragrance is right for you. Here is how to actually test a scent before committing to a bottle.

Wear it on skin, not paper

Fragrance develops differently on skin than on a blotter. Skin has temperature, oils, and chemistry that all interact with the fragrance molecules. A blotter only tells you how a scent opens in the air. Skin tells you how it actually wears.

Apply the fragrance to your wrist or inner arm, not your neck. Your wrist is easier to smell and less likely to be affected by other products you are wearing.

Give it time

Most fragrances have three distinct phases: the top notes (the first five to fifteen minutes), the heart (roughly thirty minutes to a few hours), and the base (what remains after several hours). The part most people smell in a shop is the top notes, which are often the least representative of the fragrance's character.

Wear a scent for at least three hours before deciding whether you like it. The base is where a fragrance's real personality lives.

Test in your normal environment

A fragrance that smells good in a shop can smell different at work, on the tube, or outdoors. Body heat, ambient temperature, and the proximity of other people all affect how a scent projects. Try to wear a test fragrance through a normal day before making a judgement.

Do not test multiple scents at once

Your nose can only process a limited amount before the signals blur together. If you are trying several fragrances, test them on separate days rather than several at once on different parts of your arm. You will get a much more accurate read.

Wear it more than once

How you feel the day you test a fragrance affects how you experience it. Test it at least two or three times before deciding. A scent that feels too heavy on Monday might feel exactly right on Thursday.

Start with a discovery set

The best way to test multiple fragrances properly is through a discovery set that gives you enough of each scent for several wears. The NAP Discovery Set includes 2ml samples of all three current fragrances, Pepper Noir 31, Lovers Aoud 47, and Smoke Show 59, for £30, with the full amount credited toward any full bottle.