Have you ever smelled a few wonderful perfume samples and bought the full bottle, only to discover that they dont smell the same on you? The scent of a perfume depends on its individual components and the unique reaction that occurs when the perfume interacts with your biochemistry. Because every womans biochemistry is different, and because her biochemistry changes as she matures, choosing the right perfume from perfume samples can be more complicated than you might think.
Scent Bases 101
Perfumes are made up of a combination of seven scent bases: floral, chypre, woody, citrus, fougere, leather and oriental. The mixes of scents create top notes and base notes. Top notes are the smells that you notice first, especially on perfume samples, but they also evaporate soon after application. Base notes are the smells that stay on your skin the longest. As you consider base notes and top notes, youll need to think about how a perfume smells from start to finish.
If you are looking for tangy or sharp perfume for day, then you will want to look for ones with a citrus scent base. Citrus scent bases are used for top notes and work well for day. Floral scents are another great option for day use. However, keep the application light.
Evening perfume samples are going to be stronger, muskier and more exotic. You can always use heavier applications of floral-based perfume samples, but perfume samples that use chypre base scents, woody base scents or oriental base scents are other great night options. Chypre is created by mixing citrus tones with woody or musky ones and is typically used to anchor a perfume as a base note. Woody base scents, which are reminiscent of dry wood smells, are also used as a base note. Finally, oriental base scents are another popular choice for night.
While all seven perfume scent bases can be used to create perfumes for women, fougere and leather scent bases are typically used in mens fragrances as they have a more masculine undertone. For example, fougere-based perfumes smell like moss, and leather-based perfume samples have a pungent undertone.
The Nose Knows
The only way to determine if a perfume sample is going to smell good on you is to test it on your body. Test perfume samples on the underside of your wrist because that area has a pulse point and is easy to smell. For that reason, shopping for perfume online is difficult because you cant smell the product, but discounted perfume or beauty Web sites will come in handy later once you find a scent you like.
Before you start sampling, avoid being spritzed by perfume salespeople when you enter a department store. If you see them coming at you, say no thanks. You want your body to be as free of odor as possible before you start smelling, and your best strategy is to stay in control of what perfume samples are applied to your body.
After you get past the sprayers and spritzers, make your way to the fragrance counter and start narrowing down the perfume samples that are available. If you know what type of scent base you want in your perfume samples, then you can read the perfume samples labels to identify what you want to try.
Next, spritz a little bit of perfume from each of your target perfume samples on a slip of paper and give each one a whiff. If you do like a smell, place the paper aside as a keeper. Youll come back to it in a few minutes. Continue testing your perfume samples until you have a few that you like.
Wait about 15 minutes, and then smell your perfume samples again. At this point, the alcohol smell will have evaporated from the test strips. It will now be easier to smell the top notes of the perfume samples. If you still like the scent, then ask the sales clerk for perfume samples that you can take home with you. Testing perfume samples in a store can be difficult because you have to try to filter out so many competing smells.
The perfume samples will also smell slightly different on your body than on paper, and youll want to test it on yourself for a few days before buying a whole bottle. If the store does not have perfume samples that you can take home, then apply the scent to your wrist, and walk to another part of the store that has a more neutral smell. After 15 minutes, smell your wrist to see if you still like the scent.
Testing Perfume at Home
If you are able to take home your perfume samples, you are in a much better position to find a scent that you like. While at home, apply the sample to your wrist and smell it right away. Evaluate the initial rush of smell. Next, wait 15 minutes for the alcohol to evaporate and the top notes to emerge. Determine if you like the balance of the top notes.Finally, wait a few hours for the top and middle notes to fade and the base notes to emerge. The base notes are the foundation of your perfume and the scent that is going to stay with you the longest. The balance of the base notes is the most important factor to consider.
Take notes about each of the perfume that you tried on. To make sure that your perfume samples dont mix while trying them on, you will want to wash down your wrist with rubbing alcohol and allow it to dry before applying the next perfume samples. Also take care of your nose, which can get tired out with all the different smells. If all the samples start to smell the same, boil some water, and waft the steam toward your face as you inhale. This should help remove the remnants of the last perfume samples from your nose and prepare your olfactory nerves for the next perfume samples.
Scent Bases 101
Perfumes are made up of a combination of seven scent bases: floral, chypre, woody, citrus, fougere, leather and oriental. The mixes of scents create top notes and base notes. Top notes are the smells that you notice first, especially on perfume samples, but they also evaporate soon after application. Base notes are the smells that stay on your skin the longest. As you consider base notes and top notes, youll need to think about how a perfume smells from start to finish.
If you are looking for tangy or sharp perfume for day, then you will want to look for ones with a citrus scent base. Citrus scent bases are used for top notes and work well for day. Floral scents are another great option for day use. However, keep the application light.
Evening perfume samples are going to be stronger, muskier and more exotic. You can always use heavier applications of floral-based perfume samples, but perfume samples that use chypre base scents, woody base scents or oriental base scents are other great night options. Chypre is created by mixing citrus tones with woody or musky ones and is typically used to anchor a perfume as a base note. Woody base scents, which are reminiscent of dry wood smells, are also used as a base note. Finally, oriental base scents are another popular choice for night.
While all seven perfume scent bases can be used to create perfumes for women, fougere and leather scent bases are typically used in mens fragrances as they have a more masculine undertone. For example, fougere-based perfumes smell like moss, and leather-based perfume samples have a pungent undertone.
The Nose Knows
The only way to determine if a perfume sample is going to smell good on you is to test it on your body. Test perfume samples on the underside of your wrist because that area has a pulse point and is easy to smell. For that reason, shopping for perfume online is difficult because you cant smell the product, but discounted perfume or beauty Web sites will come in handy later once you find a scent you like.
Before you start sampling, avoid being spritzed by perfume salespeople when you enter a department store. If you see them coming at you, say no thanks. You want your body to be as free of odor as possible before you start smelling, and your best strategy is to stay in control of what perfume samples are applied to your body.
After you get past the sprayers and spritzers, make your way to the fragrance counter and start narrowing down the perfume samples that are available. If you know what type of scent base you want in your perfume samples, then you can read the perfume samples labels to identify what you want to try.
Next, spritz a little bit of perfume from each of your target perfume samples on a slip of paper and give each one a whiff. If you do like a smell, place the paper aside as a keeper. Youll come back to it in a few minutes. Continue testing your perfume samples until you have a few that you like.
Wait about 15 minutes, and then smell your perfume samples again. At this point, the alcohol smell will have evaporated from the test strips. It will now be easier to smell the top notes of the perfume samples. If you still like the scent, then ask the sales clerk for perfume samples that you can take home with you. Testing perfume samples in a store can be difficult because you have to try to filter out so many competing smells.
The perfume samples will also smell slightly different on your body than on paper, and youll want to test it on yourself for a few days before buying a whole bottle. If the store does not have perfume samples that you can take home, then apply the scent to your wrist, and walk to another part of the store that has a more neutral smell. After 15 minutes, smell your wrist to see if you still like the scent.
Testing Perfume at Home
If you are able to take home your perfume samples, you are in a much better position to find a scent that you like. While at home, apply the sample to your wrist and smell it right away. Evaluate the initial rush of smell. Next, wait 15 minutes for the alcohol to evaporate and the top notes to emerge. Determine if you like the balance of the top notes.Finally, wait a few hours for the top and middle notes to fade and the base notes to emerge. The base notes are the foundation of your perfume and the scent that is going to stay with you the longest. The balance of the base notes is the most important factor to consider.
Take notes about each of the perfume that you tried on. To make sure that your perfume samples dont mix while trying them on, you will want to wash down your wrist with rubbing alcohol and allow it to dry before applying the next perfume samples. Also take care of your nose, which can get tired out with all the different smells. If all the samples start to smell the same, boil some water, and waft the steam toward your face as you inhale. This should help remove the remnants of the last perfume samples from your nose and prepare your olfactory nerves for the next perfume samples.
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