What is the Correct Way to Test a Perfume?
Find the perfect fragrance for you using. Here’s a guide on how to test a scent like a pro.
Paper blotters are by far the simplest and most common tool for testing fragrances. If you don’t want to try fragrance on you skin, you can test on blotting paper. Paper blotters are white pieces of card on which you spray a fragrance in order to test it. It’s not as good as testing on your skin, but paper blotters are the next best thing.
Two or three quick sprays in a row is how the pros do it. Then pass the scent strip through the cloud. Quickly wave the blotter under your nose and inhale. If you like the fragrance, the next step is to see how it smells on your skin.
How to properly test a fragrance on your skin?
Ensure always that your hands have been thoroughly washed before testing a fragrance. Apply a few drops or the lightest spray to your wrist or the back of your hand. Leave to dry naturally and do not rub in fragrance. Wait a few moments. Give the fragrance time to bloom on your skin, to let the notes ‘talk’ to you. Inhale the fragrance without letting it touch your nose.
Limit yourself to more than 3-5 fragrances and take some time in between testing each one. Don't rush it, the first scent you smell as soon as a fragrance is sprayed is the top note, which disappears after a few minutes anyway. Fragrances have 3 layers and can take up to at least a half hour to an hour to get to the base notes which are the strongest, longer lasting notes.
It may be difficult to resist but also avoid washing your hands during testing. Soap and water affect a fragrance’s natural evolution, which may affect the results.
Target pulse points and warm areas on your body when spraying perfume. The pulse points are locations on the body where the blood vessels are closest to the skin. To make your scent last longer, choose a couple of target areas: inside the wrists, inside the elbows, neck, behind the knees. And anywhere else you feel a heartbeat, but not all areas at once, because you will exceed the acceptable amount of fragrance.
The warm areas indicated will help diffuse the fragrance across your entire body and spraying your ankles and calves will allow the scents to rise throughout the day. As you wear your perfume throughout the day, it will react with your body heat and continue to emit scent.
When you spray your fragrance, you should also always start from the bottom to the top of your body because this is the direction in which heat increases and it will make the scent last longer.
However, heat drives off a perfume faster. The more heat, the quicker the perfume will disappear.
To ensure your morning spray is still there after lunch, look to less hematic spots, like your forearms or the back of your neck, which release the scent more slowly.
Where are the pulse points for perfume?
The warm areas indicated will help diffuse the fragrance across your entire body and spraying your ankles and calves will allow the scents to rise throughout the day. As you wear your perfume throughout the day, it will react with your body heat and continue to emit scent.
When you spray your fragrance, you should also always start from the bottom to the top of your body because this is the direction in which heat increases and it will make the scent last longer.
However, heat drives off a perfume faster. The more heat, the quicker the perfume will disappear.
To ensure your morning spray is still there after lunch, look to less hematic spots, like your forearms or the back of your neck, which release the scent more slowly.
Test perfume in the Morning
Your sense of smell often peaks in the morning hours, which means that your perception of fragrances will be sharper. Aim to test fragrances in the morning for a better assessment.
Why are there coffee beans in perfume shops?
The coffee aroma helps against olfactory fatigue if you are consistently smelling 3-5 different fragrances. The coffee aroma soothes nasal receptors allowing odour intensity to remain consistent when sampling perfumes. The coffee beans recalibrate your sense of smell - a quick sniff of coffee beans and you should be straight back on smelling form. That’s why perfume sellers put coffee beans in their shops. All about perfume.
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