If confidently choosing the perfect perfume for yourself has always eluded you, you’ve come to the right place! Read on.
Getting it right with perfumes is tricky business. There’s always this pressure of finding a statement fragrance, especially with the zillions of options we have out there. Picking a fragrance online as well as in a physical store has its own limitations to add to our troubles. While in stores, your nose saturates with all the perfumes you try to the point where every scent smells the same, and you just give in because you feel pressured by the salesperson. On the other hand, shopping a perfume online with just a bunch of descriptions about the notes written in flowery language adds to the confusion and dilemma.
Finding the elegant concoction that’ll soothe your senses will still remain a matter of trial and error. Nonetheless, here are a few tricks to simplify the decision-making and make it less intimidating:
1. What are notes?
Every fragrance comprises top notes, middle (or heart) notes and bottom (or base) notes. Top notes are the ones that you smell strongly for the first 10-15 minutes. Then the middle notes take over. These linger on for a few hours, which is why they’re called the heart notes. What remains towards the end of the day are the base notes. So if you choose a perfume with top notes that you love but middle and base notes that you don’t like so much, you’re probably going to love it in the store and regret buying it later. Be smart about this.
It’s also about how all the notes work together. But with the above logic you’ll ace it most of the times and get perfumes that don’t give you a headache. (Generic frg image with notes)
2. Don’t rush into it
Take your time and be patient with perfume shopping. You can make an informed decision based on tip no. 1, but to be absolutely sure, spritz each of your options on different tester strips and smell each one after a short break. You could try walking out the store to neutralise your senses, and then trying the next option. You could also try carrying your shortlisted tester strips with you while you roam the mall, and make the right decision a couple of hours later when the tester strips will smell of the middle notes. This will give you a better understanding of if you will really like the perfume later on. (In store image)
3. Better yet, take a day to decide
If you’ve not made a clear choice with tips 1 and 2, carry the tester strips home with you. Smell them the next day and you’ll have your answer! Want to be even more sure? Spritz the perfume on your pulse points and smell them hours later. Remember not to scrub the perfume against your hands or wrists, as the friction and the heat changes the delicate chemistry of the perfume. When you’ll live with it, you will have lived through the top, middle and base notes, and you’ll be 100% sure.
BONUS: Save your precious time and take your picks from Mikyajy’s popular favorites. You can never go wrong with these, it’s our promise. If you want to shop for these online, use tip no. 1. If you’re shopping in our stores, you know the drill by now.
