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Buying Perfume can be a difficult decision if you do not know the exact perfume to purchase.  Perfumes are highly personal and different people have different “tastes”. Additionally, the scent produced by a perfume will differ between types of skin; so what may smell good on one person may be entirely different on another. When buying perfume, it is important to do research and try some out before you make the final selection.

There are hundreds perfume brands available in the market today.  While it could be useful to read online reviews on fragrances, the best place to start would probably be a department store where you can physically smell this and try on your skin.

How to Test Perfume

There are two main methods to testing perfumes.

Test on your skin: Gives an accurate reflection of the scent as it would be on your skin.  However, you are limited to the number of scents you try as fragrances will soon start to mix you will get incorrect feedback on the scent.

Test on fragrance blotters: Using different cards can give you a much purer scent.  However, this would not be reflective on how it would smell on your skin.

The ideal way therefore is to do both: try it out on a blotter first, then to be followed by applying it to your skin.

Types of Perfume

There can be much confusion as to the differences in perfumes.  In general, there are four main types of perfume: Eau De Cologne, Eau De Toilette, Eau De Parfum and Parfum. The differences lie in the degree of concentration and this is also reflected in the price.

Eau de Cologne (EDC): This perfume solution has about a 3% compound in an oil and water base. It’s the lightest of perfumes and the least expensive.

Eau de Toilette (EDT): There has a 3-8% compound in an oil and water base and is fractionally more expensive than Eau de Cologne.

Eau de Parfum (EDP): This is the next strongest with a 10-15% compound.

Parfum: This is the most concentrated in terms of oils with a 20-50% compound; this makes it the longest lasting and the most expensive.

Size of Perfume

Perfumes come in difference sized bottles or containers. If you are buying the fragrance for the first time, you should buy a small bottle to try it out first.  Many perfumes provide trial vials (a small sample) which is a good idea to buy and test before spending on a larger bottle. Those who know which type of perfume to buy can purchase larger bottles which are often more economical.