The New York Times published an article this week called How To Choose the Right Perfume or Cologne for You. What say you, perfumistas? Do you agree with the quoted experts? What’s your approach to sampling or trying new scents?
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities
Mindful of scents and sensibilities
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 
There are some interesting points but I think most of us know much of this information already 😉
I sample whatever comes my way or whatever I encounter in the wild. I also like to try out new things from some of my favorite perfumers/indie houses. Once I connect with someone’s style I tend to be faithful to the brand/perfumer. OH, you already know who my favorites are 🙂
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Love the image of you encountering fragrances “in the wild”!
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That was a fun read, and I agree with the points made. Good advice for those new to fragrance choosing/buying. Over time, I have learned which notes work for me, and which don’t. Fragrantica is a wonderful resource. And spending time while sampling to experience top notes and dry down is very important.
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I love Fragrantica. It’s good that people in the industry are acknowledging that one spray of top notes isn’t enough to know if you will like a fragrance.
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Agreed. I have to mention that pushy sales associates at department stores do such a disservice to the pleasure of fragrance buying. My experience has been; they show you what they want to sell, spray it on you or on card, and look at you so expectantly for an immediate response and purchase. Most tend not to allow time to take it in, think about it as it dries down, and get irritated when you ask for a sample to spend time with the fragrance. I wish so much they’d understand it takes time to determine if a fragrance is a love or not and worthy of purchase.
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I agree, the pushy ones are a problem. I love SAs who offer to make you samples, like the ones at Nordstrom and Sephora. I wonder if the pushier ones are having their work performance judged on how many people they approach and spray!
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Decent advice for someone new to perfume -nothing new for the likes of this crowd. I would not want to be a SA at Macy’s. I feel like they are given a list of what to push each week and probably get extra bonus if they manage to sell some of it. For mainstream I go to Sephora where I can walk out with a sample (Nordstrom if I can get there, it’s further away).
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I agree. I think the regulars here are equally able to give excellent advice to newbies!
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I hadn’t seen this article so thanks for linking it!
I’m glad they quoted Mindy — she’s fab! Otherwise, I think most of us perfume lovers know these tricks. I have to say, I do sometimes rub my wrists together even though it’s a cardinal sin. Especially if I’m applying something from a splash bottle. Sometimes it’s just easier to disperse the liquid that way!
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lol, I’m with you on the wrists! But now I kind of pat them against each other instead of a vigorous rub.
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I think it’s an OK article with a couple of weak places. First, I thought it was funny that they thought it was necessary to put that “or” part into the title: G-d forbid some manly man who hasn’t been to a perfume counter in the last several decades decides not to read the article thinking it was just about perfumes for women!
Then, if someone is a “perfume fanatic,” they don’t have the same issues as occasional buyers and I doubt need most of the basic advices from that article – but again, it’s all about readership, so the author tried to include everyone from the start.
Who’s the co-founder and CEO of Hawthorn to be cited? I am into perfumes for many years but I have never heard of that company, so if you’re plugging it in, can you at least give a brief introduction? It is not a household name to be recognized just by naming!
In an article about a mass-market department store perfume sampling/buying I wouldn’t have touched the topic of natural ingredients. If anything, I would have mentioned anosmia towards some white musks or sensitivities to Iso E-Super and likes.
And then the variation on my favorite myth about “bruising molecules”!
But other than that, those are sound advices for novices.
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