how do you pick out a perfume??

This is kinda embarrassing , but I've never really known how so I don't wear any. I also have a really sensitive nose so when I start spraying samples around, I get overwhelmed. I know once you put perfume on it takes awhile for your body temp to adjust the scent to what it will actually smell like (or something like that). Any suggestions on where to start? Thanks!!

spray on the cards they might give you a slight added advantage in which you would like on your skin. me personally don't where perfume since I am allergic to most of them.

You can only sample a couple different fragrances at a time before it overwhelms your nose.

It helps if you know what you like. I prefer light citrusy fragrances and do not like flowery fragrances.

I prefer a bit of fragrant lotion/body wash more than intense perfumes.

Fragrance junkie here....

Personally cannot wear any alcohol (commercial) based perfumes.....they react badly with my skin.

The best thing you can do is ask for a sample...Sephora gives out good ones.
The initial scent is different than the dry down....so you need about a half hour before you know if you will like it or not.

Vanilla scents are quite popular as men are drawn to them...

Personally not a fan of perfumes with the names of the pop star of the moment on them....

There are complex scents (Anything by Guerlain) all the way to simple, one note scents (vanilla extract out of your pantry).

Trial and error. I finally arrived at one for the new me a couple years ago after receiving one of those magazines full of perfume pull apart cards. One of them seemed nice so next time I shopped I went by the perfume counter at the department store and got a clean sample I could take home to try. It was nicer than I remembered, so it went on my Christmas list...

I let my nose do the work, enjoy smelling the scent, then a small spritz on my wrist.

My favorite scent for years has been Happy by Clinique.
The fragrances mostly that appeal to me are clean, and citris based...not much on sweet smells though.

If you want to clear your scent receptors so you can try more samples, bring a small ziploc bag of ground coffee with you, and sniff it when your nose gets overwhelmed. I learned that this is similar to "clearing your palate", and you are again able to discern the different scents.

I am now a perfume junkie, too. Have become one in less than a year (my ex husband could tolerate perfume, and I got so used to not wearing any with him around that it took me several years of separation to finally return to my love of scents).

I recommend cheap stores, such as Target, Marshalls, etc. For me they work because I would not wear, as Sophiesmom put it, pop star perfumes anyway, and older perfumes are way cheaper. I do not know if that would go with your age - I am older, wear feminine clothing, and am a little retro, if you know what I mean - but I absolutely love "White Diamonds" by the late Elizabeth Taylor. I also like a completely different scent - "Sunflowers" by Elizabeth Arden. Since these are not trendy, they are not expensive. My only expensive perfume is "Opium" by Yves Saint-Laurent - tried it at a duty free shop on my most recent trip abroad and could not resist. It was the scent of some of the days of my youth and, to me, the most intoxicating scent of all... beats Chanel number 5 (which I do not own but did test).

Tametc, thanks for the trick. I have a question - since I only drink instant, can I sniff instant and not true ground coffee?

I like to go to one of the beauty consultants to help me. They use cards to spray the different samples of perfume and then they wave it around and let you take a sniff. When it is time for another sample she will get you to smell coffee grounds before sniffing the next. Then she dabs some on your inner wrist to see if you still like the scent. Usually they'll give you samples of the perfumes you like to take home so you can try it and see what others think. That is how I pick mine out and I've always came home satisfied with my choices. My husband seems to know what smells good on me without doing all of the above LOL.

Never buy a perfume because it smells nice on someone else !

My friends and I went through the stage of getting together and getting ready to go out and on one such occasion I had forgotten to bring scent so my friend said to raid hers, I have always loved her taste in fragrance. I made my selection and thought no more about it until we jumped into a cab and my friend asked which perfume I'd gone for as she didn't recognise it. It turn out we were both wearing the same thing but it smelled very different on each of us, on my friend it was the exact same fragrance as it smelled in the bottle but on my skin it had developed a more floral scent

I later spoke to my mother about it and found out that my Grandfather couldn't wear citrus based after shave as his skin seem to absorb it !

I spray on at cosmetic counter then if it still dmells nice after 15 minutes, I know it's a good perfume for me.

I don't really care one way or the other so I usually let hubby pick out what he likes on me. If left to my own devices I actually prefer essential oils to regular perfume.

I had a very similar experience regarding my aunts perfume. She wore Jungle Gardenia by Tuvache' and it always smelled lovely to me. Soooo when I got married I decided it was going to be MY signiture scent. I happily believed this until my, now ex BIL asked me one day, what that ungodly smell was eminating from my direction. I told him it was my aunts fragrance.

He sneered and told me I smelled like I just got dipped in a tick-bath. grrr

My now ex H concurred but said he hadn't the heart to tell me. double grrr.

I now wear White Shoulders....and it smells lovely, even ON me.

I love perfume. Love rich, luxuourious, complex scents. And I have several. I use them according to what I feel like wearing. I stay away from the ones that makes me sneeze, gives me a headache or makes me nauseous. I remember some scents that everybody was wearing in the 90s jused to make me sick to my stomack! Most guys find perfume to be very exiting in my experience! Just stay away from musk and patchouli, in my opinion. (even though I like patchouli, it is too powerful to wear, I think ). I occationally get a new bottle as a gift, and if I cant wear it, it just sits on my dresser and looks lovely! In the daytime I wear a very light and simple scent. If perfume, or eau de perfume is too heavy, then why not try a body-spray. Lighter and easier to wear. When I have I days when I cant manage to get myself into the shower, I take a spongebath and put on some perfume. Helps!

In my opinion, a girl needs several perfumes. You never know what mood you will be in tomorrow!

I love perfumes! I like all different ones. One of my cartons contains all my older ones from before a few moves ago. Lately I use the sample sprays I've gotten from Sephora to break up the boredom sitting around the apartment. I have just one or two regular bottles out otherwise.

I love perfumes, but I'm also highly sensitive to strong fragrances of all kinds, including fabric softner, soaps and detergents and other cleaning agents, as well as many cosmetics. Finding a scent becomes a challenge.

With some, I can tell immediately they'll disagree with me, but I have to wear a perfume for at least an hour before I'll know how it will smell on me. Two hours is better. Body chemistry can change a scent dramatically and, unfortunately, the majority of scents begin to smell rancid on me after a short time.

I also stick to old fashioned fragrances. Newer ones have chemicals in them to make them last longer and smell stronger. If I can smell a person from across the room or if they leave their scent behind them when they leave they smell too strong and will probably offend anyone with chemical sensitivity as well as anyone who just doesn't like that scent.

Unless you're really close to me, as in touching close, I don't want you to be able to smell me and I don't want to smell you. I currently use two scents that are most widely marketed to men, but they have flower and spice tones. I perceive them as sweet-smelling. Men's fragrances are usually not as potent as women's and that's precisely why I like them. I also have matching body washes and the rest of my lotions and potions are unscented. Combining too many different scents can .... well, raise a stink.

If you're a hugger, you might consider spraying or dabbing perfume on your legs and feet and on the very back if your neck instead of behind your ears, on the front and sides of your neck or wrists. That way you won't be leaving your scent on other people, but if someone is really close to you the scent will rise up nicely if things warm up.

Here is SnakeCharmers helpful hint to aid the sisterhood: Never ever ... ever ever ... use your perfume to cover up unpleasant bathroom odors. If you do, your signature scent will begin to remind the people around you of fresh manure in a field of wild flowers , something my college roommate discovered to her horror when her boyfriend discreetly offered her some Gas-X tablets because, to him, she smelled of perfume and flatulence. Smells are very associative and he started associating her perfume with bathroom smells. She changed perfumes and boyfriends and lived okay ever after.

Lol another hint is to spray your perfume (just one short quick spray) into the air in front of you and then walk into it rather than applying it directly to skin. That way you won't have an overly strong presence.

Like others I love perfume, I feel more classy when I have bottles of it on my dressing table rather than a can on spray. My grandmother always says that real perfume is far better than the cheap stuff. For one the smell lasts far longer. I could EASILY go into a store and spend a few hundred dollars.

I generally like perfumes that smell like something specific rather than a 'perfumey' smell, but I will sometimes come across something that does smell perfumey that I really like.

The key to picking out a perfume that you like is to wear it on your skin, not on a card. Proper perfumes contain notes- or layers of scents- that will change as the perfume warms and dissipates. The top notes are what you smell when you initially put on the perfume, and most people will base their like of it on that. But then after a while the top notes will change and you'll get middle notes, and then eventually as the perfume wears away you'll get base notes. They will all smell somewhat different. So you might like something initially, but after wearing it for a while you might find you actually don't like it that much, or vice versa.
So when you find one, put it on your skin and wear it for a while before investing.

Personally I like scents like rose, jasmine, cinnamon, and vanilla- I like softer smells generally. I also like Beauty by Calvin Klein. But the one I probably wear the most is MOR Marshmallow. It smells more like musk lollies rather than marshmallow, and it has notes of rose and sugar. You'll either love it or hate it. I have found that whenever I wear it men L to the O-V-E it. My grandmother can't stand it. But I like it because it gets people's attention. And that's what perfume should do in my opinion! :3

Another tip:
buy a miniset with several small bottles of perfume. That is a good way to start, and you can test out at home.

I agree with you and use this as my patchouli fix - a shower gel with patchouli. And the scent is not overpowering. And the bottle is enticing . A little indulgence?

Sonia Kashuk® Purple Seductia Shower Gel - 8... : Target

Patchouli makes me very sentimental; in my twenties I into paganism and wicca. All kinds of fun and psykedelia going on. Now I am in my forties, somebodys mother and member of the school board. Very sensible and responsible these days. But I sometimes bring out that bottle of patchouli-oil... I do love those crazy memories! Scents have such an amazing effect on our brains. Really intersting how they affect us so deeply.

I totally agree. I think the olfactory sense is the least studied, the most elusive, and the closest link between us and the animals.

I burn aromatic candles when I study - the scent helps me focus better. I should try finding patchouli incense...

If I tried burning patchouli incense while studying, I would end up on some sort of spiritual quest I think. Would not work for me, he he he... But there are some good scents that help keep your head clear and your mind focused. Not that any of those have found their way to my incence-burner yet.

Lavender+bergamot seems to be the best for clear focus.