How do you choose your first perfume?
Choosing a first perfume is easier with a short list of rules: keep it versatile, keep it moderate, test it on skin and try before you buy.
How do you choose your first perfume? Keep it versatile, keep it moderate in strength, test it on your own skin for a day or two, and try a sample before you buy a bottle. A first perfume is mostly a lesson in your own taste. You learn what you like, what you do not and how a perfume behaves on you. The rest of this article turns that into a short list of rules and a small starter set.
Choose versatile
A first perfume should work on many days: an ordinary workday, a weekend, a warm afternoon and a cool evening. Fresh, woody and soft musky styles tend to be the most versatile, because they are comfortable in more places than a heavy sweet perfume or a loud floral. You can always go bolder with the second one. A versatile start also gives you a baseline to compare everything else against. If you are unsure, ask yourself which clothes you wear most often and choose a perfume you could imagine with them.
Choose moderate
Strength matters more than people expect. A very strong perfume is hard to wear well when you are still learning how many sprays suit you. A light or moderate perfume forgives mistakes. Look at the intensity tag, and for how to find your level read how many sprays of perfume you should wear.
A starter set of four
Here are four that our records tag as light or moderate and suited to daily wear. Start with Jo Malone Lime Basil and Mandarin, a light Cologne: mandarin first, basil in the middle, amberwood to finish.
Surrati Dream Valley is an Eau de Parfum recorded with bergamot, lemon and mint on top, rose, jasmine and orange blossom in the heart and amber, musk and sandalwood in the base, tagged moderate. Rayhaan Cedrus Blanc keeps it brief with bergamot, musk and cedar.
Juliette Has a Gun Pear Inc is recorded with green pear on top, ambroxan in the heart and musks in the base, and tagged for daily wear and work. The four cover citrus-herbal, floral-citrus, woody and fruity-musky, so a week with them shows you which direction you lean.
Test on your skin
Do not decide from a spray on paper or from a friend's recommendation. Wear a candidate for a day on clean skin and note how it opens, settles and ends. The routine is in how to test perfume on your skin. One perfume a day is enough, and two or three in a row is the most your nose can handle, see why you cannot smell your own perfume.
Let the sample do the work
With samples you can try four perfumes for a fraction of what one bottle asks of you in commitment. A 5 ml vial is a good size for a first test, see which sample size, and a 2 ml vial is enough for a quick look. Keep notes, as in how to organise perfume samples. After a week, see which you reached for, and move up to a larger decant or a bottle only for that one.
Questions to ask yourself after a week
Which one did I reach for without thinking? Which one made me smile when it surfaced later in the day? Which one did I forget? Which one did a colleague or a friend mention, kindly or not? And which one do I miss on the days I wear something else? The answers are usually clearer than a score. If one perfume wins on several questions, you have your first bottle. If two tie, wear them on alternate days for another week.
Do not rush the bottle
The first perfume often is not the one you keep for years, and that is fine. Tastes change as you try more. The point is to start without regret, and to know what you like before you commit. If you want a plan for the longer search, how to find a signature scent gives one.
Where to go next
Browse light samples, samples for every day or all samples. The scent finder helps you narrow the choice, and the FAQ answers questions about ordering.
FAQ
What kind of perfume suits a first purchase?
Something versatile and moderate in strength: a fresh, woody or soft musky perfume that works for daily wear and many weather types. You can go bolder with the second.
Should my first perfume be a sample or a bottle?
A sample. A first perfume is mostly a lesson in your own taste, and a vial teaches it without the commitment of a bottle.
How do I know I will not get tired of it?
You cannot know in advance. Wear it for several days across different weather and moods, and see whether you still reach for it.
