How do you organise perfume samples?
A simple system for keeping perfume samples in order: one box, one log, one rule for what to wear next and one for what to let go.
How do you organise perfume samples? Keep them in one box in a cool, dark place, write a short line about each one when you first wear it, and decide which to wear next by a simple order, such as oldest first. That is the whole system. It matters because samples accumulate quickly, they look alike in a drawer, and a collection you cannot read stops being useful. The rest of this guide shows how to set it up in an afternoon.
One box, one place
Choose a shallow box or a drawer with a divider, away from windows, radiators and the bathroom. A cool, dark, steady spot protects the contents, as how to store perfume samples explains. Stand the vials upright with the caps on. If you have a mix of sizes, put the smaller ones at the front, because they run out first. Our vials carry a printed label with the house, the perfume, the concentration and the size, so you can always read what is in a vial, even years later.
A log that takes a minute
A notes app or a small notebook is enough. For each sample write the name, the date, the weather, one line about the opening and one about how it felt later, and a mark from one to five. Keep the entries short, because a log you have to write essays for is a log you stop writing. If you want a longer record, a photo of the vial next to your wrist helps. The testing routine gives the three moments to smell and describes what to look for, and you can paste your answers straight into the log.
Four ways to sort
By season. Warm weather on one side, cool weather on the other. This is the sorting most people use daily, because the weather decides what you reach for. By scent family. Fresh, woody, floral, gourmand and so on. After twenty samples a pattern appears, and that pattern is your taste. By house. Useful if you buy by house or want to compare a house's perfumes side by side. By your mark. Fives at the front, ones at the back, and the ones can go.
Here is a small example sorted by season. Velixir Persephone is tagged for spring and is recorded with mandarin and pear on top, musk ambrette (ambrette seed) in the heart and benzoin and musk in the base.
Rasasi Hawas Ice is tagged for summer and recorded with apple, Italian lemon, Sicilian bergamot and star anise on top, plum, orange blossom and cardamom in the heart and musk, amber, driftwood and moss in the base.
For the cool half of the year, Amouage Guidance Eau de Parfum is recorded with pear, frankincense and hazelnut on top, saffron, rose, jasmine sambac and osmanthus in the heart and cistus, sandalwood, akigalawood, ambergris and vanilla in the base, and French Avenue Liquid Brun with cinnamon, orange blossom, cardamom and bergamot on top, Bourbon vanilla and elemi in the heart and praline, ambroxan, guaiac wood and musk in the base.
What to wear next
A pile of samples goes stale if you always grab the same three. A simple rule is to wear the oldest first, one per day, and to start a fresh one only when the last has been fully judged. If you struggle to choose, let the weather decide: the log tells you what you tried in similar conditions. A set built on one theme, such as how to build a sample set describes, is easier to organise than a random collection, and the sample set builder helps you start with one.
Deciding what to keep
Once a month, go through the box. Anything with a mark of one or two and no reason to try it again can be finished on a day when you feel like it, or passed on to someone who might like it. A vial with a mark of four or five and little left in it is the signal to think about a larger size, or a bottle. Only you can say which; the log is there so you do not have to rely on memory. Moving from a sample to a bigger decant is covered in which sample size.
Where to go next
If you collect by note, the vanilla and musk collections are good starting shelves, and all samples shows everything we fill. For the practical side of using a vial, read how to use a perfume sample vial. The FAQ answers questions about ordering.
FAQ
How should I sort a growing pile of samples?
Pick one way and keep to it. Sorting by season is the easiest to use, sorting by scent family helps you see your taste, and sorting by house helps if you shop that way.
What should I write down about each sample?
The name, the date you first wore it, one line on the opening and one on how it felt later, and a mark from one to five. That is enough to compare later.
Should I keep a sample I decided against?
Finish it or pass it on. A vial you will never wear takes space and attention, and its notes are already in your log.
