How to test perfume on your skin (and why paper lies)

A paper strip is useful for one thing: it tells you in a few seconds whether the opening of a perfume is worth another look. It cannot tell you whether you will like the perfume on you. For that you need your own skin, a little patience and a routine that is easy to repeat. This guide describes one.

Why paper lies

Paper is cool, flat and has no smell of its own to mix with, so it shows the top notes at their most direct. Skin is warm, it has its own oils, and it changes the way a perfume opens, settles and fades. The same liquid can feel sweeter, drier or fainter on you than on a strip, and sweeter, drier or fainter on you than on a friend. The glossary calls this skin chemistry, and the article on why a perfume smells different on your skin goes into the reasons.

Velixir Asteria is a good example. Its recorded top is blood orange, mandarin, bergamot and lemon, which is exactly the part a strip shows well. The heart is Tiaré Tahiti and the base is sandalwood, musk and powdery notes. Whether that creamy flower and the soft base turn out as you hoped is something only a day on your skin can tell.

A routine that works

• Start clean. Use skin without lotion, scented soap or another perfume, for instance the inside of the forearm or the wrist.
• One perfume per arm. Never two on the same spot. If you try two, use one on each arm.
• Spray, then leave it. Rubbing wrists together changes how the perfume feels as it dries. You want to see what it does on its own.
• Smell it at three moments. Straight away, once it has settled, and later in the day when you have forgotten about it. A scent that appears from your sleeve when you are not thinking about it tells you more than a deliberate sniff.
• Write one line. A note on your phone is enough: what you noticed first, what changed, whether you still liked it at the end.
• Wear it a second day. Different weather and a different mood often change the verdict.

What to look for

Judge the whole journey, not only the opening. Many perfumes have three clear stages, which the glossary calls top, heart and drydown. Amouage Interlude Man is recorded with bergamot, oregano and pimento berry oil on top, amber, frankincense, cistus and opoponax in the heart, and leather, agarwood smoke, patchouli and sandalwood in the base. A long road like that is never one smell, and the base is the part you live with longest.

Ask yourself three questions. Do I still like it when it is no longer new? Does it sit close to the skin or fill the room more than I want? Would I wear it on an ordinary day, or only in a particular mood? The answers decide whether the perfume belongs on your shelf, and they come from wearing, not from reading a note list.

How many perfumes in one session

Two or three at most. After a few scents in a row the nose loses sensitivity, which the glossary calls olfactory fatigue, and everything starts to smell alike. Put the next one on the other arm, step into fresh air for a moment, and save the rest for another day. A set of several vials, built on the sample sets page, makes this natural: one perfume a day for a week.

Diptyque Do Son is recorded with tuberose, orange blossom, jasmine and a marine accord. Rasasi Hawas Ice is 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. Try them on separate days and each gets your full attention.

Be patient with the long ones

Some perfumes need more than one session. Mykonos Dreamscape is recorded with mango, Italian lemon and rhubarb, then ginger, jasmine, violet, praline and pink pepper, then cedar, grey amber, tonka bean and moss. With that many materials, the first day gives you an impression and the second gives you a view. Others are the opposite: Juliette Has a Gun Not a Perfume is recorded with a single material, Cetalox. A list that short says almost nothing about how it will smell on you, which is the whole case for testing on skin.

If you do not know where to begin, the scent finder narrows the range in a few questions, and all samples lists everything. How far a vial goes while you test is explained in how many sprays are in a sample, and the FAQ answers the practical questions about our vials. How we fill them is described in How we fill your sample.

FAQ

How do you test a perfume on skin?

Spray it on clean, unscented skin such as the inside of the forearm, one perfume per arm, and leave it alone. Smell it straight away, again once it has settled and again later in the day, then wear it a second day.

Why should I not judge a perfume on paper?

Paper shows the opening well but has no warmth and no skin. The heart and the base can look quite different once the perfume meets your own skin, which is why paper is a first look and not a verdict.

How many perfumes can I test in one go?

Two or three at most. The nose tires quickly after several scents in a row. Spread the rest over other days, and give yourself a pause with fresh air between them.