01Introduction
Buying a perfume is an experience that can overwhelm anyone, and most people don’t even know what they are looking for. Because of that, I have devised a list of several considerations to help you choose. Youre welcome.
02What is the fragrance going to be used for?
It makes quite a big difference if this is going to be your first purchase, and the fragrance that you will buy will be one that you will use daily; or whether this is going to fill a niche in an already existing collection. Here are the things you may need to consider, and what they mean in the context of the perfume that you will buy:
Night/Day
To understand the distinction, it is important to note that in the evenings it is generally colder than in the day, and so you may want to aim for something that is rather warm. Vanilla or ambers or spices are all excellent choices here. Of course, if you live in a generally warmer climate, then I would suggest you aim for something fresher regardless.
For a fragrance you intend to wear during the daytime, you would want something that is fresher. This does depend on the season though, so I will not elaborate too much here. The gist of it is that you can get away with the use of a nighttime fragrance year-round; whereas a daytime fragrance in the summer might differ from one in winter.
Inside/Outside
The main distinction here is the projection. In small spaces, you would want something with a more tame performance (performance includes projection and sillage). In Layman’s terms, this means that it is not strong enough to give you and everyone around you a headache in a closed room. For indoor usage, you would want to use something that is a little subtle and close to your body (weaker projection).
For the inside, I would also suggest not using something very divisive either. I know several people who hate the smell of oud because of scenarios where someone would spray an oud fragrance strong enough to kill a herd of elephants in a closed and poorly ventilated room. Diabolical if you ask me.
For the outside, you can generally embellish a little: projection and sillage-wise. Even choice wise. People are not trapped with you, and are free to walk away if need be.
Summer/Winter
For the summer, I would generally suggest wearing fragrances that are on the fresher side, such as those with citrus, marine notes or florals. The most important thing I would like to recommend is not to go into overly sweet things. It can genuinely be headache inducing to smell the perfume-equivalent of diabetes in 40 degree Celsius weather.
For the winter, deeper, darker and denser perfumes are your friend. They stick to your body because of the cold, and don’t project outwards as strongly as they would have in the summer. The weather makes everything way more palpable, and you can even rely on their warmth to warm you or your company a little. Notes like tobacco, vanilla, ambers, spices, oud, leather and resins are all options here.
Safe/Divisive
Smelling safe is most peoples’ go-to; and I understand it. To smell good to as many people as possible while not having to worry about it sounds functionally perfect. In this category, most dupes and designers (and some niches too, like Parfums de Marley and Creed) will work wonderfully.
HOWEVER
In my opinion, a fragrance is an extension of the person using it. If I was a person who prided myself on Palestinian heritage for example, then I might pick a perfume like Fiore d’Ulivo, which smells like olive blossom and soap; or if I was a person who would be into music, and played the guitar, then I might as well wear Guitarist from Qimu & Musicians.
The way you choose to present yourself often tells something about you, something we know inherently when it comes to clothing; but we fail to realize that this applies to the perfume too. I think a perfume is an extension of one’s outfit and therefore a part of them presenting who they are. If you smell someone who smells like olives, they you will remember them for that smell. Whether in a good way or a bad way, that will depend on how they present the rest of themselves.
Divisive perfumes can be found especially in the niche category (literally anything in this category can pass as an example), as well as the designer private lines (such as Dior’s New Look or Montblac’s Patchouli Ink).
So to summarize this decision: if you want to smell good, then choose something that smells safe. If you want to smell unique OR more like yourself than you would otherwise, then go for something divisive.
03Special Cases
All-Rounder
If you are looking for a fragrance that you can wear daily and in almost all situations, then these all-rounders have to work in all seasons, pass as daytime as well as nighttime fragrances, have decent but not overwhelming projection and appeal to the majority. Those are the checkboxes you need to tick. I would personally recommend something fresher rather than not, and something more likeable rather than divisive.
Fragrances of this category are found in the dupes, the designers as well as the niches; it all depends on how much you want to spend; BUT, I find that it is easiest to tick all these boxes in the designer market. Any YSL or Hermes fragrance might be an easy go-to; and if you want to pay extra to be extra unique, then just simply upsell yourself in the designer’s private lines. I’m sure that YSL or Dior would be excellent go-tos in that case.
Club
For the club, there is a special type of fragrances that I find work best: either a mass appealing designer, or a niche metallic fragrance. I do not know why the latter works as good as it does, but I have seen this work in practice spectacularly; stuff like Ganneymede by Marc-Antoine Barrois, and New Look by Dior. They are sharp and tend to stand out in a crowd of sweaty people; and they also then mix wonderfully with the cold air when you exit.
Romantic1
For this, you can go in three different directions: vanillic, warm and a little spicy. You want something that is alluring as a smell. Tobacco too if you would want. For a lady, the equivalent might be rose or florals (but make sure it isn’t too overpowering!). Examples that I can think of are Tobacolor by Dior, Liquid Brun by French Avenue, Oajan by Parfums de Marley, and Oud Satin Mood by MFK.
The second direction is musky: musk – especially true and natural musk rather than synthetic white musk – can combine with the skin and enhance your natural odor. Skin scents and musk-centered fragrances are great for this. I can think of Xerjoff’s Apollonia, and Narciso Rodriquez’s Pure Musc.
Some rare fragrances tend to combine the latter two directions, where you have a floral or musky vanilla. The aforementioned Apollonia is one such, with Iris floral notes, and another is Absolut Aphrodisiac by Initio.
The third direction is simply wearing a smell that your partner likes! Quite simple I think.
Formal
For formal situations, you want a mass appealing perfume that does not project too strongly, but has a presence. Designers fit into this category really well. They are what you would expect someone sharp to smell like.
04Conclusion
I always preach that you should wear what you want, but there are levels to this. If you find what to wear and when to wear it, then I think it can make quite the difference. The categories in this page are by no means holistic, but they are certainly a start.
05Footnotes
- In this page, I didn’t make much of a distinction between male and female fragrances, and that is because I am a firm believer that those are just titles assigned for marketing. Anyone can wear anything. The exception of me making a distinction is the romantic fragrances, because I often see people trying to emphasize gender roles through their fragrance choice (in addition to clothing and behaviourisms). ↩