Tips On How To Buy Perfumes

Perfumes are like signatures; they’re lasting impressions we leave on people around us. Do you love heady perfumes that bring nature to mind? Give deep, musky scents a try. If you’re looking for a perfume to complement an elegant formal dress, experiment with rich floral scents with spicy base notes. If you can’t splurge on an expensive designer perfume but still want to smell amazing, eau de toilettes are for you. Set yourself apart with fragrances that you’ll be remembered for. Easier said than done, huh? No worries. Our buying guide will show you how to pick the best ones for yourself and your budget.

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Quick Tips You Need to Know

1. A fragrance can contain numerous ingredients, so it’s important to go through them all in case there are some you’re allergic to or some that don’t suit your lifestyle (attention, vegans and vegetarians). You also want to be able to distinguish between the fake stuff and the real deal. One easy way to tell the difference is to give a bottle of perfume a good shake and observe how long it takes for the bubbles to disappear. Good quality perfumes will produce bubbles that take about 10-15 seconds to disappear. You can also spray a little on your forearm and just go about your business for a while. If the scent is still lingering after a couple of hours, you have a winner. Otherwise, you might want to continue your search.

2. Perfumes can smell differently on each person due to differences in diet, body chemistry, and even one’s choice of cosmetics. While it’s easy to pick and choose fragrances at brick and mortar stores, shopping for perfumes online is another matter. What we suggest you do is take a look at the different notes or ingredients to see what sounds appealing to you. Good perfumes usually have three layers of fragrance. The top note is what you smell as soon as you spray a fragrance, while the middle note follows soon after and lasts a while longer. The base note is what you should focus on because it lingers for hours after the other two notes have dissipated. Some base notes even last for more than a day! Low-quality perfume doesn’t usually last long and may only contain one flat scent.

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What’s Your Scent?

We all have our preferred fragrances, but did you know that they fall into several categories? Knowing which scent categories your favourite fragrances are in makes it that much easier to shop for new ones.

Woody Perfume

Nature and warmth are often associated with woody perfumes. A heady mix of masculine and feminine scents, these perfumes usually feature ingredients like sandalwood, vetiver, patchouli, and amber. White musk is also commonly used.

Spicy Perfume

Spicy perfumes bring home and childhood memories to mind. Why? Because many of their ingredients are found right in your kitchen! Clove, cinnamon, cardamom, and pepper are just a few of the fragrant additions they contain.

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Citrusy Perfume

Citrus fragrances are refreshing, tangy, and invigorating. Think delicious lime, orange, and grapefruit that instantly wake you up.

Oriental Perfume

Exotic and so feminine, oriental perfume is what we recommend you spritz on before heading out for a date. The intoxicating scents are warm owing to the presence of amber, while exotic flowers produce sweet, sensual aromas. Oriental perfumes may also feature spices.

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Floral Perfume

Floral perfumes are all about sweet and feminine fragrances. Rose, lily of the valley, jasmine, and orange blossoms are some of the ingredients. Some may have spicy undertones and even hints of white musk.

Oceanic Perfume

As refreshing as citrusy perfumes, oceanic scents contain notes of rosemary, cedar wood, mint, and sea water. The energising fragrances are terrific choices for men and women who love the invigorating spray of the ocean.

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Fruity Perfume

The sweet and refreshing scents of fruits definitely come in a bottle. Apples, grapefruit, peach, and mango are regular ingredients. Floral notes may be present too.

Need Help Picking a Scent?

If you don’t have a favourite scent, have never used perfume before, or just want to try something different, we recommend citrusy and oceanic perfumes for days out and for the workplace. They’ll keep you smelling fresh for hours! Woody perfumes are our top choice for special evenings and date nights. They’re also perfect for wearing during outdoor activities like hiking or camping. Fruity perfumes are our choice for girls’ get-togethers and college classes. Like citrusy and oceanic perfumes, fruity scents are a good way to start the day. Oriental fragrances are very womanly and sexy. We recommend them for special occasions like cocktail parties and weddings, whenever you’re looking to pull out all the stops. Another feminine choice is a floral perfume, which we love for the workplace and brunch with friends. If you want to wear a floral scent in the evening, choose one with musky undertones. Spicy fragrances, on another note, are our favourite men’s scents for exciting nights out at a happening nightclub.

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Different Types of Perfumes

Perfumes are categorised by their strength and are graded specifically according to how much high grade alcohol and/or water has been added to the fragrance oils. The higher the concentration of perfume oils, the stronger the scent.

Perfume: This is the good stuff, the kind that you spray once and it keeps working its magic for hours. This is the type you want for your everyday signature scent. It’s the most expensive, but also gives you excellent value for your money.

Eau de parfum (EDP): Eau de parfum comes next in strength. It is less expensive, but it still lasts for a solid three to five hours. We recommend it for parties and other short events or if you don’t want to spend big bucks on a fragrance without compromising too much on potency.

Eau de toilette (EDT): These usually last for two to four hours. They’re perfect for the budget conscious and for day-to-day use.

Eau de cologne (EDC): Colognes are the least expensive. They require regular top-up sprays because they last for just a couple of hours. This isn’t a deal-breaker, though, since they’re easily available and are very affordable.

Different Types of Perfumes

Shopping for perfumes isn’t difficult when you know what to look for. Now that you’ve learned how to test them, when to wear them, what actually goes in them, you should have no problem finding just what you want. Indulge your senses with fragrances that speak to your personality and your preferences. Gift your loved ones scents that they’ll love and treasure. With our guide, you’ll soon be sampling and buying perfumes like a pro.