How do I know if a perfume is going to suit me?
The scents I love rarely elicit much response. I’ve often wondered if that’s because my favourites just don’t suit me. Perfumer Caterina Catalani, now at the helm of Floris London, reminds me it’s not about external olfactory validation: “Scent is deeply personal, and the best fragrance is one that resonates with you.”
That’s easy to say, but the perfume aisles (in store, online and on social media) can be overwhelming. “While some may gravitate toward a single fragrance, I believe in the power of variety – your fragrances should reflect different aspects of your personality and mood, and evoke memories,” Catalani says.
At the perfume counter, always test scents on the skin and never the blotter; they react to our skin’s unique chemistry so smell different on everyone. As you wear it, “keep an eye out for changes in character, intensity and longevity, to make sure it’s exactly what you’re looking for”, Catalani advises. And remember that if the brand has a hair mist or body spray version, it will often be a much cheaper way to try a scent before you commit to the full perfume purchase. It could also be worth trying a monthly scent subscription through Scentaddict, which curates edits of popular scents and delivers them by post. Most of the big perfume houses offer fragrance consultations and Penhaligon’s even offers a digital consultation to find your ideal scent. You could also try discovery sets that contain mini vials of a brand’s most popular scents – Floral Street, Frederic Malle and Kilian have excellent ones.
A final note: just because you can’t smell it after a few hours, it doesn’t mean a fragrance doesn’t suit you. Catalani adds: “As your olfactory system adapts to the constant presence of a scent, it becomes less sensitive to it.”
