How to Test Perfumes

The best ideal way to do it is to smell the fragrance on a blotting paper (like most of the department stores do) which would be a good way to narrow your choices.

But don't buy a perfume without trying it first on your skin. Scent reacts with your body chemistry.

Give a minute. What you smell immediately post-spritz is alcohol evaporating. About ten seconds later, the top notes come through.

It can take around half an hour (30 minutes) before you can get a true sense of the fragrance.