by Blake Herzog
Going to a perfume counter to choose your personal fragrance has never been the ideal approach.
Sampling several perfumes or colognes in a row hardly lets you ponder how one is going to translate to your and others’ nostrils. Everything’s going to come out smelling the same anyway.
Over the last couple of years online fragrance selectors have become much more sophisticated and helpful in filtering out what’s not going to mesh with your personality and style.
It may just take a little more work on your part to define the aromas that best define who you are and want to be.
Here are three steps you can take to sift out the smells that don’t work for you and find your perfect fragrance.
1. Know your notes
This is where you need to dig into and develop your self-awareness, if you aren’t certain what you’re looking for.
Fragrances generally are broken down into four “families,” known as fresh, floral, oriental (a.k.a. amber or spicy) and woody, then divided into subfamilies, under which specific fragrance “notes” such as rose, myrrh, orange blossom or sandalwood are grouped.
Think about the scents you’re drawn to and where they fall on the fragrance wheel, a periodically revised chart drawn to help people understand where their preferences and dislikes fall.
There are many online tools to look to, but www.lachere.co/blogs/articles/guide-to-choosing-your-scent is a good place to start.
2.Find an online fragrance finder
Once you’ve identified the type of scents that most appeal to you, you’re ready to dig into one of the high-tech tools that can sniff out what you’re really looking for in a cologne or perfume.
When shopping, one thing to keep in mind is exactly how long you want to be smelling like this — scents are also rated for their concentration of fragrance oil, which determines their longevity (and most often their price point).
3. Don’t get gender-specific
Unisex fragrances have been sold for 30 years, and to this day many of them lack the depth buyers are seeking in their fragrance, so keep an open mind about which bottle best captures your identity.
The options are endless these days, so take advantage of the diversity that’s out there.
