How to Test a Perfume? Guide to Trials, Olfactory Pyramid, and Longevity
Choosing a perfume is a bit like choosing your olfactory identity, your signature. You must absolutely take your time. The more complex and faceted the perfume, the more intriguing and unique it will be, but the longer it will take to bloom on the skin.
1. The Testing Ritual: Blotter vs. Skin
The Importance of the Sales Advisor
The ideal scenario is to have a perfume consultation with an advisor who knows how to ask the right questions, getting you to talk about the scents and flavors you deeply love, and reminding you of positive scents that have marked your life. Knowing how to recommend perfumes is a true talent, including the great classics of perfumery.
Discovering the Soul of the Perfume Before the Alcohol
To get a first impression of an eau de parfum or eau de toilette, you must first smell it on paper strips, known as olfactory touches or blotters.
The Delacourte Experience: Generally, paper crushes the scent. We recommend smelling the perfume on noble fabric (wool or cashmere). Wool retains the fragrance well for up to three days and allows you to discover the soul of the perfume (the base notes) without the alcohol vapors mixed with the top notes.
If you have no alternative to the blotter: spray it from a distance (about 20 cm). Try 3 to 5 perfumes maximum before saturating your nose.
The Indispensable Skin Test (The 3D Experience)
Nothing replaces the essential trial on the skin. If a comparison were to be made between a blotter and the skin, we would speak of a one-dimensional experience on paper, and a three-dimensional one on the skin.
- Testing Zones: Three tests on the skin are possible: on both wrists and the forearm. Men often prefer to test a perfume on the back of their hand.
- Golden Rule: Be careful not to rub your wrists! The molecules would be crushed, which would upset the balance of the perfume.
- Duration: If the charm works, resist the temptation to buy it immediately. Let it evolve for a while on you, live with it. The real test is to sleep with it to validate the alchemy.
2. Testing a Perfume Means Knowing the Olfactory Pyramid
Perfume is always presented schematically in the form of a pyramid, which describes the evolution of notes over time.
This is a pedagogical but simplistic diagram: in reality, all these notes are intertwined and interact with each other. If a perfume is well constructed, you should smell the base notes from its opening: “from its flight, one must discover its conclusion.”
- Top Notes (The Smile): The most volatile. They are attractive and make you want to know more. They last a few minutes.
- Heart Notes (The Curves): They round out with flowers and fruits. They last a little longer, between 10 and 20 minutes.
- Base Notes (The Soul): These are the tenacious notes (woods, musks, balms) that hold the memory. They can last all day. The final imprint begins to reveal itself after an hour.
Moreover, the ideal is the true blind test to discover a fragrance without the influence of the name or bottle.
Watch the explanation of the olfactory pyramid:
3. How to “Reset Your Nose” After Testing a Perfume?
To clean your nose and avoid olfactory saturation, here are tips from professionals:
- Smell coffee beans or fine pepper.
- Eat a piece of chocolate.
The principle is to create an olfactory diversion. You can also simply smell your own skin (at the elbow or arm), this is very effective for resetting your nose.
Ultimately, you can only truly discover a perfume if you have slept with it.
