Quick answer: To test perfume properly, shortlist on paper strips, then put your one or two favourites on clean skin and judge them after 30 minutes and again after a few hours. Test no more than two on skin at once, one per arm, and wear the winner for a full day before you decide.
Knowing how to test perfume saves you from the most common fragrance regret: loving the first ten seconds and disliking the next ten hours. The opening of a perfume is designed to be appealing, but it is the least representative part of the scent. A proper test takes a little patience and a few simple steps, whether you are at a perfume counter, trying a friend's bottle or wearing a new purchase at home.
How to test perfume in five steps
1. Start with clean, unscented skin
Skip scented body lotion, shower gel and other fragrances on the day you test. They mix with the perfume and change what you smell. An unscented moisturiser is fine and helps the perfume behave as it normally would on you.
2. Shortlist on paper
Spray once onto a paper strip, write the name on it, and wait a few seconds for the alcohol to lift. Hold it a few centimetres below your nose rather than touching it. Paper shows the outline of a scent clearly and lets you narrow a long list down to two or three without covering yourself in fragrance.
3. Move your favourites to skin
Put one perfume on each inner wrist or inner elbow, never two on the same spot. One spray is enough. Do not rub: friction warms the skin and blurs the opening.
4. Wait for the heart and the drydown
Smell the perfume after a few minutes, again after about 30 minutes when the heart has emerged, and again after a few hours when the base has taken over. Many perfumes change considerably along the way; our guide to fragrance notes explained shows how top, heart and base notes work.
5. Wear it for a day
If a perfume survives the first afternoon, wear it properly: a full day, in normal clothes, doing normal things. That tells you about longevity, how far it carries and whether you still enjoy it at six in the evening. Ask someone close to you how it smells at conversational distance.
Paper strip or skin?
Both, for different jobs. Paper is cool and neutral, so it is ideal for comparing structures side by side and for revisiting a scent later. Skin is where you will actually wear it, and it adds warmth, moisture and its own faint scent. The same perfume can be noticeably different on paper and on you, which we explain in why perfume smells different on your skin. Never decide on paper alone.
What to pay attention to
- The opening. Liking it is a good start, but do not decide yet.
- The heart. This is what you and others smell for most of the first hours.
- The drydown. The part you live with. If you love the base, you will probably love the perfume.
- Projection and trail. Can someone smell it at arm's length? Does it linger after you leave a room? See sillage and projection explained.
- Longevity. Note when you stop being able to smell it, then ask someone else, since your own nose adapts.
- Fit. Does it suit the season and the places you would wear it?
How a perfume changes during a test: three examples
A few scents from our range show why patience matters.
Mykonos Inception opens with bright bergamot, orange, lemon and ginger. As the heart emerges, neroli, black tea and a hint of cinnamon take over, and a few hours later what remains is guaiac wood, cedarwood and musk. Judge it on the first minute and you would call it a simple citrus, which it is not.
Mykonos Bonfire Vanilla starts spicy, with clove, nutmeg, pink pepper and orange zest, moves through smoked wood and burnt brown sugar, and settles into vanilla, marshmallow and caramel. The opening and the drydown feel like different moods, so give it at least a few hours.
If you are choosing between two related scents, test them side by side, one on each wrist. Mykonos Reflection and Mykonos Reflection Elixir share a grapefruit, bergamot and ginger opening but take different paths: marine notes, cardamom and lily of the valley over musk, patchouli and amber in Reflection; ylang-ylang, peach and magnolia over ambroxan, musk and a chypre accord in the Elixir. We compare the two in detail in Reflection vs Reflection Elixir.
Common testing mistakes
- Testing too many at once. After three or four scents, your nose starts to blur them. Stop, get some fresh air and come back another day.
- Deciding in the first minute. The opening is the most fleeting part of any perfume.
- Relying on coffee beans. A few minutes of fresh air, or smelling a patch of your own unscented skin, resets your nose at least as well; see why you stop smelling your own perfume.
- Testing in the wrong season. A rich gourmand can feel heavy on a hot day and a crisp citrus thin in winter. If you can, test in the weather you will wear it in; our guide to choosing perfume by season helps.
- Smelling the nozzle or the air. Sniffing the bottle, or the cloud after you spray, tells you almost nothing about how the perfume wears.
Testing when you buy online
When you cannot smell a perfume first, the testing starts on the page. Read the full note pyramid, paying most attention to the base, because that is what you will wear for longest. Check the family, since our guide to fragrance families explained helps you spot the styles you already like, and look at the season, occasion and strength information.
Size matters too. For a scent you have never smelled, 50 ml is the sensible first bottle; see 50 ml or 100 ml or browse the 50 ml collection. Keep in mind that our 14-day returns apply to unopened bottles, so the research needs to happen before you spray. Our guide to blind buying perfume covers the whole approach.
Once your bottle arrives, test it with the same five steps: a single spray on clean skin, patience through the drydown, and a full day's wear before you judge it.
Frequently asked questions
How long should you wait when testing perfume?
At least 30 minutes before forming an opinion, and ideally a few hours to smell the base. The best test of all is a full day of wear.
How many perfumes can you test at once?
Up to three or four on paper, and no more than two on skin at a time, one per arm. Beyond that your nose tires and the scents blur together.
Where on the body should you test perfume?
The inner wrist or the inner elbow. Both are easy to smell, warm enough to let the perfume develop, and far enough apart to test two scents without mixing them.
Should you test perfume on paper or on skin?
Use paper to shortlist and skin to decide. A perfume can smell quite different on skin, so avoid committing to a full bottle on the strength of a paper strip alone.