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Buying a perfume for someone else can be a challenge to say the least. Buying a scent for yourself online can also be quite a task – especially because perfume is a highly personal and subjective choice (just like cologne is for guys) so taking the time to understand the recipient’s (or your) style and scent preferences can make all the difference in selecting the perfect fragrance.
Right off the bat, I like to consider the different fragrance families or categories of scents (floral, oriental, woody, fresh, and more). Each fragrance family has its own unique characteristics and appeal, so I try to think about which types of scents the recipient tends to gravitate towards. Maybe they’re ueually more of a floral gal, or maybe their vibe is a bit more exotic and spicy. If you know a few of the fragrances they already own and enjoy, you can explore other perfumes with similar notes and overall scent profile.
And since we’re not at Smell-O-Vision yet (bummer), I find it helpful to rely on descriptions and user reviews to get a sense of the scent profile and performance. Full disclosure, since scent is highly subjective, this can be a miss as well – so what smells amazing on one person may not necessarily suit another. And there’s that pesky body chemistry thing. I’ve been stopped by someone asking what perfume I’m wearing, only to have them say “Weird, that doesn’t smell like that on me, at all.”
