10 Mistakes Most People Make When Choosing and Using Perfume, and How to Fix Them

Mistakes made when choosing a perfume can lead to having hundreds of bottles on your dresser, resulting in you using none of them. It often happens that, when you learn more about a fragrance, you realize it’s not for you. Additionally, many people like their perfumes, but they store them incorrectly. Even the best fragrance can change and turn into something not as pleasant and elegant as it used to be.

5-Minute Crafts is going to tell you about the most popular mistakes we make when buying and using perfume and how to fix them.

Mistake № 10: Thinking that a low price means bad quality

Mistake:

• You think that a higher price means a better fragrance. In fact, the price has to do with the bottle design, packaging, marketing, and a lot of other factors. There are inexpensive fragrances made by good manufacturers that also make expensive fragrances.

Solution:

• Don’t be afraid of low prices and choose perfumes based on how they smell instead of how much they cost.

Mistake № 9: Making the decision to buy too fast

Mistake:

• You buy a perfume after a quick test at the store. At this stage, you can only smell the top notes of the entire composition. They form the first impression about the perfume and evaporate within 5-15 minutes.

When testing a perfume, you want to wait for the heart and base notes to take shape. The heart notes can be smelled when the top notes evaporate, and they ring for several hours. After that, the base notes are smelled. They last for 6 hours or longer.

Solution:

• Apply the fragrance you like to your skin. Take a walk and check how it smells after the heart and base notes appear.

Mistake № 8: Testing a fragrance only on a paper strip

Mistake:

• Testing a fragrance on a blotter is wrong. The perfume will smell differently on your skin than on a blotter. The way a fragrance will smell depends on the pH of your skin, what you eat, your hormonal balance, and whether you have dry or oily skin. All these factors can increase and decrease different notes of the fragrance.

Solution:

• Before buying, test perfume on your skin to find out how it smells on you specifically.

Mistake № 7: Paying too much attention to whether it’s for men or for women

Mistake:

• Women only use fragrances for women and men use the ones that are for men. Experts think that you can find great fragrances for men among those that were designed for women, and it works vice versa.

Solution:

• Look for your fragrance without caring about which “sex” it’s for.

Mistake № 6: Testing too many fragrances at once

Mistake:

• You test too many fragrances at once. Your nose will get tired after you smell 3-5 different fragrances, and you won’t be able to smell other fragrances. It will seem like everything smells the same.

Solution:

• Take a small break after testing 3 new fragrances. After you choose a fragrance you like, test it on your skin.

Mistake № 5: Buying perfume in big bottles

Mistake:

• You buy perfume in big bottles. Unfortunately, not a single fragrance can be stored forever. And storing a half-used bottle will slowly destroy the molecules of the fragrance.

Solution:

• If you use your fragrance every day, a big bottle will probably get used up, but in all other cases, choose smaller bottles.

Mistake № 4: Storing perfume incorrectly

Mistake:

• You store a bottle of perfume in the bathroom. The temperature fluctuations will decrease the shelf life of any fragrance.
• You leave the perfume where sunlight can reach it, like on the dresser. UV light will change the fragrance.

Solution:

• Store your perfume in its original pack in a closed area. The pack will protect the bottle from UV light.

Mistake № 3: Shaking a bottle of perfume

Mistake:

• You shake a bottle of perfume before using it to activate the ingredients. Perfumes are delicate mixes, and shaking them can lead to the destruction of the fragrance.

Solution:

• The less you “disturb” the bottle, the better.

Mistake № 2: Having only one fragrance

Mistake:

• You have only one fragrance that you associate with. Not a single perfume can fit all possible life situations — whether it be a romantic date or a business conference.

Solution:

• Create your own perfume wardrobe to include fragrances for different times of the year and different life situations.

Mistake № 1: Putting perfume on your clothes only

Mistake:

• You put perfume on clothes exclusively. If you do this, you can’t feel all the richness of the fragrance because fabrics can store only some parts of the perfume. Also, before spraying perfume on clothes, make sure you can actually wash these clothes.

Solution:

• Only use perfume on clothes when you’re sure they won’t damage the fabrics.